Alcan Highway Alaska 1942

[Walt's Daughter]

This woman just wrote to me trying to find out info on these two units listed. NOTE that they ARE REGIMENTAL UNITS, not DIVISIONAL.

 

I found this webpage regarding it that lists the units. Looks like they were British units.

 

http://www.themilepost.com/history.html

 

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Hi, for a short kids book on Canadian geogrpahy I'd like to contact someone who was involved in building the Alcan Highway in 1942. Records show it was the Corps of Engineers 36th and 340th Divisions.

 

I'd like to find someone who can email or chat for a very few minutes - the whole interview will be about one paragraph but it would be great to have firsthand voice.

 

Any suggestions? I need to reach someone in the next five or six days.

 

Thank you,

Beth Geiger

Seattle

[Walt's Daughter]

Found this photo. This doesn't help her, but it's an interesting topic for us to explore. I'll keep looking for unit info.

[Walt's Daughter]

The Alcan Highway in Alaska Opened

November 21, 1942

Have you traveled on any memorable highways in the U.S.? You would surely remember the Alcan Highway. Following chilly festivities held the day before with a temperature of 35 degrees below zero, the Alaska-Canadian (Alcan) Highway opened for its first full day of traffic on November 21, 1942. This important overland military supply route, a 1,522-mile roadway through the wilderness, connected Dawson Creek, British Columbia, with Fairbanks, Alaska. The threat of Japanese invasion through Alaska made the road a World War II priority. Over the Alcan Highway, the military could transport troops, food, and supplies to strategic points in Alaska. How long do you think it took to construct?

 

 

When the Japanese invaded the nearby Aleutian Islands, completing the highway became even more urgent. More than 10,000 U.S. troops worked in cooperation with Canadian troops and independent contractors to accomplish this remarkable engineering feat in just over eight months! Among those soldiers building the Alcan Highway were four units of the Army's Black Corps of Engineers. All troops worked under extreme conditions. Mosquitoes and flies swarmed them in the summer heat, and temperatures near 40 degrees below zero chilled them to the bone in winter for weeks on end. To build the Sikanni Chief River Bridge, men waded chest deep into freezing waters to place the trestles. To keep themselves going, some of the men sang. Some African American soldiers, mainly from the South, sang old work chants like this "Steel-Driving Song."

 

In addition to military personnel, about 2,000 civilians worked to construct the Alcan Highway. One advertisement stated, "THIS IS NO PICNIC! Working and living conditions on this job are as difficult as those encountered on any construction job ever done in the United States or foreign territory. . . ." But workers signed on anyway. Known by the men who built it as "The Road," the Alcan Highway is still Alaska's main link to the "lower 48" states. It is considered quite a challenge to drive, but a magnificent journey. If you traveled it, you might agree with an 1888 travel guide to Alaska, which stated, "Our trip to Wonderland will remain to the end of our lives a bright chapter in our experience."

[Walt's Daughter]

March 8

 

*On this date in 1942 the building of The Alcan Highway in Canada began. This was an Army project during World War II that involved over 10,000 men of which over 30% were African-Americans.

 

Military policy during WW II dictated that Blacks would not be sent to northern environments or active duty. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the need for an inland route to Alaska prioritized this policy. Manpower was scarce, and segregated troops were shipped north under the leadership of white leaders. The construction of the 1,522-mile long road (the Alcan Highway) from Dawson Creek, British Colombia, to Fairbanks, Alaska through rugged, unmapped wilderness was heralded as a near impossible engineering feat.

 

Many compared it to the building of the Panama Canal. There was much praise for soldiers who pushed it through in just eight months and twelve days. African-American battalions have seldom been mentioned publicly despite the fact that they numbered 3,695 in troop strength of 10,670. According to their commanders, these men did an exceptional job under severe pressure. Poorly housed, often living in tents with insufficient clothing and monotonous food, they worked 20-hour days through a punishing winter. Temperatures hovered at 40-below-zero for weeks at a time. A new record low of -79 was established.

 

The majority of these Black troops were from the South; yet, they persevered. On the highway’s completion, many were decorated for their efforts and then sent off to active duty in Europe and the South Pacific. The veterans of the Army’s Black Corps of Engineers were members of the 93rd, 95th, 97th and 388th units. To build the Sikanni Chief River Bridge, men waded chest deep into freezing waters to place the trestles. To keep themselves going, some of the men sang.

 

Some African American soldiers, mainly from the South, sang old work chants like this "Steel-Driving Song." The soldiers bet their paychecks that they could finish the bridge over the swift flowing, snow fed, nearly 300 feet wide Sikanni River in less than three days. They won! Due to the fine showing of these Black troops and others, the U.S. Army integrated all units during the Korean Conflict, becoming the first government agency in the United States to do so. The road, originally called the Alaskan-Canadian Highway, quickly adopted the shortened name Alcan Highway. It was opened to the public on November 11, 1942 and still provides the only land route to Alaska.

 

Reference:

Library of Congress

101 Independence Avenue S.E.

Washington D.C. 20540

[Walt's Daughter]

Reference from Larry:

 

Beth,

 

My name is Larry and my Uncle George N. Chandler Company A 341st Engr. Gen Serv Regiment helped to build the AlCan. He was later killed in Germany March 17, 1945.

 

I have more information on the highway if you are interested.

 

Larry

[Walt's Daughter]

Received this Dec 2013

 

 

Marion –

My name is Christine McClure and Eric Reinert of the Office of History, Corp of Engineers referred me to you. I have spent the last three years researching my father’s regiment 93^rd Engineers of the Alaskan Highway. This summer my husband and I spent 2 ½ months in Canada and Alaska retracing his steps.

 

We had a website created by a young man especially for this trip. The URL is timberstimeline.com. He did a wonderful job. I included many pictures and excerpts from my father’s letters. You are welcomed to visit the site.

The website was great for the trip but we are wanting to overhaul the site or make a new site to something similar as yours. I want to reach the sons and daughters of the men that were in the 93^rd. I am very impressed with the format of your site and how simple it is to use. Eric bragged about you and the response that you have had with your work. He also said that he really enjoys working with you.

 

Our website uses WordPress which is specific for a blog. I would like your opinion as to the best software to use for a site such as yours. Would it be best to hire a professional to guide us? I thank you for your time and if you have any other advice I would appreciate it.

 

Christine M. McClure

Weaverville, North Carolina