African American, Alaska Highway, 97th Regiment Medical Detachment, Regular Army.
Born: 13 July 1894 (1899), Fulton County, GA. Died: 5 September 1962, Illinois. Enlisted: 23 December 1938. Education: Post graduate.
1910 Census: Susan Berrien listed as his mother, widow, born in GA, age 44, occupation laundress. Cornelius, age 15, was a laborer for the railroad.
1909-1916 Pvt Cornelius Berrien returned from Regular Army, 25th Infantry, Company K.
1917 May 21 enlisted Company I, 69th New York Infantry National Guard.
1920 Census: Cornelius Berrien, age 25, single, born in GA was a US Army soldier at Camp Steven D. Little Military Post, Nogalas, AZ.
1926 March 2, Cornelius married Erma Graves in Cochise County, AZ.
1930 Census: Cornelius, married, age 35, Soldier U.S. Army, Ft. Huachuca, AZ.
Cornelius was a medical corpsman attached to the segregated 97th Engineer Regiment. They landed at Valdez, Alaska in April 1942. Snow covered the ground and the surrounding mountains. The Temperatures were in the low 20’s.
The 97th Engineers built the northern section of the Alaska Highway. They left Alaska in September 1943, returned to Camp Sutton, NC and in April 1944 shipped out to Milne Bay, New Guinea, Philippines.
Serial #336764