The United States Army didn’t create racism in the ‘40’s. The United States had struggled with race for 170 years and, in 1942, thoroughgoing racism and vicious discrimination permeated American society and government. The Army and the Corps merely reflected that sad fact. But its racism stained the story of the Epic Alaska Highway Project …
Category Archives: World War II
Into the Muskwa Range
The Muskwa Range loomed in the Southern Sector. On the Alaska Highway project progress happened in June 1942 in Yukon. In Alaska and British Columbia, not so much. Down in Yukon In Alaska the 97th had struggled to get over Thompson Pass, still waited for their heavy equipment to make its way to Seattle and …
The River Route
June brought the War to the North Country—to the Aleutians. Down in Yukon the black men of the 93rd Engineers battled a less vicious but ultimately much tougher enemy—mother nature. The white soldiers of the 340th, though, mostly still battled confusion—battled themselves. General Hoge finally had heavy equipment on the way. It would begin to …
The Devil’s Brigade
In 1943 the Americans took back Attu, drove the Japanese to suicide. They targeted Kiska next, totally unaware that in response to the Attu assault, the Japanese had abandoned the second island. According to Stan Cohen’s book, The Forgotten War Vol. 2, Americans had intercepted the evacuation order, but Admiral Kincaid didn’t believe it. On …
Japanese Occupation
At the end of June 1942, the Japanese occupied American Territory at Kiska and Attu. Unacceptable. The Japanese had assaulted the American Naval base at Dutch Harbor then occupied the two American Islands in the Aleutians. At the same time, they laid a trap for the United States Navy at Midway and the trap backfired. …
Americans Reacted
Millions of frightened and angry Americans had known nothing of the Aleutians or a possible threat to America’s interests there—until an actual threat materialized, seemingly out of nowhere. The land route to Alaska vaulted onto front pages and into newsreels, and the spotlight of public attention suddenly came to focus on the Alcan Highway Project—except …
Another Task Force
Another task force still lurked off the Aleutians. The Japanese carrier task force had bombed Dutch Harbor, not once, but twice, completed their mission. But another Japanese task force, the one carrying invasion troops still lurked. The Japanese Bomb Dutch Harbor The Japanese Came Back As the opposing forces in the Aleutians struggled through the …
The Japanese Came Back
The Japanese came back. The Japanese had arrived at the Aleutians, attacked Dutch Harbor from the air on June 3, 1942. Luck had, for once, been with the Americans on the ground. The Japanese Bomb Dutch Harbor–the First Time Knowing little about the layout of the base, the Japanese pilots had engaged targets at random; …
Japan Threatened America
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 then launched coordinated and successful assaults all over the Pacific. The suddenness and sheer scale of disaster set America’s leadership back on its heels, scrambling to plan a response. FDR, his cabinet and his generals saw terrifying vulnerability in Alaska and the Aleutians and ordered the Corps …