ifty years ago, an army of intrepid soldiers and civilians fought a torturous campaign in one of the most primitive wilderness areas in North America.

Its mission was to forge an overland link from the United States to the Alaska Territory, which had become vulnerable to attack by the Japanese during World War II.

More than 18,000 soldiers and civilians battled clouds of swarming insects, truck-swallowing swamps, and air so cold a man could freeze to death at his post.

Their weapons included nearly 11,000 pieces of road-building equipment, the guidance of experienced surveyors, and their own stamina.

In eight months, the battle was over and nearly 1,500 miles of rough roadway connected Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska Territory.

The courage and fortitude of those early road builders are legendary. They built a path through the wilderness that 50 years later remains the major interior link between the continental U.S. and its northernmost state.

In 1954, when Lynden trucks began rolling north through British Columbia and onto the Alaska Highway, a whole new legend was born.