A Different Race: World War II, The Alaska HIghway, Racism, and a Court-Martial

Product Description

The United States needed a road to Alaska so they could defend the Aleutians from Japan. They sent soldiers to build the Alaska Highway. The segregated Black 97th Engineers built the road in Alaska, and when their disorganized white officers struggled to make progress, the army replaced their commander. The new one got the job done but ignored military protocol and discipline, so the army, worried about undisciplined black soldiers, replaced him too. And to put the fear of God into the soldiers, the army trumped up a mutiny charge against ten of them and sentenced them to long prison terms at hard labor.

About the Author

Author Bio 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, pursued a PhD in history at Cornell University and served in the United States Army. The couple lives in Taylors, South Carolina.