Santa offers a candy cane to Gambell resident Erin Apangalook, age 2. The Alaska Air and Army National Guard were in Gambell, on remote St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, with a group of civilian volunteers on Dec. 16, 2009 as part of Operation Santa Claus. Now in its 53rd year, Operation Santa Claus is a program of the Alaska National Guard to bring toys, food, supplies and Christmas cheer to isolated villages around the state. Alaska Air National Guard photo by 1st. Lt. John Callahan.