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Category Archives: Alaska Highway
Sad Comment—Marl Brown
A sad comment appeared on one of my posts last night. Aaron OrKaden wrote “Hey folks. Sadly, this great man just passed a few days ago. I’m honored to be one of his grandkids. He will be sadly missed.” The sad comment appeared on the following post about Aron’s grandpa, Marl Brown. Everyone who has …
Descending on Dawson Creek
Descending on Dawson Creek, British Columbia in the early spring of 1942, the Alaska Highway building soldiers of the United States Army came as a complete and very sudden surprise. Link to another story “Dawson Creek and the North Country” Trappers Rose Mould and her husband left their cabin one morning to walk their trap …
Steep Ridges—Choosing the Alcan Path
Steep ridges came one after another, one so steep they had to put three dog teams on each sled and haul the three sleds up one at a time. Two survey teams had set out together from the Hudson’s Bay post at Sikanni on the winter trail between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. Looking …
Urine and Moccasins
Urine, human urine, cured moccasins made from moose hide. Donald “Smitty” Schmitt didn’t know that when he admired the ones of the feet of guide, Johnny Johns. When Donna Blazor-Bernhardt interviewed Schmitt, an officer in Company D of the 93rd, about his experience on the Alaska Highway project, he had lots of memories, but …
Five Days to a Bridge
Five days, that’s what the Southern Sector commander gave the 95th to bridge the Sikanni Chief. The soldiers got to work. Link to last episode in the series “Morale Leads the 95th to Sikanni Chief” In the surrounding woods, Sgt. Harvey and Pvt. Hickens selected trees—monsters for trestles that would stand up out of the …
Morale Leads the 95th to Sikanni Chief
Morale among the black soldiers of the misused and abused 95th Engineers confronted their new commander, Lt. Colonel Heath Twichell, with his biggest problem and he proposed to fix it. Link to the last story in this series “Pink Mountain and the 95th” The Army, Twichell knew, considered his new troops substandard; didn’t trust them …
Pink Mountain and the 95th
Pink Mountain took five soldiers from the 95th the very day Lt. Colonel Twichell replaced their disgraced commander, Colonel Newman. Twichell inherited major problems—disorganization, dismal morale, lack of a real mission. But before he could turn to those issues he had to deal with the immediate crisis. Link to Another story on the 95th “Rushed …
Rushed North—for What?
Rushed north by the Army to help in the urgent effort to build over a thousand miles of Alaska Highway through subarctic wilderness, the soldiers of the 95th found themselves with little to do. They occasionally found themselves serving as stevedores and delivery drivers for the white rookies of the 341st. More often they …
O’Connor Caught a Break but Didn’t Know It
O’Connor, Colonel James A. “Patsy” O’Connor, southern sector commander on the Alaska Highway Project, finally caught a break in May. One of his regiments, brand new, sorely lacking in experience, fresh off the shocking disaster at Charlie lake had a lot of learning to do. But at the end of the month, one more regiment …
Continue reading “O’Connor Caught a Break but Didn’t Know It”