Although no longer an official U.S. highway, Route 66 endures in the popular imagination as a symbol of freedom on the road, a path where adventurous souls can leave behind the trappings of everyday life, explore new frontiers, and, to paraphrase songwriter Bobby Troup, get their kicks.
Back in the early 1940s, however, Route 66 served a much different role. Instead of drivers zooming past eclectic roadside attractions, trains of military vehicles were crawling along the roadway, and uniformed personnel were lingering at restaurants. This reflected how the Mother Road was used in service of Uncle Sam as World War II raged across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Route 66 Was a Reliable Cross-Country Link
One of several federal highways established in 1926, Route 66 quickly became a popular thoroughfare for travelers along the 2,400-mile route that connected Chicago to Los Angeles.
“[One] thing that was kind of unique about the road was it basically followed the railroad all the way west, and it followed a lot of our historic roads like the Santa Fe Trail and the Beale Wagon Road,” says Jim Hinckley, author of multiple books on Route 66. “It was a good southern route for people to avoid winter climates… Most of the route was a little bit warmer and less troublesome than some of the northern routes.”
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