Santa’s Unique Arrival
YAKUTAT, Alaska — This holiday season, Santa and Mrs. Claus made a unique entrance into southeast Alaska, swapping out their classic sleigh and reindeer for a military C-17 cargo plane.
Following them was a camouflaged Humvee, ready to spread cheer among the residents of Yakutat, a Tlingit village located northwest of Juneau.
Their visit was part of the Alaska National Guard’s Operation Santa Claus, a heartwarming initiative designed to assist mainly Indigenous communities throughout the state.
Each year, the National Guard chooses a village that has faced recent hardships to support, and Yakutat was selected this year due to substantial snowfall in 2022 that damaged many local buildings.
Spreading Holiday Joy
Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, the head of the Alaska National Guard, expressed his pride in the unit’s outreach efforts.
He donned his military uniform topped with a festive Santa hat, playfully bending the dress code.
When the Humvee rolled into the school parking lot, it created a buzz of excitement among the children, who joyfully exclaimed, “It’s Santa! It’s Santa!”
Inside the school, Mrs. Claus enchanted the students with a story about Dasher, one of Santa’s reindeer.
After storytelling, the couple gladly posed for photos with nearly all of the 75 students present, distributing brand-new backpacks stuffed with toys, books, snacks, and essential school supplies, all generously provided by the Salvation Army.
Students savored a lunch provided by the school and indulged in a sundae bar, courtesy of a local restaurant.
Operation Santa Claus
Ten-year-old Thomas Henry was thrilled with the contents of his backpack but found his favorite gift to be a plastic dinosaur.
His classmate, 9-year-old Mackenzie Ross, cherished her new plush seal and reflected on how special the day felt, noting it was a unique experience she had never had before.
Located in the low-lying areas of the Gulf of Alaska, Yakutat is a small Tlingit community of around 600 residents and is close to the popular Hubbard Glacier that draws many cruise ships.
Some of the National Guard members participating in this trip had previously visited Yakutat in January 2022, when a severe storm blanketed the area with nearly six feet of snow and caused significant infrastructure damage.
Operation Santa began in 1956 as a response to catastrophic flooding that impacted subsistence hunting in St. Mary’s, western Alaska.
During that tumultuous time, families found it hard to make ends meet for food, leaving little for holiday gifts.
The military stepped in to help those in need.
In addition to Yakutat, this year, two other communities affected by flooding were on the itinerary for Santa’s journey.
While Santa successfully delivered gifts to Circle in northeastern Alaska, bad weather thwarted the trip to Crooked Creek in the southwestern part of the state.
However, gifts for that community had already been delivered on November 16, ensuring that holiday cheer would still find its way.
Jenni Ragland, the Salvation Army’s service extension director for Alaska, emphasized the importance of reaching isolated rural communities.
For many children living in these areas, experiencing the festive atmosphere of larger cities is a rare treat.
Operation Santa truly brings the magic of Christmas right to their doorstep.
After finishing their mission in Yakutat, the C-17 Globemaster III had to head back to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage due to limited parking at the village’s airport.
Eventually, it returned to transport Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their weary helpers back to base, where they were later spotted resting on their flight home.
Source: Militarytimes