February marks Black History Month in North America, an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Canadians and Americans of African decent to our society, and we have certainly benefited from those contributions through the construction of the Alaska Highway.

A total of 3,695 black men were enlisted in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help construct the Alaska Highway in 1942, in the midst of World War II. At that time, the military was still segregated, and the black soldiers that made up those five regiments were often made to do some of the hardest work involved with construction of the highway.

It was widely reported during construction that black soldiers were not given adequate equipment or clothing, performed longer hours of duty than their white counterparts, and received very little recognition for their work from their white officers. Also, many of those men were from the American South and had never experienced the harsh living conditions of a northern winter.

Despite those hardships, the black soldiers persevered, and were instrumental in completing the highway in just eight months, which still holds today as a monumental feat of construction. Those black soldiers have since been recognized for their incredible hard work and skill in road building. In 1993, the Gerstle River Bridge at Mile 1,392 of the Alaska Highway was renamed the Black Veterans Memorial Bridge in honour of those contributions.

While originally constructed as a military supply route, the Alaska Highway has since become a major corridor through the B.C. Peace Region, and a internationally-renowned tourist destination for those seeking adventure in Alaska, drawing hundreds of visitors a year to the Mile 0 City.

The population of Dawson Creek exploded after it became the terminus of the highway, and undoubtedly the success of the city since then is in large part due to its connection to the highway and to those soldiers.

Last June, Dawson Creek welcomed Rev. Ronald Myers Sr., chairman of the national Juneteenth movement in the United States, and his son, U.S. Army Capt. Ronald Myers Jr., as part of a ceremony recognizing the importance of the construction of the Alaska Highway in helping to overcome segregation and racism in the U.S. Armed Forces. Reverend Myers said at that time that he hopes to make the trip up to the Peace Region again to make that recognition an annual event. Juneteenth is commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865.