During the years 1942 – 1945, Fairbanks was the point of transfer of 7926 airplanes from US factories to the Soviet Union. American pilots brought airplanes from Great Falls, Montan to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Soviet representatives accepted and ferried them along the Soviet leg of the route to Krasnoyarsk and then to the battle fronts.
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The Juneau-based Alaska-Siberia Research Center (http://www.aksrc.org) (Chairman Alexander Dolitsky, Director William Ruddy) coordinated and managed the project, and renowned sculptor Richard T. Wallen designed and created this masterpiece. The project was funded by the Alaska State Legislature and the US Congress.