The entire purpose of my websites and blogs for the past 25 years has been to collect and share the amazing work of the U.S. Army rail units of WWII and Korea. 

Both my father and uncle were officers and served in rail units in both wars. I've felt this unique service was being lost and forgotten. Luckily, so did the British author, Christian Wolmar. He contacted me about 2 years ago with his idea for this book and  I've worked with him as his research assistant on this project.  I am beyond thrilled to present:

The Liberation Line: The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II (U.S. Title)

The epic story of the railwaymen who ensured Allied victory in World War Two, published to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of D-Day.

As the Allied forces advanced through France following the Normandy landings, just behind the frontline the US Military Rail Service and their counterparts in the Royal Engineers were at work, ensuring that crucial supply lines were up and running – without them the liberation of France and the invasion of Germany would founder. 

Based on original research, The Liberation Line thrillingly reveals how the railwaymen overcame enemy attacks, sabotage and booby traps to repair many hundreds of miles of destroyed railway tracks and dozens of bridges and tunnels in order to deliver victory. Packed with tales of individual heroism, this is one of the last great untold stories of the war. 

The book will be published in May 2024 in conjunction with the 80th anniversary of D-Day. You can
per-order Amazon here: https://amz.run/76Q4 

 Christian will be doing a US tour with the book if you'd like him to speak to your organization email me. If you are interested in an autographed book or to have Christian speak to your group email me at militaryrailwayservice@gmail.com    Thanks, Nancy  (UK cover top left - US bottom right)

If you have any information on a soldier railroader I would love to hear from you! If your father, grandfather or other relative served let me know something about them. I would love to do a blog post about them. Nancy  email: militaryrailwayservice@gmail.com

You can order a signed copy from me here  

Christian Womar April 4th, 2024 promotional video!  

 Great news for researching railway units ...

WWII Morning Reports up to 1943 are now available on the NARA website and can be located through the NARA Catalog. (More Morning Reports are being added, as I have located ones for 1944, too.) 

For those wishing to research WWI Morning Reports, I recommend using them on Fold3. Why search for the Morning Reports? 

 These organizational records can tell us where all the assigned soldiers were on a specific day, and the activities being done. They tell us when and how soldiers moved from place to place. They show when there were promotions, sick for duty and when they were sent to the hospital. 

They also show if soldiers were assigned to other organizations for temporary duty, or when they were permanently transferred to another organization. At a minimum, a soldier’s name will appear upon transferring in and transferring out of an organization. Memos may also be tucked into these reports. For those of us whose Army ancestors’ personnel files burned in the fire in 1973, without leaving enough to be restored through technical means, these records are a key part of the reconstruction process. here

Thanks to Fetty's daughter Maydean for these great photos and documents. 

This photo is my dad, Ralph Glenn Fetty on left and his life longfriend Annas W. Klingensmith at Fort Sam Houston, Texas where they met and trained together

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Members of the 729th Transportation Battalion, old and new, gathered for a ceremonial returning of the unit colors, early on a Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New Haven, Conn. The 729th Railway Operating Battalion deactivated in 1976. Their last days were chaotic, according to U.S. Army Reserve Col. (Ret.) Vincent Palmeri, an alumnus of the 76th Division, the co-located higher headquarters of the 729th in Middletown, Conn., preventing the customary return of the unit colors to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Richard Gillen, the commander at the time, kept the original colors, a relic from 1942, adorned with four campaign steamers, following the unit's tumultuous deactivation. His widow, Joy, preserved the unit banner, only surrendering it to Palmeri, a trusted retired officer, for safekeeping. 

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/483545/historic-colors-returned-transportation-battalion-europe

 Clifford Crane 

 

Joe L. Hall

 

 Charles James Collett 

 

 Oscar R. Kirchner 

 William T. Coffey 

 

Leonard P. Mays

 

 Albert Blythe 

 

Silas E. Foster

 

 Emmett John Hegarty 

 

 George E. Van Kleeck also served in 716th ROB

Edward Boland

Edwon Kite

This great photo album was passed around through various unit members many years ago, see the little note at end of photos for more informtion. https://photos.app.goo.gl/te3g9XkR5W1Ckq9fA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/te3g9XkR5W1Ckq9fA