Tagish River, 1,275 feet wide, posed the first major obstacle to the 93rd Engineering Regiment. To build Alaska Highway through Yukon, the soldiers of the 93rd had to get a road out of Carcross, and during the first week of May local guide, Johnny Johns, guided Captain James Cassano as he laid out a path …
Tag Archives: Alaska Highway in WWII
The Steepest Railroad Grade
The steepest railroad grade in the world, the White Pass and Yukon Railway (WP&YR), carried men, supplies, and equipment for building the Alaska Highway up into Yukon Territory in 1942. From sea level at the Skagway dock the rails climbed 2,900 feet in just 19 miles. Whitehorse Yukon 1942 The Saturday Evening Post in its …
“My uncle, Chester Russell, worked on the Highway.”
“My uncle”?! Jim Price’s comment on one of my blogs a couple of years ago grabbed my attention. Chester Russel, an icon for historians of the Alaska Highway, had turned up repeatedly in our research for our book, We Fought the Road. We Fought the Road on Amazon The Most Colorful Soldier In early 1942 …
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Green Wood and Chester’s Solution
Green wood does not want to burn. Chester Russell and the soldiers of the 35th found no shortage of firewood as they gouged Alaska Highway out of the woods and over the mountains of British Columbia. But their rush north left no time to cut and stack wood, let alone let it dry and season. …
Subarctic Cold
Subarctic cold should have stopped the men building the Alaska Highway in 1942 dead in their tracks. To be sure, endless problems confronted them every step along their way and finding solutions and driving on rendered their achievement epic. But none of the endless list of obstacles—mountains, mud, muskeg, permafrost, mosquitoes and all the …
Dumb Going Up There
Dumb going up there, the soldiers of the 35th learned. Master Sergeant King of the Motor Pool carried an old 45 to British Columbia; kept it in a holster at his side. With his 45 King could fix anything. At Dawson Creek a civilian warned King about muskeg. Chester laughed. “And old King, he… padded …
Covid Got You Stuck At Home
Covid got you stuck at home? Bored? If you liked or followed this author page, you will like our book, We Fought the Road, about defending America by Constructing the Epic Alaska Highway. Click this link to find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07172WHD7 or this one to find it on Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/we-fought-the-road-christine-mcclure/1162518241?ean=9781935347774 or …
Hunger
Hunger permeates Chester Russel’s memory of his first weeks on the Alcan Project. The stuff of legend, his regiment’s race against the spring thaw got them to Ft Nelson in the nick of time—just before the winter trail disappeared from under their rolling dozers and trucks. That meant, as Chester remembered, “no supply line.” Awards, …
Bit and Brace Brain Surgery
Bit and Brace brain surgery came to Chester Russel’s memory when interviewers Brown and Bridgeman asked him about danger on the Highway. When Pvt. Moore walked too near a working dozer, a falling limb crashed into his head. “So this Dr. Stotts”, Chester remembered, “he finally got up there where we had him on… he …
Young Lieutenants
Young lieutenants often need, in addition to formal Army training, serious training from their enlisted subordinates. Chester Russell’s memory yielded a story for interviewers Brown and Bridgeman that describes how that training happens. Enlisted Soldiers like Chester Earl Brown asked how many miles a day they built; did they have a quota? No quota, but …