African American. Alaska Highway. Company B. Born: 16 July 1917, New Orleans, LA. Died: 24 August 2003, New Orleans, LA. Enlisted: 29 March 1941 Jacksonville Army Air Field, Florida. Discharged: 10 November 1945.
Education: three years high school; jewelry school; upholstery school. Civilian occupation: watchmaker, upholsterer; warehousing, handling and loading; porter; cabinet maker. Spouse: Josephine Jennie Clark, married 22 July 1946. His father was Paul L. Dugué and his mother was Clemence Jones Dugué.
OBITUARY AND MEMORIES
Albert attended Valena C. Jones Elementary School, Albert Wicker High School, Upholstery and Jeweler’s School. He was a member of St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church.
In 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers with the 97th segregated Engineer Regiment stationed at Camp Blanding, Florida.
The 97th Engineers built the northern section of the Alaska Highway through Alaska down to Yukon Territory, Canada. Seven regiments built the 1600 mile Alaska Highway in eight months. Four regiments were white and three were black.
The 97th, one of the three, completed their section of the Highway and an additional 55 miles clearing a pioneer road south to a white regiment bogged down in muskeg and permafrost. They were not prepared to stay for winter.
Albert and others suffered from the greatest cold with winter temperatures of 70 degrees below zero. Their uniforms were ragged and thread bare. Winter clothing had not be equally distributed. They lived in tents or poorly insulated cabins/quonset huts during the winter of 1942-43. They barely survived. Their next assignment was Milne Bay in New Guinea.
Albert married Josephine Jennie Clark on July 22, 1946. They had eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. He worked at the Masonic Temple, Michoud Plant (NASA), Delta Towers, Gulf Janitorial, Powell Casket and Neo Fabrics, Inc. He retired in 1991 from Neo Fabrics.
Albert’s greatest attribute was respecting the privacy of others. He used the words, “anticipation and assumption.” Be a good listener and do not anticipate or assume anything regarding anyone.
He was also gifted with an exceptional memory. Family and friends frequently called him for phone numbers, addresses, dates, directions and especially historical information. Albert not only would provide what was needed, but also gave additional insight and data. All this done from his memory.
All of his children were at his bedside when Albert “fell asleep in death” on August 24, 2003 at 10:20 pm.
“I remember how Daddy would wake up early for his first job, then go straight to his second job trying to make ends meet. But you know those ends never saw each other. Still we got by.”
“I remember how special I felt when at some point in my life I realized having both parents wasn’t the norm. Cause most of my friends were raised in single-parent households.”
“I remember how proud Daddy would be at graduations. It truly made him feel good seeing his kids do well.”
“I remember how happy Daddy would get whenever the grandkids would come by. Even if he was feeling bad, his mood was changed to pure joy.”
“I remember how Daddy kept a picture of Mom in his wallet and as guys would pull out pictures of movie stars he would pull out a picture of Mom. ‘This is the real deal’, he said.”
Serial #34030356
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