Charlie King builds the Alaska Canada Highway

Charlie King and Al-Can Highway -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hlthenvt/sets/72157594189819428/

This post will link to a set of photos at Flickr on the WWII construction. If visitors may comment there [if enrolled there] or on this site (below). For those with questions on those pictures, please add them as a comment here or better yet,

http://theelderlies.wordpress.com/special-projects/photo-index-cking-wwii/

. All comments on this site are moderated. You do not have to leave or have an E-mail address, but an E-mail address makes it easier to respond. E-mail addresses are never public.

Here are some references to explore. The first two are from The Internet Scout Project,

http://scout.wisc.edu/

13. Building the Alaska Highway [QuickTime, RealPlayer, Macromedia Flash Player]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/alaska/

The most well-documented road-building program in the world may in fact be the construction of the U.S. interstate highway system. However, the most dramatic project may have well been the construction of the Alaska Highway during World War II. As part of the highly celebrated Public Broadcasting System series, “American Experience”, this site complements the recent edition of this program that examined this 1,500-mile road. Construction of the road commenced in May 1942, largely because of the very real possibility that Japan might invade Alaska. The highway took eight months to complete, and along the way the soldiers assigned to this project encountered substantial mountain peaks, snow, and primeval forests. After reading a brief synopsis of the film, visitors will want to take a look at the site’s special features, which include an online poll, a fun section titled “How to Build a Road”, and a virtual “road trip” along the route of the highway.

The site is rounded out by a timeline and some bonus interview transcripts from various persons who participated in the construction of the Alaskan Highway. [KMG]

21. CME 2003: The Centennial of the Canadian Military Engineers [pdf]
p>http://www.cme-2003-gmc.org/herit/arch_e.htm 2006-07-14T23:15:41+00:00 [The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this document: National Launch of the Centennial of Canadian Military Engineers 2003

http://ns1758.ca/lunenco/goldriver.html

]

2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Military Engineers. As part of the Web site honoring their century of service, the Heritage Archive contains over 50 stories documenting some of the remarkable achievements made over the years. For example, one story tells of the transformation of the Alaska Highway from a road suitable for only military vehicles into a “first-class gravel road.” During the process, engineering crews had to deal with extremely harsh conditions that made the project an even more noteworthy success. Other stories describe the Canadian Military Engineers’ presence in World War II and Haiti, among others, and at home. [CL]

CREWS RESTORE MONUMENT ON ATTU DAMAGED BY STORM
The Associated Press (Published: October 6, 2003)

Japanese metal technicians and U.S. Coast Guard crews have completed restoration of the Peace Monument at the summit of Engineer Hill on Attu Island, the Coast Guard said recently. The monument was damaged in a storm last year.

The island was the site of what is considered one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and the first on American soil since the War of 1812.

In 1942, Japanese occupied Attu Island with 2,300 men. On May 11, 1943, U.S. forces began a 19-day campaign to retake the island…. See full story at:

http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4094831p-4112430c.html

John S Whitehead (2004. Completing the Union: Alaska, Hawai’i, and the Battle for Statehood. Albuquerque: University of NM Press) recommends—

• the single best resource for the US perspective on the highway
  Heath Twichell. 1992. Northwest Epic: The Building of the Alaska Highway. NY: St Martin’s Press.
• the Canadian perspective
  K.S. Coates and W.R. Morrison. 1992. The Alaska Highway in World War II: The U.S. Army of Occupation in Canada’s Northwest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Aleut displacement
  Dean Kohlhoff. 1995. When the Wind Was a River: Aleut Evacuation in World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

National Geographic map, can be purchased. Attu and Shemya can be viewed in “more views”, all the way to the west in the margin

http://tinyurl.com/eec3x

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