Narrator: Build 1500 miles of road in eight months through the Alaskan/Canadian wilderness?
You’re kidding, right? But that is exactly what happened. In response to the attack on
Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt authorized the construction of a road to Alaska.
Voice of period radio announcer: “The effective defense of Alaska is of paramount importance
to the defense of the continent. Alaska is most exposed to an attempt by the enemy to
establish a foothold in North America.”
Narrator: The following year, after basic
training in construction engineering, 11,000 men shipped north. More than a third came
from three all-black regiments, the 93rd, the 95th, and the 97th Engineers. Black soldiers
were rarely sent into combat, but rather were put into labor battalions – at lower pay.
The Alaska assignment was an unprecedented opportunity for pay and benefits equal to
those of white soldiers. And, black and white units were to work on the same project; that
was practically unheard of. Work commenced in the winter of 1942, in five directions
at once, paired units working independently. Conditions in the north were always harsh
- and this was the coldest winter on record. Character voice: “Lord, it was bitter cold.
If you touched anything metal with your bare hands, you couldn’t tear your skin loose.” Clifton Monk
Character voice: “Leather would freeze, we’d take galoshes, rubber galoshes
– we called them “Arctics” and we’d wear three, four pairs of socks. We would
double up on pants.” Corporal Donald Nolan Character voice: “For months on end I couldn’t
get a real night’s sleep. I had nightmares I was freezing to death.” 97th Engineer Soldier
Narrator: Summer wasn’t much better – trucks mired in melting Permafrost and
giant mosquitoes dive-bombed in droves. The black engineers faced other challenges: General
Simon Bolivar Buckner, head of the Alaska Defense, ordered the black soldiers confined
to camp so they wouldn’t “socialize” with locals. Still, a great camaraderie developed
within the ranks. But, even more frustrating, despite the superior training and experience
of the 95th Black Engineers, their heavy equipment had been given to a less qualified unit. As
a crowning blow, the black engineers were then supposed to improve the “safety and
durability” of a road built by that same white unit. To build morale, their commander
gave them a challenge: build a bridge over the fast-moving, 300 foot wide, Sikanni Chief
River. Character voice of officer: “It’s going to be difficult - take at least 5 days,
maybe more. Are you up for it?”
Voices of engineers: “ Piece a cake!”
“ Awww, bet my paycheck we can do it in four!” “Yea, man!” (laughter, agreement)
Narrator: Using only hand tools, they prepared the beams.and plunged chest
deep into the freezing water to set the trestles. Working round the clock, they finished ahead
of schedule. Work on the highway continued. Eight month after construction started, the
road was complete. Many in the military had doubted African American engineers were up
to the job. “I took part in building what was considered one of the greatest engineering
projects during the last century. Some people said it was second only to the Panama Canal...”
“We did it in record time, before they said we could do it.” " It's taken 63 years for
those people to realize they had the best crew of men that they could’ve selected.”
Narrator: After the highway’s completion, many of the black engineers were sent to active
duty in Europe and the South Pacific where they again performed superbly, negating the
argument that African Americans were unfit for battle. Finally, in 1948, after pressure
from leaders and veterans in the African American community, President Truman de- segregated
the armed forces, bringing greater equality to the military. But racial discrimination
was still very much alive in the rest of America.