As much as I love old films from WWII, this one may take the cake. The video is a tribute to the incredible work and achievements of United States combat engineers during the war. From building roads to building bridges, runways, and wherever else needed to be done, the engineers helped the good guys win the first fully mechanized war the world had ever seen. It was not easy and it was not without loss. Engineers were often performing their feats of construction in zones where bullets were flying or in zones where the enemy was actively trying to derail their progress because an engineer’s progress means an enemy’s defeat.
This one is not just about the equipment and trucks you’ll see. Those two things are really cool but the cooler thing is to see where and how these guys worked. So many of the engineers came from backgrounds that lent them to be good in the field. They were farmers, construction workers, laborers, pipe layers, builders, and other well suited occupations. You’ll see them building roads from trees, coral, steel grates, and mesh panels. Whatever it took, they did.
The thing that we often forget about WWII is not only how it changed the world politically and culturally but how it changed the world physically. Places where few humans had ever treaded a foot were suddenly crawling with huge mechanized machines, runways, airplanes, roads and more. There are still islands in the Pacific that show the roads which were built by the men in this film. Construction methods were used in the war and later developed into standard practices in the world. The blasting, excavation, and reshaping of the land where these men worked literally changed the Earth. Kind of crazy to think about but that’s the truth.
Now, press play below and let your chest swell with pride. These guys were awesome!
