Alaska lawmaker wants to rename highway that honors PH-US War criminal

The Edwin Glenn Highway in Alaska. GOOGLE

A Democrat in the Alaska State Legislature wants to set up a consultation process with native tribes in renaming the state’s Glenn Highway because it honors a soldier who was convicted of war crimes during the Philippine-American War .

Rep. Zack Fields’ HB 352 would have the Alaska Department of Transportation set up a consultation process with tribes to rename Glenn Highway, likely into an indigenous name offered by the tribes of the area.

Edwin Glenn was a judge advocate and captain in the Army who led the initial expeditions to chart the route. He was later sent to the Philippines to take part in the Philippine-American War.

Rep. Zack Fields. AK.GOV

Fields provides documentation from the Anchorage Daily News, The New Yorker Magazine, that Edwin Glenn tortured and waterboarded Filipino suspects during interrogations while serving in the Philippine-American War.

President Theodore Roosevelt had Glenn returned to San Francisco to face court martial. He was found guilty and relieved of his command for an entire month, and fined all of $50.

“Glenn’s conviction as a war criminal should disqualify him on being the namesake for one of Alaska’s longest highways,” Fields said in his explanation for wanting the name-change.

He said further that Glenn Highway was along a trail used by Dena’ina, Knik and Eklutna tribes for trade and commerce between Cook Inlet and the Copper River Valley. The road itself was built and completed in 1942 to help defend Alaska against invasion by Imperial Japanese forces.

“Alaska has more Native American language speakers than any other state, and over 200 existing languages today. In combination with precedent in state and federal law for tribal consultation, the State should consider consulting with local communities and tribes along the highway to consider a more appropriate name for the Alaskans who live there,” Fields said.