In April 1942 the Japanese marauded through the Pacific, America needed its land route through Canada to Alaska. The Corps of Engineers intended to build it and General Hoge had taken dead aim on all three points of entry—Dawson Creek, BC; Valdez, AK; and Skagway, AK. The 18th Combat Engineering Regiment would swarm into–and through–Skagway, Alaska.
Colonel Paules would take his Regiment into Yukon—in a hurry, of course. On March 28th he sent his advance Company A north aboard the SS Aleutian.
For once, ‘reality on the ground’ confronted the soldiers with a pleasant surprise. The Corps dealt with a severe shortage of seagoing vessels by grabbing whatever they could find; and, for Company A, they grabbed the SS Aleutian, a luxury liner.
On April Fool’s day, Company A of the 18th enjoyed sumptuous meals served on fine china placed on tables draped with white linen. Some of them enjoyed beer or whiskey served on a polished bar. Impressed by their accommodations, the troops were less impressed, as their ship progressed from port to port, by the tiny cities of Alaska. One of their number called Ketchikan “a ghost town”, Juneau “a ghost city” and Skagway “just a ghost.”
On April 2, snow covered mountains towered over Skagway and cold winds funneled through the narrow valley of the Skagway River. The soldiers of Company A billeted overnight in City Hall, wrapped in sleeping bags; and, early the next morning, breath steaming into the frigid air and boots stomping the snow for warmth, they walked to the train depot and boarded the WP&YT railroad for Whitehorse.
Signal Corps Photo
The luxurious SS Aleutian must have seemed very far away as they took their place in the passenger cars of the WP&YT. To pack in more troops, the railroad had replaced normal seating with wooden benches.