It was one of the greatest triumphs of the U.S. Army in 1942, and one of the boldest homeland security initiatives ever undertaken. A job, some said, that was better suited for Paul Bunyan than it was for inexperienced military men. But on November 20, 1942, on a remote vista in Yukon Territory, several hundred men braved the bitter cold to mark the end of an ordeal that few people thought possible: the completion of the Alaska Highway.An Army plane over AlaskaNational ArchivesAn Army plane over AlaskaAMERICAN EXPERIENCE presents Building the Alaska Highway, the story of nearly 11,000 Army engineers who battled freezing temperatures, ice and snow, mountains, mud, muskeg, and mosquitoes to blaze a 1,500-mile road through one of the harshest landscapes in North America, and take a huge step forward in defending the nation from threats in the Pacific.
via Introduction . Building the Alaska Highway . American Experience . WGBH | PBS.