Private Russel and his fellows at Ft. Nelson not only struggled to find food to eat, they also struggled to fix the trucks and tractors that their winter road trip up from Fort St. John had all but destroyed. Ft. Nelson, Chester Russell’s Passage The army rushed mechanics from Union Tractor Company in from Edmonton …
Category Archives: Construction of the Alaska Highway
Obsession Genesis, Next Step
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 3:51 PM Subject: Next Edition So last night I wrote out a new edition and sent it… And it promptly disappeared into cyberspace. As soon as that occurred, the message turned into the most profound and eloquent piece of writing I’ve ever done–or ever read, for that matter. Sorry you …
Ft. Nelson, Chester Russell’s Passage
Ft. Nelson, General Hoge’s goal for Chester’s 35th lay another 230 miles north of Fort St. John on a trail resting on ice—ice rapidly turning to water. The 35th moved over the trail in an endless stream of men, trucks, dozers and other equipment—for three weeks in March while the trail behind them effectively disappeared. …
River Ice–Chester Russel
River ice, the first big problem, confronted Chester Russel and his buddies in the 35th almost immediately as they moved through Dawson Creek and a few miles out to their real destination—Fort St. John. Just short of Fort St. John, the Peace River loomed. Short periods of early spring warmth softened the river ice. Crossing …
The Most Colorful Soldier
The most colorful soldier on the Alaska Highway Project, Chester Russel, came with the 35th Engineers to Dawson Creek in March 1942. Colonel William Hoge had come to Dawson Creek, in February. His country, suddenly at war with the Empire of Japan, its Alaska outpost in dire danger, needed a land route from the railhead …
Last Heroic Flight
The last heroic flight for Alcan bush pilot Les Cook came in November 1942. On the north bank of the White River, an enlisted surveyor of the 29th Topo unit suffered abdominal pain. A doctor diagnosed appendicitis. The soldier needed surgery right away. Dropping It In–Les Cook His buddies strapped him to a litter and …
Epic Achievement
An Epic achievement, the construction of the Alaska Highway exemplifies a truth about the violent upheaval of World War II. Challenge requires response, and epic challenge requires epic response. The war, the most horrific event in recorded history, presented epic challenges to virtually every person alive. It brought death and destruction, but it also inspired …
Chappie
Chappie, actually Chaplain William J. Brown, drove as many as two thousand miles a month up and down the Alaska Highway in 1943. He brought spiritual guidance to the men working to straighten and improve the Highway, and they nicknamed him Chappie. During that first year of its existence, the Alaska Highway offered only a …
Getting in Place
Getting in place, for the soldiers of the 35th Engineers, meant getting themselves and their equipment to Fort Nelson before the spring thaw melted their winter road away. The soldiers became the cogs in their commander’s giant conveyor belt. Getting in place via the conveyor subjected the men to an excruciating experience. In a memo …
Charlie Lake
Charlie Lake saw the deadly consequences of an enormous gamble. In March General Hoge had ordered Colonel Robert Ingalls to race his 35th Engineers over the ice road to Fort Nelson. The road thawed to rivers and gumbo right behind them. The General had gambled that Colonel Joe Lane’s 341st Engineers could build an …