Alaska Highway History Sketch 1

The Alcan Highway (Alaska-Canada) highway was built in a hurry during the second world war to allow resupply of Alaskan military bases. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and had designs on the occupation of Alaska. Eventually it would invade the Alaskan Islands of Attu and Kiska requiring months of bloody fighting for their recovery by the United States.

The AlCAN Highway as it was known before the modern change to refer to its destination and terminus (for now) was built in eight months of 1942 and 1943. Interestingly about 3,700 of 10,600 soldiers working on the construction were dermatologically black as a result of racial inheritance. The road was a vital link in land resupply of the state of Alaska, and it also served to support U.S. efforts to send war materials to Russia via Siberia from Alaskan air bases.

At the beginning of the second world war the total military equipment in the state was a couple hundred world war one era rifles in the Haines, Alaska national guard armory. The city of Anchorage had a population of just two thousand souls. The state that Billy Mitchell called 'the crosswords of the world' began a rapid build up of population in order to defend against invasion from the eastern hemisphere and to bring relief to our world war two allies in Russia.

At the foot of Soldier Summit on the ALCAN highway along the southernmost shore of Kluane Lake-an austere and barren landscape with a milky-blue lake and mountain goats inhabiting the upper slopes of some high, cold hills there is a plaque that commemorates the marvelous engineering and construction work of the U.S.Army's Corp of Engineers through 1500 miles of trackless wilderness in such a short period of time.

The variegated racial composition of the construction crew was an appropriate demonstration of the will of Americans of all races to combat the growing power of Japanese Imperialism and Nazi Fascist- corporatist supremacy. Like the liberation of Attu Island that was accomplished by a brilliant mix of extremely athletic southwest Americans including American indians unused to the Aleutian cold weather, resupplied by a 500 mile air war link taking off from Kodiak Island in foggy and treacherous conditions-a war with Japanese banzai charges repeatedly through the snow repulsed only with grenades, heavy casualties and great personal sacrifice (the second most bloody battle per capita in the Pacific War), the construction of the ALCAN highway was accomplished with the direct determination of a free people to remain that way regardless of the power of global, megalomaniac foes.