The White Falcon - 22.04.1983, Síða 8

8 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Keflavik, Iceland
Not generally known is the fact that the first German plane to be shot out of
the air by an American in World War II was downed over Mt. Esja, Iceland, by
Lt. Joseph B. Shaffer on Aug. 13, 1942. A P-39 pilot, Lt. Shaffer repeated his
feat two months later, on October 18, when he got a JU 88 over Mt. Esja. Shaf-
fer is third frcm left in the bottom row. On Oct. 24, 1942, Lts. M. J. Inge-
lido (bottom row, second from right) and R.F. Morrison (second rcw, far right)
got a Focke-Wulfe at Borganes.
Capt. Eugene W. Byrne, frcm Antigo, Wise, (fifth from left) and lst/Lt. James
H. Pound, Jr., Charleston, S. C. (second frcm right) received Air Medals for
their service in Iceland. Both of these photos were contributed by Ralph A.
Oyler of Fostoria, Ohio — he is third frcm left.
Nordic Ally hit hard
by World War II
At the beginning of World War II Iceland was
neutral. The country had no armed force of its
own . and its geographical location, it was
thought, would afford it a certain degree of pro-
tection. Following the Nazi invasion of Denmark
and Norway many people worried if isolation
was in fact any protection at all. Germany had
obvious goals of gaining control of the Atlantic
seaboard. At the same time Great Britain was
concerned about losing freedom of operation at
sea.
Consequently Britain invaded Iceland in May
1940 (post-war searches of the German archives
revealed the Nazis had plans for an invasion of
their own). Iceland protested against the British
action but there was little a defenseless nation
could do. In 1941 the United States was asked by
Britain if it would take over the defense of Ice-
land thus releasing the British to use their men
elsewhere. Iceland endorsed the idea as at the
time America was neutral—if the neutral country
had to be defended by someone it would be
better if the defending power were also neutral.
Hence U.S. forces arrived in July 1941.
Five months later, following the attack on
Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war.
Instead of a protective garrison being stationed
in Iceland it was clear the country’s destiny was
to be a stepping stone in the assault on Europe
and was to play a key role in the Battle of the
Atlantic. A huge series of airstrips was built at
Meek’s Field (now the Keflavik base) to serve
Allied aircraft in their fight against the Axis. In
addition, troops were stationed at all points
around the coast.
The cost, in human terms, was great. Iceland
found itself with the largest occupation of for-
eign troops—in comparison to its population—
of any country in the world. In 1943 the total
Icelandic population was about 125,000—the
military population, of whom about 47,000 were
Americans, was about 80,000.
The social fabric of the nation was severely
affected. People seeking work left home to move
to areas where military construction was taking
place. Bitterness grew towards those who were
perceived to be breaking up families through
social involvement. And more, opportunism in
the labor market together with inflated prices for
the now-affordable consumer goods created
new and powerful demands—and inflation.
This was seen by some as having antisocial
effects. Others saw it as a path to a new and
better future. The cohesion of all Icelandic
society was perceived to be in jeopardy of being
overrun by foreign cultural pressures. Some of
the blame was to be put on the shoulders of
normal, although fast, development, but some
blame also went to the military occupation—and
Iceland sought ways to minimize any negative
aspects. Today, to minimize the possibility of
conflicts of interest between Iceland and the
United States due to the military presence, a
number of agreements exist between the two
countries. (See the Defense Council article in
Special Edition Vol. 1, No. 2.)
Miscellaneous facts about Iceland
• Iceland did not have its own shipping
company until 1914, when Eimskipafelag Islands
(Iceland Steamship Company) was established.
• The first woman was elected to Iceland’s
Althing, or parliament, in 1923. Women’s suf-
frage begin in 1881 in Iceland.
• Massachusetts’ famed Lodge and Cabot
families, while still in Bristol, England, estab-
lished great family fortunes on Icelandicfishing.
• Compulsory education in Iceland was first
initiated over 900 years ago.
• Surtsey is actually the third volcanic island
to rise from the sea around Iceland. The other
two failed to resist wave action and disappeared
shortly after their eruptions stopped.
• Convincing historical evidence indicates
that Iceland had the highest standard of living in
all Europe through the middle ages.
• According to one Icelandic law, Kopa-
vogur, which has the nation’s second largest
population, is not a city.
• Reykjavik’s zoning laws prohibit business
district buildings tallerthan seven stories and all
buildings taller than thirteen stories.
• An Icelander became a World War II fight-
er ace upon downing his fifth German aircraft
while flying with the Britain’s Royal Air Force.
• And that same Icelander piloted the last
plane out of Biafra in the face of armed troops
advancing down the road he used as a runway.
• The world’s first democratically elected
woman President is Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Ice-
land’s fourth head of state (elected in 1980).
• You can drive from here to England... the
name (meaning meadowland) which Eirikr the
Red gave his first farmstead on the north coast.
• The giant, semicircular depression known
as "Asbyrgi” (pen of the gods) is said to be the
hoofprint of Odinn’s horse.
• Iceland’s Republic Day (June 17) was
selected to commemorate the birth (in 1811) of
Jon Sigurdsson.
• The various Scandinavian countries have
a treaty which makes citizenship rights inter-
changeable and passports unnecessary for travel
between borders.
• German planes during WWII attempted to
bomb Reykjavik’s hot water holding tanks over-
looking the airport in the belief that they were
fuel storage.
Language skills
eliminate barriers
One of the many comfortable aspects of visit-
ing Iceland is the ability of most Icelanders to
understand and speak English. One of the rea-
sons for this is the education system.
Text books are translated into Icelandic for
the compulsory level of education. A central
publishing house run by the Minister of Educa-
tion does this, and provides the text books free
of charge to students.
But as subjects become more specialized at
higher levels of education, and asthenumberof
students per subject get fewer, the costs rise to
unacceptable levels.
Theanswer, in Iceland, isforthestudentto be
able to study modern textbooks in the original
language—no matter if it is Danish, English,
German, or some other.
The result is that people of all walks of life
have at least a rudimentary understanding of
English. And almost everyone in a position of
responsibility who has completed his or her
education in the past 15 years or so has a very
good command of English.