Speaking of Chester Russel a few episodes back, I told you about his unique background. Then I told you how he stumbled into “Catskinning” (operating a bulldozer) by accident. Private Russel at Ft. Nelson In his interview with Earl Brown and Hank Bridgeman Chester remembered details that no book of Alaska Highway history includes. And …
Category Archives: Alaska Highway
Hell Bent
Hell bent for their portion of the Alaska Highway, the lead company of Colonel Paules’ 18th Engineers left the opulent SS Aleutian; moved off the dock directly to the depot of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. The 18th Comes to Skagway They climbed into the passenger cars of the narrow gauge train, settled themselves …
The 18th Comes to Skagway
In April 1942 the Japanese marauded through the Pacific, America needed its land route through Canada to Alaska. The Corps of Engineers intended to build it and General Hoge had taken dead aim on all three points of entry—Dawson Creek, BC; Valdez, AK; and Skagway, AK. The 18th Combat Engineering Regiment would swarm into–and through–Skagway, …
Pvt Russel and His Fellow Soldiers Didn’t Come Alone in March
Pvt Russel and the other soldiers of the 35th didn’t come alone to the Southern Sector in early March. Private Russel at Ft. Nelson On March 8, Captain Alfred M. Eschbach’s Company A of the 648th Topographic Engineers fell out into an overcast spring morning at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana—to be issued arctic uniforms. That night …
Continue reading “Pvt Russel and His Fellow Soldiers Didn’t Come Alone in March”
Private Russel at Ft. Nelson
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 …
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. …
My Introduction to the North Country
My obsession began on the road to the Alaska Highway… About Us July 3, 2013 Subject: Dad’s Journey I feel a bit presumptuous, so bear with me… Before we left on our journey both Mike and Matt [my sons] had occasion to ask how I felt about leaving work behind and heading off into a …
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 …