We Fought the Road - Softcover

McClure, Christine; McClure, Dennis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1935347772 ISBN 13: 9781935347774

Publisher: Epicenter Press, Incorporated, 2017

Synopsis

We Fought the Road is the story of the building of the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II. More than one third of the 10,607 builders were black; thought to be incapable of performing on a war front by many of their white commanding officers. Their task--which required punching through wilderness on a route blocked by the Rocky Mountains and deadly permafrost during the worst winter on record--has been likened to the building of the Panama Canal. Unlike most accounts that focus on the road's military planners, We Fought the Road is boots-on-the-ground and often personal, based in part on letters from the "Three Cent Romance," the successful courtship via mail discovered in the authors' family papers.

About this title

About the Author:

Christine and Dennis McClure married in 1992. Christine was born in Annapolis, MD, and later served in the United States Army as a registered nurse at the end of the Vietnam Era. Dennis was born and raised in Northern Michigan and pursued a PhD on the pre-Civil War history of the Mountain South after serving with the United States Army. They live in Weaverville, NC. Upon discovering her father's letters to her mother during World War II, Christine set out with Dennis on a journey to document the untold stories of the Alaska-Canada Highway.

Learn more about their journey at 93regimentalcan.com.

Review:

"At long last, the history of the black soldiers that built the Alaska Highway, especially those of the 93rd Regiment, is revealed. Despite isolation, brutal extremes of weather, plagues of mosquitoes, lack of proper equipment and systemic racism, the 93rd, and the other black regiments of the United States Army helped build the vital link to Alaska after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. With a few exceptions, the wartime contribution of the black regiments to the construction of this strategic military road has been overlooked, or worse, ignored. Finally, some light is thrown upon this hidden chapter of of the Alcan story."

--Michael Gates, author and historian

About this edition

• Publisher: Epicenter Press, Incorporated
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1935347772
• ISBN 13: 9781935347774
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232