The subarctic north lay in wait for the soldiers of the Corps of Engineers at the end of the 1940’s. A few daring men flew over it. A primitive system of primordial trails traversed it from the farming village of Dawson Creek through a string of tiny settlements to the almost city of Whitehorse and …
Tag Archives: Northern Canada
The Fairbanks Freight
The Fairbanks Freight would, if senior officers had anything to say about it, make scheduled runs north to Fairbanks from the Dawson Creek railhead through the winter of 1942/43. Convoys making their way over the brand new road that winter traversed a very rough draft of a Highway. Link to another story, “Awards, Celebrations and …
Bitter Cold Could Kill a Man
Bitter cold could kill a man–softly, even kindly, but very, very quickly. Most of the soldiers who wintered on the Alaska Highway in 1942/43 survived, but the survivors would never forget the miserable experience. Reading their memories today still produces involuntary shudders. A soldier named Boos spent evenings with his four tent mates huddled next …
Greyhound on the Alaska Highway
Greyhound buses actually drove the Alaska Highway in its infancy, while it remained a rough draft of a Highway. Who knew? Link to another story “Rough Draft of a Highway” In a comment on one of my stories, Tom Lymbery wrote, “…12 Canadian Greyhound coaches driven and serviced entirely by Canadians… set up regular service …
The Million Dollar Valley
The million-dollar valley collected a million dollars from the US Army Air Corps in January 1942—collected it in the form of 3 B-26 Marauders at Greyling Creek near the British Columbia, Yukon border. Link to Another Story “Lend Lease and Canada’s Northwest Staging Route” In the run up to war Canada had installed the Northwest …
Christmas 1942
Christmas 1942 found the black soldiers and the white officers of the 93rd Engineers deep in Yukon. In our book, We Fought the Road, we shared two memories from that day. For December 25, 2020 my Christmas present to all of you is to share those memories here. Link to another story “Dear Pop” For …
Youngest Alaska Highway Trucker
Youngest Alaska Highway Trucker? Without any doubt, Owen Ose holds that title. When three-year-old Owen piloted his truck on the Highway, the Corps of Engineers hadn’t even finished it. Owen, when he shared this claim with me a couple of years ago, hastened to add that the truck the youngest driver drove had “Tonka” printed …
Two Bulldozers
Two bulldozers parked nose to nose. Two operators reached across between them to shake hands. Their picture went out on the news wires, and the army’s publicity machine launched. Link to another story “The Press and Beaver Creek” Two bulldozers and the photo be damned, a significant piece of the road still did not exist. …
The Press and Beaver Creek
The press, in the person of Harold W. Richardson of the Engineering News-Record, came to the Alaska/Canada border in the nick of time. American and Canadian newspapers had kept their readers focused on the last fifty miles of the Alaska Highway. That meant the Army’s publicity machine focused on the last fifty miles. And that …
The Pressure Ratcheted Up a Notch
The pressure on the 97th and the 18th Engineers, working toward each other at the northern end of the Alaska Highway, ratcheted up on September 24. On that day, down in British Columbia, the 35th and the 340th Engineers met at Contact Creek and completed the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek to Whitehorse. LInk to …