The soldiers, black and white, in bivouac through the North Country wilderness building the Alaska Highway in 1942 achieved something epic, accomplished something nearly impossible. But to do that they first had to live there. For More on the Need for the Highway For More Highway History and a Map Bivouacs moved frequently, following the …
Category Archives: Construction of the Alaska Highway
Mosquitoes
The soldiers of the 93rd met mosquitoes as well as muskeg in the Yukon spring of 1942. The spring thaw got started in May, just as soldiers moved into the field. It turned the muskeg into thick brown soup. And it brought mosquitoes out of the ground in endless swarms. For more on muskeg The …
The Yukon Wilderness Fought Back with Muskeg
In May 1942 the men of the 93rd crammed into Yukon in enormous confusion. And the Yukon wilderness immediately fought back–with muskeg. Arriving at Crag Lake, a few miles out of Carcross, Captain Boyd, commander of Company C, ordered SSgt Dunn, his mess sergeant, to spud a hole through the ice to access water. An …
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Confusion and Chaos
In early May 1942 the black soldiers of the 93rd Engineers moved out of Carcross–most in total confusion. The first company out of town, Company A, worked well. Their two borrowed bulldozers cleared a right of way; laid down trees, pushed dirt and brush to the side. Soldiers with hand tools scrambled over it, shoveling …
Leonard Larkins’ Memories
For the last two days I’ve posted about Leonard Larkins who served with the 93rd Engineering Regiment in Yukon in 1942. Leonard Larkins and the 93rd Meeting Leonard Larkins Leonard Larkins on our Research Site We have gathered in a large and comfortable room. On a big screen TV in front of us, Researcher Chris …
Green Bag of Memories
Last night I posted about Tech 5 Samuel Hargroves. And there’s more to the story. To tell it I must step through the fourth wall again; talk about Researcher Chris and me. I hope you find the story of the green bag worth it. (For more about Samuel follow this link to our research site) …
Hoge had Cast the Die
So Hoge had cast the die. The 93rd would build the 70-mile supply road from Carcross to the Teslin River. And, ironically, Hoge’s racism handed the men of the 93rd an opportunity. The Army expected little of its black soldiers; typically gave them the least demanding jobs around. But Hoge had given the 93rd a …
Hoge’s Problems Didn’t end in Seattle
So with help from Elliott, General Hoge pried his equipment out of Seattle and got it headed up the Inside Passage. But his problems moved with the equipment. Arriving in Skagway, it quickly overwhelmed the tiny harbor. Besides being small, Skagway Harbor offered twenty-foot tides which made the process of unloading vessels complicated. Incoming vessels …
Problems Pile Up in May
The problems that had emerged to plague the Alaska Highway Project in April piled like dirt in front of a bulldozer blade in May. The hell-bent advance into the wilderness threatened to dissolve in chaos and confusion. Three entry points, Skagway, Valdez and Dawson Creek, swarmed with confused troops trying desperately to get organized.More on …
The Trail at Muncho Lake
The men of the 35th Engineers stood by in Ft Nelson, ready to build a road. And McCusker had bequeathed a route. Scouting that route from the air, though, Colonel Twichell and civilian Curwen could only see the relatively easy terrain to Summit Lake and sixty-five miles beyond. At a cloud-shrouded pass near Muncho Lake …