• Home
  • Features
    • Featured Articles
      • Black Art News
      • Artist Spotlight
      • Artist Interviews
      • Emerging Artist of the Month
      • Museum Spotlight
      • Art Terms
      • African American Theatres
      • Organizations
      • Spotlight Photos
      • Contests
    • African American History
      • Black Historical Facts
      • Monuments and Statues
      • Humpday Hero
    • Photoblog
    • Featured Products
      • Top Sellers
      • Art Print of the Week
      • Book of the Week
      • Sculpture of the Week
      • Movie of the Week
      • Affiliate Showcase
    • African Proverbs
  • Marketplace
  • Artist Directory
    • A-D
      • Alonzo Adams
      • Ernie Barnes
      • Cbabi Bayoc
      • Chalres Bibbs
      • Charles Bibbs
      • Bryan Collier
      • Doyle
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Black Art Depot Today

Your #1 Source for News About African American Art

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Home Black History Forgotten Facts About the Blacks Who Built the Alaska-Canada Higway

Kani Saburi Ayubu June 6, 2016 1 Comment

Forgotten Facts About the Blacks Who Built the Alaska-Canada Higway

African American Regiments of US Army Corps of Engineers (Alaska)

icon President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the construction of the Alaska-Canada Highway (ALCAN) in 1942 to connect Alaska to the continental United States. In the event of a Japanese invasion, the ALCAN highway would be necessary to protect Alaska. Civilian contractors and the Army Corps of Engineers were responsible for building the highway. Due to World War II, many members of the Army Corps of Engineers were in the South Pacific assisting with war efforts. This led to the need for more manpower to complete the administration’s ambitious Alaska Highway project. As a result, the War Department led by Colonel William M. Hoge, took the historic step of deploying African-American regiments of the Army Corps of Engineers. Approximately one-third of the 11,000 troops assembled were Black.

icon There were four regiments of African-American engineers involved in building the Alaska-Canada Highway, the 93rd Engineer General Service Regiments, the 95thEngineer General Service Regiments, the 97th Engineer General Service Regiment and the 388th Engineer Battalion.

African American Regiments of US Army Corps of Engineers (Alaska) icon Their greatest accomplishment was Sikanni Chief River Bridge. The Sikanni Chief River is a fast-moving river that is over 300 feet wide located about 162 miles outside of Dawson Creek, Canada. The African-American engineers built the bridge without heavy equipment, utilizing minimal supplies and in miserable conditions. They used hand tools, saws, and axes to build the bridge in less than three days using lumber from nearby trees. During some phases of the construction they had to plunge chest deep into the river’s freezing and rapidly moving waters to set trestles. The soldiers used the headlights of trucks to keep working at night while singing work chants and chain gang songs. Despite the military still being segregated, after witnessing this amazing feat,  Col. Heath Twichell Sr. ordered his white officers to eat with the black enlisted men.

icon Many people attribute the success of these African-American engineers during the Alaska-Canada Highway project as one of the events that led to eventual desegregation of the military in 1948. Some call the ALCAN Highway the “Road to Civil Rights” for this reason.

icon An estimated 30 men died during the Alaska-Canada Highway construction project. Memorials for these soldiers are scattered along the highway. One of the memorials is Black Veterans Memorial Bridge which was dedicated in 1993 to the African-American engineers who died during the construction project.

African American Regiments of US Army Corps of Engineers (Alaska) icon During this ambitious Alaska Highway Project the African-American regiments of the Army Corps of Engineers had to overcome many examples of racism and adversity. All of the units were segregated. African-American regiments were often denied their allotment of equipment even though they were more qualified and better trained than some of their White counterparts. At times they only had hand tools to work with.  Some of the officers didn’t want them to participate in the construction project in any capacity and considered them useless mongrels and unskilled labor.  For this reason, many of the soldiers felt they were fighting two wars, one against the Axis (Japan, Germany and Italy) and a second against segregation.

icon The African-American regiments that built the Alaska-Canada Highway established a reputation for excellence especially in the field of bridge building. However, their accomplishments were consistently ignored by mainstream media and press. It took decades for them to receive proper recognition for their achievements. Some say they were as “legendary” as the Tuskegee Airmen and the Buffalo Soldiers.

icon The Alaska-Canada Highway is still considered one of the biggest and most difficult construction projects ever completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. It stretches 1,422 miles from Dawson Creek, British Columbia in Canada to Big Delta, Alaska. The project cost about $138 million dollars and was the most expensive World War II construction project. The soldiers and civilians assigned to this project had to endure the most extreme conditions imaginable. The temperatures ranged from 90 degrees above zero in summer to 70 degrees below zero during the winter.  They had to fight swamps, rivers, ice and cold.

African American Regiments of US Army Corps of Engineers (Alaska) icon Reverend Edward Carroll was one of the few African American commissioned officers that participated in the construction of the Alaska-Canada Highway. He served as the 95th regiment’s chaplain. He wasn’t drafted. He volunteered out of the hope of fighting against racial discrimination on behalf of his people. Rev. Carroll had his own tent and a personal driver, however, he was not allowed to dine with other commissioned officers. This disturbed the Black non-commissioned officers to the point that they launched a full-scale protest. Col. Heath Twichell Sr., the regimental commander, had to step in and issue a decree that from that point forward Rev. Carroll would be allowed to dine with the other commissioned officers. For more information please refer to this article: The Great Black North

icon The legacy of these African-American soldiers wouldn’t be known today nor would they have received official recognition from the military if not for the work of Heath Twichell Jr. (Historian), James Eaton (Curator of the Black History Archive at Florida A&M University),  Ted Stevens (U.S. Senator), Andrew Molloy (Head of the Pentagon’s Affirmative Action Office), Colin Powell (General) and most importantly the relentless work  of University of Alaska Journalism Professor Lael Morgan. For more information please refer to this article: The Great Black North

Featured Video
African American Trailblazers: Building the Alaska Highway
African American Trailblazers: Building the Alaska Highway

A video that speaks on the legacy of the African American members of the Army Corp of Engineers that worked on the Alaska-Canada Highway.

Play Video
Click To Play
Celebrating Alaska Black History
Celebrating Alaska Black History

Your Alaska Link shines the spotlight on achievements made by black Alaskans.

Play Video
Click To Play
Featured Book
Subscribe

Interested in Black History? Enjoyed the article you just read? If so you may be interested in our Bi-Weekly newsletter entitled The Black History Blitz. Black History Happens Everyday and this is where we share that information with you.

Subscribe Now
Resources
Black soldiers' work on Alaska Highway commemorated
Building the Alaska Highway
In Road Building, Black Soldiers Defied Prejudice
Honoring Black Soldiers Who Helped Build the ALCAN Highway
Alaska Highway: The Biggest and Hardest Job Since the Panama Canal
A Photographic Record of a Black Regiment's Contribution to Safeguarding Alaska from Japanese Invasion
Great Black North

Kani Saburi Ayubu

June 6, 2016

1 Comments

Related

Filed Under: Black History Tagged With: alaska, black history, bridges, construction, military, us army

ABOUT COMPANY

The Black Art Depot

The Black Art Depot

Welcome to the World of African American History, Art & Culture    Learn More

ABOUT ME

Kani Saburi Ayubu

Kani Saburi Ayubu

Founder of The Black Art Depot Read More

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive news, new product offerings, specials and exclusive articles.

Categories

Featured Products

2018 African American Calendars

Laurie Cooper Art Gallery

Black Religious Art Collection

Featured Book

Warriors Don't Cry

Featured Movie

Africans Vs. African Americans

Recent Pins

Framed artwork available at our Decatur, Georgia showroom this week. If younlive within 30 miles of our office delivery is available as well. Featuring artwork from Frank Morrison, Monica Stewart, Kevin "Wak" Williams, John Holyfield, Lester Kern, Cecil "CREEd" Reed, Justin Bua, Andrew Nichols, Wishum Gregory and others! #blackart #atlanta #decatur #georgia...
A romantic release from Ted Ellis that shows an African American couple strolling hand in hand at night through the artist hometown of New Orleans after an outing....
A religious themed work of art by Ted Ellis that depicts an old fashioned baptism down by the river like Grandma and them used to do back in the day. Love this folksy release by New Orleans born artist Ted Ellis. #blackart #africanamericanart #church...
Love this work of art and the way it is framed! The colors really pop in this white frame with white mat. A vibrant and colorful work of art by Larry "Poncho" Brown reminding us what family is really about! #blackart #family #blackfamily...
"Nigerian-British scientist Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock won the 2020 William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize for her “exceptional services to science education and physics communication” this October, according to the Institute of Physics. This made her the first Black woman to win a gold medal in the award’s history. Aderin-Pocock was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of eight but she never let go of her dream to be a scientist and worked to see it to fruition."...
One Night in Miami? How am I learning that this may be nominated for an Oscar before I even knew it was a film. Can't wait to check this out on Amazon Prime on MLK Day. Love historical pics...and this one looks very interesting. Congrats to Regina King....sis doing everything nowadays... #blackhistory #blackfilm...
Nothing like quality time with Mom or baby girl! This special moment was captured beautifully by the magical hands of artist Kerream Jones. #motherhood #blackart #parenting...
The perfect picture frame for remembering Mama or to gift to someone who recently lost their mother. Beautiful and Powerful sentiments on this one....
I love the colors in this new release from D.D. Ike titled "The Sound of Joy and Gratitude". Always remember to be thankful and grateful!...
A beautiful ink drasing by the Chicago born and Atlanta based artist K.A. Williams II also known as WAK that depicts the late great Nina Simone!...
Follow Me on Pinterest

Join Our Community!



Monthly Specials

Monthly Specials

Copyright © 2021 · Streamline Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in