DELTA JUNCTION, Alaska -- After three quarters of a century, a community remembers the valiant efforts in constructing a road built by heroes.
State, local and military leaders attended a proclamation signing at the Delta Junction City Hall April 22 in appreciation of veterans who carved out the Alaska-Canadian, or ALCAN, Highway during the 75th anniversary of the 1942 completion of the highway.
Signing the proclamation were Lt. Gen. James H. Dickinson, Fort Greely's senior commander, and commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command; Delta Junction Mayor Peter Hallgren; Alaska State Representative George Rauscher; Alaska State Senator Mike Dunleavy; and Lt. Col. Michael J. Foote, U.S. Army Garrison -- Fort Greely's incoming commander.
"Our town was named Delta Junction because it is at the junction of the Delta River and the end of the end of the Alaska-Canadian Highway," Hallgren said. "We appreciate the military who, without them, we wouldn't be here. This whole town owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Army. It is extremely important that we look back on our history and tie it in with what we have going on today."
The proclamation reads, "the City of Delta Junction and the State of Alaska hereby celebrate the contributions and sacrifices made by the 'ALCAN Trail Blazers' during World War II to construct an international historical engineering landmark known as the ALCAN Highway."
It cited between March 9 and October 28, 1942 approximately 10,000 American Soldiers from various organizations constructed a road in a northwesterly direction from the railhead at Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to connect with the existing Richardson Highway at what is now Delta Junction.
The proclamation explained how the "ALCAN Trail Blazers" punched through as much as eight to 10 miles of road per day, enduring the hardships of an untamed, rugged and unforgiving wilderness with limited provisions and equipment, brutal climates, and unbearable living conditions.
On Oct. 28, Hallgren and the members of the Delta Junction City Council will declare that former Sgt. Reginald Beverly from the 95th Engineer Regiment will be presented with a Key to the City of Delta Junction, Alaska, for "his exceptional dedication and selfless service to his duties and his country" in the construction of the highway.
"This is significant in being able to honor people who contributed greatly to the defense of this country," Dunleavy said. "Often times it is overlooked because they were not in combat but the fact that they were part of this is very important. Too often we don't know what people's contributions were to this country."
The ALCAN Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the "Lower 48" states to Alaska through Canada. It begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada, and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon.
The ALCAN was completed in 1942 and was originally approximately 1,700 miles long. Due to constant construction, it is currently nearly 1,400 miles in length. The highway was opened to the public in 1948.
The attack on Pearl Harbor and Japanese threats to the west coast of North America hastened the construction of the ALCAN on March 8, 1942 by U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Soldiers. The entire route was completed October 28 and the highway was dedicated on November 20, 1942.
The original agreement between the U.S. and Canada regarding construction of the highway stipulated that its Canadian portion be turned over to Canada six months after the end of the war. This took place on April 1, 1946 when the U.S. Army transferred control of the road through Yukon and British Columbia.
"It is very important to come here to honor the people who sacrificed and gave their time to give them the recognition they deserve," Rauscher said. "Today says a lot about how times have changed and how we are a more inclusive society than we were then.
"The ALCAN is very important in developing this state from where it was to where it is now, and that couldn't have happened without the highway," he added. "It is imperative that we realize the importance of that artery, what it brought during the war and after the war. It was very important to the growth of the state."
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