Alaska Native Scouts feted 67 years after rescuing Navy crew

GAMBELL, Alaska (AP) — Sixteen Alaska Native men are being honored for rescuing the crew of a U.S. Navy plane shot down over the Bering Strait by Soviet fighter jets nearly 70 years ago. The plane made a controlled crash landing on Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island. The Alaska Natives saw the crash and eventually got all 11 men back to the village of Gambell alive, where they were treated for their wounds before being returned to Anchorage.

The Siberian Yupik Eskimo rescuers received letters, but family members over the years said that wasn’t enough. This week, the Alaska National Guard presented them with Alaska Heroism Medals.

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