FAIRBANKS — "I have been wondering whether wolves can be killed in mentionable numbers by ground strafing with regular Army equipment and, if this can be done, whether you will consider having some of your fliers attempt it when conditions are right.”Crazy idea? Not when J. Sidney Rood, the General Reindeer Supervisor for Alaska suggested it in January 1941 to Major Dale Gaffney, the Commanding Officer of Ladd Field (now Fort Wainwright) in Fairbanks. In his Department of the Interior post in Nome, Rood was frustrated by the dramatic decline in the Alaska reindeer population during the 1930’s and placed much...