The White Falcon - 13.06.1986, Page 7

Iceland celebrates 42 years of independence
By J03 Tim Abbott
June 17 marks Iceland's 42nd
year as a republic. The road to
independence, as for most coun-
tries ruled by a foreign mon-
archy, wasn't smooth.
In 1262 Iceland first came
under foreign rule. In 1800 the
Althing, (National Parliament
established in 930) was abolished
for 50 years. In 1874 the Danes
granted them a constitution, the
first step in establishing a self-
ruled government in Iceland.
Still, final authority remained
with the Danish Monarch.
There were more incidents
during Iceland's struggle for in-
dependence. One issue involved
the country flag. The Icelanders
asked permission to use a blue
flag with a white cross on it as a
means of identifing Icelandic
ships in international waters.
The Danes refused the proposal,
but by this time the flag was
already in wide use in Iceland.
In 1913 an Icelandic shopkeeper
took his boat out in the Reyjavik
harbor and hoisted his blue and
HIE NATIONAL FLAG
white flag. A captain of a Danish
gunboat arrested the man. After
the captain reported the incident,
he returned to the harbor to find
it filled with boats flying the flag.
This became a major issue in
Iceland; one the Icelanders didn't
let die. In 1915 the king gave in
to their demands, and the
national flag of Iceland came into
existence with the alteration of a
red cross put inside the white
cross. The colors of the flag
were to symbolize the sky, fire,
and ice.
Iceland became independent
in 1918 but still had a common
union with Denmark. The agree-
ment contained a clause that
stipulated it would be reviewed or
annulled in 25 years. But during
World War II Denmark was
invaded by Germany in 1940. In
the same year Iceland was occu-
pied by Great Britian. Because
Denmark was occupied by Ger-
many, she was unable to meet her
obligations of the 1918 agree-
ment. This allowed Iceland to
assume the power and execution
of her own foreign affairs.
U.S. forces replaced the Brit-
ish in 1941. Iceland still wanted
her total independence. How-
ever, the Althing accepted the
suggestion of the U.S., and other
allied countries, to wait until the
end of the 25 year agreement with
Denmark.
So on June 17, 1944, the birth-
day of Jon Sigurdsson the beloved
19th century independence lead-
er, the Republic of Iceland was
established following a national
vote. This prompted a letter
from King Christian, the 10th, of
Denmark, expressing his best to
the new Icelandic nation.
CHIEF continued from front page
superiors. That action demonstrated the resolve and
leadership that became hallmarks of Eiriksson’s
administration. He eventually phased out all the
Americans and the NAS Keflavik Fire Department was
one of the first fire departments of the Navy to be
staffed one hundred percent by "host nationals."
Eiriksson also took charge of snow and ice
removal and in 1975 established the current Airfield
Operations Branch of the fire department which has
the responsibility not only for snow removal but
also for aircraft arresting, transient line and air
cargo services.
Under Chief Elrlksson's guidance the fire
department has won many awards from the National
Fire Protection Association competing against United
States and Canadian participants in municipal,
industrial, government and military catagories.
Deputy Chief Haraldur Stefansson credits
Eiriksson's dynamic leadership and innovations in
fire prevention for the tremendous success of NAS
Keflavik's fire prevention program.
In 1973, when a volcano erupted in the Westman
Islands, Eiriksson directed the efforts of volunteers
to successfully stop the flow of lava, to prevent
"ember bomb" damage to homes, and
to shore up collapsing roofs. For this
contribution he was presented the
Knight's Cross of the Order of the
Falcon by the president of Iceland
"and the Navy Superior Civilian Service
Award by the Naval Station.
Eiriksson donated the cash award
accompanying the Superior Civilian Ser-
vice Award to the Fire Department to
begin an educational fund for Naval
Station firemen.
Chief Eiriksson has received more than
30 letters of appreciation and com-
Knights of the Order mendation and many National Fire
medal Protection Association Certifi-
cates of Merit. His experience
with the volcano on Heimaey brought him
international recongnition and his advise was sought
in Hawaii when a volcano erupted there in 1984.
June 13, 1986 The White Falcon
7