During World War II, Fort Richardson was used briefly as a holding center for several family members of Alaskan Japanese Americans arrested after Pearl Harbor.

[1] Built during 1940–1941 on the site of what is now Elmendorf Air Force Base and established as the headquarters of the United States Army, Alaska (USARAK) in 1947, the post moved to its present location five miles (8.0 km) northeast of Anchorage in 1950.

For more than a decade, the major combat unit at Fort Richardson was Task Force 1–501, the only airborne infantry battalion in the Pacific Theater.

Flagged as 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, the unit is now the primary strategic response force for the Pacific Theater.

Fort Richardson also hosts several non-military activities, including a United States National Cemetery and a state-owned fish hatchery.

The fort encompasses [4]73,014 acres , which includes space for offices, family housing, a heliport, a drop zone suitable for airborne and air/land operations, firing ranges and other training areas.

Fort Richardson also hosts several non-military activities, including a United States National Cemetery and a state-owned fish hatchery.

The fort encompasses 73,014 acres (29,548 ha),[4] which includes space for offices, family housing, a heliport, a drop zone suitable for airborne and air/land operations, firing ranges and other training areas.

Along with the West Anchorage High School gymnasium and the former Anchorage Sports Arena on Fireweed Lane, the Buckner Fieldhouse served as a venue for various other events which later moved to the Sullivan Arena and the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center upon those facilities' completion.