Ft. Nelson, General Hoge’s goal for Chester’s 35th lay another 230 miles north of Fort St. John on a trail resting on ice—ice rapidly turning to water. The 35th moved over the trail in an endless stream of men, trucks, dozers and other equipment—for three weeks in March while the trail behind them effectively disappeared. …
Tag Archives: WWII
Teodoro Pena Invaded and Endured Attu
Teodoro Pena came north with the 7th Infantry Division to wrest Attu back from the Japanese. A very young medic, Teodoro couldn’t possibly have known the horror the Army had sent him into. In 1942, Teodoro left his job with the CCC and enlisted at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He trained as a medic. …
Castner’s Cutthroats
Castner’s Cutthroats, a platoon of unique soldiers commanded by Colonel Lawrence V. Castner, launched into Subarctic history shortly after the Japanese occupied Kiska and Attu in June 1942. Few Americans Worried about the Aleutians Relentless cold, impenetrable fog and endless hurricane force winds called “williwaws” threatened the Japanese survival far more than the Americans. The …
Sucker Punch
Thousand-mile Arc A sucker punch with many moving parts, the Japanese plan for June 1942 aimed simultaneously at Midway Island in the South Pacific and at the Aleutians in the North Pacific. The Japanese hoped to ambush the American carrier fleet at Midway, and they wanted a foothold in the Aleutians. In Alaska they would …
Problems loomed in October
Problems loomed in October What Extreme Cold Does to Equipment—and Beer Serious problems loomed for the Alaska Highway Builders as they moved out of September into October 1942. Their leaders, General Sturdevant and General Hoge knew that at best they had put 1600 miles of mess in place—some of it nearly up to pioneer standards, …
Whitehorse, Headquarters City
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory headquartered most of the Alaska Highway Project throughout 1942. Decisions coming out of the little city shaped the lives of the men on the highway. More important, the organization that controlled everything their lives depended on—from food and supplies to equipment and medical care—centered there. Whitehorse Yukon 1942 In a contemporary newspaper …
The Scottish Lady
The lady, The Scottish Lady, began her life a graceful clipper ship, ended it a barge in the Gulf of Alaska. With her graceful female figurehead out front, the proud Lady plied the seven seas for decades. Dismasted in a typhoon out of Manilla in 1871, she recovered (with help from shipyards, of course) …
Circus Tent at Gulkana
A circus tent housed Iowa civilians in Gulkana Alaska in July 1942. They came in droves to help build the Alaska Highway through Alaska. Filled the big circus tent to bursting. More on the Iowans at Gulkana The contractors and their managers had never operated in total isolation, and Alaska threw them a curveball. Consequences …
Planes to Alaska
At the end of June, civilian workers began piling into planes for the trip north. Forest fires raged north of Edmonton and the planes flew through heavy smoke. Max Smith wrote, “I am writing this letter from a plane 15,000 feet in the air going 165 to 185 miles per hour somewhere over the northwest …
Swarming Road Builders Need Food and Supplies
Swarming over the mountains and through the woods carving out the Alaska Highway in 1942, thousands of soldiers consumed mountains of rations. They needed underwear, boots, coats, sleeping bags, and toilet paper. Headquarters’ used tables, chairs, filing cabinets, pens, pencils and typewriters. Kitchen’s needed stoves and gas, cookware, seasonings. Medics needed bandages and drugs, dental …
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