Danger and death confront soldiers at war, and make no mistake about it, the Army dispatched the Alaska Highway builders to war. Two soldiers in the 35th died when they rolled their grader over a bank. 1st Lt. Small of the 18th wrecked his jeep getting around a bridge under construction. His men found his …
Tag Archives: Stories from History
At The Million-Dollar Valley
At the million-dollar valley, the North Country collected three bombers from the US Army Air Corps in January 1942. Flying over the Far North required a unique skill set. But the Air Corps didn’t know that, and nobody thought to ask the bush pilots who did know. They were, after all, the Air Corps and …
Doctor Stotts, Deep Woods Surgeon
Doctor Stotts, forced to do surgery in the deep woods, cut through his patient’s scalp behind his left ear with a razor blade; drilled a triangle of three holes with a wood brace and a 3/8 inch bit; cut between the holes with a hacksaw blade removed the ‘plug’ and removed a clot. Not a normal …
Fighting Water, Building Alaska Highway in Alaska
Fighting water came next for the soldiers of the 97th coming out of Valdez to the Alaska Highway. Soldiers driving dozers and trucks negotiated the narrow dirt road and the breathtaking cliffs of Keystone Canyon. Beyond the Canyon they passed through the narrow walls of packed snow that choked Thompson Pass. Link to another story …
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Rumble the Ground and Stir Up the Sea
Rumble the ground and stir up the sea, every now and again, as if Alaskans didn’t have enough to contend with from mother nature, earthquakes do that under them. They are relatively used to it. During the last few years Chris and I have worked on Far North History, traveled to the region twice and …
There to Meet the Corps
There to meet the Corps of Engineers in 1942, Harold and Anna Engelson had made Ft. Nelson their home in 1939. I promise you will love this video. Click to see the video the story and more photos. Click Link to video The link will take you to an utterly fantastic video their son Monte …
Swimming in the Subarctic North
Swimming? Not a topic you would expect in a story from the Alaska Highway Project, but here it comes… Near the end of June, with the critical task of getting the 340th to the Teslin River behind them, Headquarters moved up to Squanga Lake. One day, when the air temperature climbed to 80 degrees the …
The 18th, Pride of the Alcan Project
The 18th Combat Engineers, a crack outfit, came early to the Alaska Highway project. They came up the Inland Passage to Skagway, boarded the WP&YR and invaded Whitehorse in April. Their heavy equipment came up from Skagway in May. The only bright spot in General Hoge’s firmament, the 18th immediately headed north out of Whitehorse, …
Bill Miner—Canada’s Most Polite Bandit
Bill Miner—or “Grey Fox” or ‘Gentleman Robber” or “Gentleman Bandit”—invented the phrase, “Hands up”. A claim to immortality? I would say so. Link to another story “Sleeping Standing on their Heads” Born in Michigan he made his way to California and began his sterling career, finding himself in prison three times between 1866 and 1901. …
Heat Meant Fire
Heat, on the Alcan Project, came from fire. And God knows, the soldiers needed heat. But the soldiers lived in canvas tents. An escaped live coal smolders on canvas and then ignites it with obvious consequences. Link to another story “Bivouac in the Woods” From a company bivouac, soldiers ‘commuted’ daily to their work …