Not too long ago I saw a program on the building of the Empire State Building.
One thing which got my attention is they said that the builders used a method which was actually stronger than what we use today. They used red hot nuts and bolts which shrunk when cooled.
They also built it under budget and ahead of schedule.
Reading the history of a WWII Combat Engineer Battalion, they put a bridge across the Rhine in two days while under artillery fire. They built two mess halls for the Potsdam Conference in 6 days despite having to scrounge for building materials from destroyed buildings.
They were not messing around.
Pre OSHA and the power of the EPA, makes all the difference. The Hoover Damn probably could not be built today
And you would have had a heart attack if you watched how they did it.
In the 1980s when in the Marine Corps, we found an old training film made during WWII. It was called something like field expedient methods for setting up communications. We found an old projector with the film and proceeded to watch it. It showed how to jump from tree to tree, so you could put an antenna up the highest tree. How to lay communication cable off a moving jeep (basically you had a guy sitting on the hood un-spooling the cable, while two guys on the back jumping on and off the back of the jeep to get the cable exactly where it was needed). EVERY technique would be considered dangerous today. We found the film funny and very informative. My platoon sergeant said very perceptively, if setting up antennas fast saved lives and helped win battles, who cares if a few guys get run over by a jeep or fall out of a tree.