This book was published in 1944 by the 340th Engineer Regiment, printed by The Herald Press of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is 9 x 12 inches in size and has 72 pages. As seen by the statement below, it was only available to members of the regiment, meaning that less than 1,300 copies were printed (the regiment consisted of 45 officers and 1,226 enlisted men). It is one of the rarest of Alaska Highway construction-era books, and a copy brings several hundred dollars on the collector book market.
With hundreds of photographs, it documents the activities of the regiment from its formation at Vancouver Barracks at Vancouver, Washington on March 5, 1942, and its arrival at Skagway, Alaska, on April 25, 1942, to the departure from Alaska and arrival at Camp Sutton, North Carolina on September 1, 1943.
The cover and title page are seen to the right. Inside, the photos show activities ranging from everyday life (getting a haircut and cooking meals) to a wide range of construction activities from building bridges to maintaining the machinery.
The last 8 pages of the book consist of photographs and lists of members of the 7 companies within the regiment (H & S, A, B, C, D, E, F), and the Medical Detachment and Headquarters staff of the 1st and 2nd Battalions.
Material from "Lower Post of Freeze" that has been posted online:
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