Answering Alaska's Call

Milo Fritz always dreamed big, ever eager to push the boundaries of what was considered possible. In 1940, the young Columbia- and Duke-educated eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist and his wife Betsy, an RN, leave the familiar comforts of Milo’s hometown of Pelham, New York to begin a new life in Ketchikan, Alaska. There, Dr. Fritz hopes to realize his “mad dream of a Medical Air Service” to bring modern medical care to neglected bush communities where Alaska Natives are being ravaged by tuberculosis and terrible afflictions of the eyes and ears. Answering Alaska’s Call chronicles the extraordinary life of Milo ‘Doc’ Fritz—pioneering physician, bush pilot, and state legislator. Epic in sweep and intimate in tone, Milo’s story is intertwined with 20th-century medical and Alaska history—his life impacted by World War II, advances in aviation, the territory’s transition to statehood, the Good Friday Earthquake, the discovery of oil, and passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Milo’s first-hand accounts of his rigorous medical training and his subsequent contributions to the EENT field, as well as his unique path through an era marked by transforming events are enlivened by the wit and perspective of a brilliant mind. Multi-talented and resourceful, Doc Fritz could repair the delicate membrane of an eardrum, play the piano, boil surgical instruments over an open fire, change the spark plugs of a Super Cub, or suture a cornea with equal ease. Inspired by his own heroes, Milo pursued a heroic life, fueled by his passions: medicine, Alaska, flying, and Betsy. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, family recollections, and her own experiences and research, editor/writer Linda Fritz—Milo’s and Betsy’s niece—offers a compelling portrayal of a heroic life, an enduring marriage, and Alaska—renown for encouraging and thwarting dreams. Milo Fritz always dreamed big, ever eager to push the boundaries of what was considered possible. In 1940, the young Columbia- and Duke-educated eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist and his wife Betsy, an RN, leave the familiar comforts of Milo’s hometown of Pelham, New York to begin a new life in Ketchikan, Alaska. There, Dr. Fritz hopes to realize his “mad dream of a Medical Air Service” to bring modern medical care to neglected bush communities where Alaska Natives are being ravaged by tuberculosis and terrible afflictions of the eyes and ears. Answering Alaska’s Call chronicles the extraordinary life of Milo ‘Doc’ Fritz—pioneering physician, bush pilot, and state legislator. Epic in sweep and intimate in tone, Milo’s story is intertwined with 20th-century medical and Alaska history—his life impacted by World War II, advances in aviation, the territory’s transition to statehood, the Good Friday Earthquake, the discovery of oil, and passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Milo’s first-hand accounts of his rigorous medical training and his subsequent contributions to the EENT field, as well as his unique path through an era marked by transforming events are enlivened by the wit and perspective of a brilliant mind. Multi-talented and resourceful, Doc Fritz could repair the delicate membrane of an eardrum, play the piano, boil surgical instruments over an open fire, change the spark plugs of a Super Cub, or suture a cornea with equal ease. Inspired by his own heroes, Milo pursued a heroic life, fueled by his passions: medicine, Alaska, flying, and Betsy. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, family recollections, and her own experiences and research, editor/writer Linda Fritz—Milo’s and Betsy’s niece—offers a compelling portrayal of a heroic life, an enduring marriage, and Alaska—renown for encouraging and thwarting dreams.