[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 67 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 67


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 17, 2005

        Received and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Honoring the soldiers of the Army's Black Corps of Engineers for their 
 contributions in constructing the Alaska-Canada highway during World 
  War II and recognizing the importance of these contributions to the 
                subsequent integration of the military.

Whereas the bombing of Pearl Harbor necessitated constructing an overland route 
        between Alaska and the lower 48 States for military purposes;
Whereas on February 11, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the 
        construction of the Alaska-Canada Highway (also known as the ``Alcan 
        Highway'');
Whereas construction of the Alcan Highway, a 1,522-mile long road from Dawson 
        Creek, Canada, to Fairbanks, Alaska, was an engineering feat of enormous 
        challenge;
Whereas the Alcan Highway was constructed by approximately 10,000 United States 
        troops through rugged, unmapped wilderness and extreme temperatures, 
        ranging from 80-degrees-below to 90-degrees-above zero;
Whereas the Corps of Engineers units assigned to construct the Alcan Highway 
        were segregated by race;
Whereas the 93rd, 95th, and 97th Regiments and 388th Battalion of the Corps of 
        Engineers, part of a group known as the ``Black Corps of Engineers'', 
        were African American units assigned to the Alcan Highway project, and 
        these units comprised one-third of the total engineering workforce on 
        the project;
Whereas despite severe discriminatory policies, and abominable living and social 
        conditions, the soldiers of the Black Corps of Engineers performed 
        notably and unselfishly on the project;
Whereas on November 20, 1942, the Alcan Highway was completed in an astonishing 
        8 months and 12 days, becoming one of the Nation's greatest public works 
        projects in the 20th century;
Whereas the Alcan Highway became the only land route that strategically linked 
        the northern territory to the remainder of the continental United States 
        and facilitated the construction of airstrips for refueling planes and 
        vital supply routes during World War II;
Whereas although considerable praise was bestowed upon soldiers for exemplary 
        work in constructing the Alcan Highway, the soldiers of the Black Corps 
        of Engineers were seldom recognized; and
Whereas despite enduring indignities and double standards, the soldiers of the 
        Black Corps of Engineers contributed unselfishly to the western defense 
        in World War II and these contributions helped lead to the subsequent 
        integration of the military: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress honors the soldiers of the Army's Black Corps of 
Engineers for their contributions in constructing the Alaska-Canada 
highway during World War II and recognizes the importance of these 
contributions to the subsequent integration of the military.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 17, 2005.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.