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 …
Tag Archives: Alaska Highway
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 …
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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 …
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 …
Epic Achievement
An Epic achievement, the construction of the Alaska Highway exemplifies a truth about the violent upheaval of World War II. Challenge requires response, and epic challenge requires epic response. The war, the most horrific event in recorded history, presented epic challenges to virtually every person alive. It brought death and destruction, but it also inspired …
Cooperation built the Alcan
Cooperation between soldiers and civilians and between the citizens of two countries made the colossal project, the Alaska-Canada Highway, happen. Canada entered WWII when Great Britain did, two years before Pearl Harbor pulled the United States in. Mackenzie King and Canada’s other leaders recognized the Japanese threat to North America long before leaders in the …
Chappie
Chappie, actually Chaplain William J. Brown, drove as many as two thousand miles a month up and down the Alaska Highway in 1943. He brought spiritual guidance to the men working to straighten and improve the Highway, and they nicknamed him Chappie. During that first year of its existence, the Alaska Highway offered only a …