[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 67 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]


        H.Con.Res.67
                                    Agreed to September 14, 2005        

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the fourth day of January, two thousand and five


                          Concurrent Resolution

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.
  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.