HAROLD C. ROWE,
82, a retired Army colonel and a former official with Transportation Consultants, died of a stroke Jan. 15 at The Virginian Retirement Home in Fairfax. He lived in Arlington.
Col. Rowe was born in Fort Ann, N.Y. He graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He worked for the New York Central Railroad during the 1930s.
During World War II, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers in the China-Burma-India theater. After the war, he was transferred to the Washington area where he served on the staff of the chief of transportation.
He later had assignments in Germany and Fort Eustis, Va., before returning to the Washington area in 1960. He retired in 1960 as the deputy assistant chief of transportation for military operations. For the next nine years, he worked for Transportation Consultants, where he was director of the railway division.
Col. Rowe was a member of the American Railway Engineering Association, the Retired Officers Association, the Society of American Military Engineers and the 721st Railway Operating Battalion Veterans.
His wife Helen Hanlan Rowe died in 1980. He leaves no immediate survivors.
721st Harold Rowe Obit
734th Jack M. Causby obit
Jack M. Causby, age 80, husband of Mabelle W. Causby and father of Carey Winston Cosby of Isle of Palms, S.C., died Thursday, June 15, 2000. He is also survived by his sisters, Mrs. Audrey C. Corbett and Ms. Nina M. Causby, both of Richmond, also several nieces and nephews. Mr. Causby retired from Seaboard Coastline Railroad and was a veteran of WWII serving in Europe with the 734th Railway Operating Battalion. Graveside services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday at Meherrin Presbyterian Church, State Rt. 360, Meherrin, Va. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Rd., Richmond, Va. 23235 or Meherrin Presbyterian Church, State Rt. 360, Meherrin Va. 23954. Huguenot Chapel, Woody Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
713th Leigh Kilpack obit
Our loving and kind husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, Leigh Kilpack, age 82, passed away Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001, of renal failure at his home with his devoted wife by his side.
He will be greatly missed by all who loved him.
Leigh was born April 23, 1919 in Declo, Idaho, a son of George William and Ethel May Newton Kilpack. He graduated from South High School. On Sept. 15, 1941, Leigh married Alice Juanita Schoenfeld in the Salt Lake Temple. She died June 1974. He worked for the Rio Grande Railroad for 37 years as a switchman. He went in the army in 1942 with the 713th Railway Operating Battalion. He served in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany, returning home in 1945.
He later married Molly Wagstaff Firth in 1974 in the Salt Lake Temple. They have been married for 27 years.
He served in many church callings, ward clerk, executive secretary, high priest group leader, branch presidency of Highland Cove. He was a life member of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers.
He is survived by three children, Leigh Jr., (Karen), Dennis R., Julie A., (Gary) Casper. His wife's children Jolene F., (Dan) Bradshaw, Richard K., (Lorraine) Firth, Lisa A., (Don) Sjogren; 24 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; sisters, Thelma (Arbor) Horrocks, Gwen Williams; many nieces and nephews. Proceeded in death by Juanita; four sisters; two brothers.
Family wishes to express our sincere thanks to the BHS Dialysis Center for all their love and professional care.
Services will be held Monday at noon, Dec. 10, 2001 at the Winder 5th Ward, 1361 E. 4000 So. Friends may call Sun. 6-8 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Gardens, 1950 E. 10600 So. and one hour prior to the services at the church. Interment at Larkin Sunset Gardens.
William Ray Davis 734th obit
DAVIS-William Ray, age 80 years, a Filer, Idaho native and longtime resident of Omaha, died Thursday eve- ning (4/17/03), at home. William gradu- ated from Stanford University, having attended on the G.I. Bill. He served in the United States Army 734th Railway Operating Battalion from 1-1-44 to 5-14-46 and was honorably discharged. Bill worked for the Union Pacific Rail- road upon his graduation from high school in 1941, interrupted by his army service and university studies, until his retirement in 1982. His 42 year career with the railroad began as a student telegrapher in the mountain west and ending in the Senior Executive position of General Superintendent of Transpor- tation in Omaha. Bill was truly dedi- cated to the Omaha community and was involved with Durham Western Heritage Museum and Opera Omaha, serving as a board member for both. He was also an avid supporter of Oma- ha's Shakespeare on the Green and many other community organizations. He was a proud member of the Ma- sons, Golden K Kiwanis, and Stanford University Alumni Association. He was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Virginia Chrystal Davis. He is survived by twin daughters, [Dorothy D'Agosto] (Jim) Morrow of Omaha and Julia (Mike) Sacks of Minneapolis; 5 grand- children, sister, Vivian Durfee of Em- pire, CA; many nieces and nephews.
FUNERAL SERVICES 11 am Wed., April 23, 2003, St. Peters Catholic Church, Bellwood. VISITATION 3-5 pm Tues., at McKown Funeral Home and after 6:30 pm at Church with VIGIL 7:30 pm Tues., St. Peters in Bellwood, VISITA- TION 10-11 am Wed., at the Church in Bellwood. Burial St. Peter/Mary Cem- etery, Bellwood, NE. Remembrances may be sent to the family at:
FUNERAL 1:30 pm Wed., St. John's in Leigh. VISITATION 3 pm-8 pm Tues., Miller Funeral Home in Clarkson and Noon-1:30 pm Wed., at Church.
732nd Ralph H. Feelhaver obit
Omaha World-Herald
Ralph H. Feelhaver, a World War II veteran and retired Omaha insurance executive, died Tuesday at age 91.
Feelhaver was proud of his 69-year marriage, his 38-year career with Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance Co. and fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, said his son, Rod Feelhaver.
Ralph Feelhaver was born in Hartington, Neb., and graduated from Tekamah High School in 1929.
He started his insurance career in Fremont and met his future wife, Phyllis, while collecting a premium from her parents. They were married in 1933. She survives him.
During the war, Feelhaver was a fireman and engineer in the 732nd Railway Operating Battalion, which supplied Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army.
In retirement, Feelhaver loved pheasant hunting and golfing. He shot two holes in one, his son said.
Services will be at 10 a.m. today at John A. Gentleman Mortuary, 1010 N. 72nd St.
Other survivors include daughter Connie Paproski of Omaha; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; and sisters Beulah Pierson of Grand Island and Rachel Epperson of Lincoln.
Credit: WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
WWII vets' 62nd reunion looks like the last for them
WWII vets' 62nd reunion looks like the last for them
BYLINE: Jeb Phillips, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The men who once repaired and ran the broken railroads of Luzon sat in their hotel yesterday, talking about accepting reality.
These reunions used to draw dozens of World War II veterans of the Army's 749th Railway Operating Battalion. More than 100 gathered the time they met in Las Vegas, but that was a long time ago.
The reality is that only eight made it to this week's reunion in Dublin.
Every year, there are fewer living. The baby of the group is 84 years old, and he can't muster the same kind of enthusiasm for these gatherings since his wife passed away in 2000. She always came with him.
So the veterans have decided that the 62nd reunion, which ends Saturday, will be the last.
"Travel is just too difficult," said Don Gothard, the 84-year-old, who lives on the Far West Side.
Of course, they've all done their share of hard traveling. The 749th left San Francisco for the Philippines in January 1945 and spent 39 days aboard ship. It took them so much time because they took a zigzag path to avoid enemy submarines, said George Scott, 94, who spent most of his life in Athens County and now lives in Columbus.
They debarked at Luzon island under a red sky: Manila was burning. The Japanese had occupied the capital for much of World War II until American and Filipino forces liberated it in early 1945.
Manila was an important distribution point for American supplies, but the railroads were ruined. The 749th's job was to help open them back up, said Gene Farrow, 89, of Seymour, Ind.
They rebuilt bridges, laid track, dispatched trains and supervised the restringing of communication wires. They worked as firemen, shoveling coal, on steam trains. They moved prisoners of war. Most had railroad experience before the Army, and many spent the rest of their careers working with trains.
The members of the 749th don't have war stories the way some other veterans do. Other than the occasional sabotage, they weren't bothered by an enemy.
The story that Winston Johnson, 87, of Lincolnton, Ga., told yesterday was about being invited to a Filipino home for dinner. He had to take his shoes off, he said, and they sat on the floor. Three meat dishes were placed in front of them. He was told that one of them was dog.
"I ate a lot of fish over there," he said.
The soldiers spent about a year in Luzon, beyond the end of the war, and then were transferred to Korea, from where most were sent home.
The first reunion was in 1948 in St. Louis.
The group tried to make the "749th Railway Veterans Club" a family affair from the beginning, Gothard said.
Myra Lyon, 56, of Plainfield, Ind., attended her first reunion when she was 6, accompanying her father, Jack Swinford. She kept coming with her mother after her father died in 1991. Her mother couldn't make it this year, but Lyon did.
"I've grown up with all these people," she said.
William Bearfield, 70, of Tonawanda, N.Y., made it, too. His father, Isaac Bearfield, died in 1986. He said he feels these are family reunions without the bickering.
Bearfield and Lyon and some of the other "kids" have been talking. The veterans don't plan to meet anymore, but that doesn't mean the families can't. Tennessee sounds like a good spot for next year, Bearfield said.
The 749th might live on after all.
jeb.phillips@dispatch.com
GRAPHIC: Photo, (1) TOM DODGE / DISPATCH , The eight veterans at their final reunion are, from left, Gene Farrow, Bob Kern, Winston Johnson, Don Gothard, Ernie Buttice, Dick Likens, George Scott and Forrest Jenkins. , (2) Don Gothard, left, of the Far West Side, talks with Dick Likens of Hudson, Ind., at the 62nd reunion of their Army battalion. The gathering runs through Saturday in Dublin.
he Columbus Dispatch
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The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
Wartime railroading Trains to Victory: America's Railroads in World War II By Donald J. Heimburger
RECOMMENDED READING Wartime railroading Trains to Victory: America's Railroads in World War II By Donald J. Heimburger and John Kelly. Heimburger House Publishing Co., 7236 W. Madison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130; www.rieimburgerhouse.com; 8 ½ x 11 in.; hardcover; 380 pages, 542 photos, 285 illustrations; $59.95, or $74.95 with slipcase and gold foil imprint.
The gigantic contribution of America's railroads to victory in World War II is a familiar story, but never told as impressively as this imposing new volume. Heimburger House has published many good railroad books, but this is its high-water mark. Jammed to the gunwales with photographs, charts, technical drawings, firstperson accounts, and vintage advertisements, the book feels as big as its subject.
The 542 photos, mostly black-andwhite, depict every aspect of the war effort on rails. It's all here: the men and material of troop trains, scores of steam locomotives built during the war years, specialty equipment such as troop sleepers and Baldwin export 2-8-2s, jam-packed freight yards and bustling passenger terminals, and the quiet moments of soldiers on their fateful journeys. The authors have tapped an impressive range of contributors and archives in an effort to be comprehensive, and the images benefit from a first-class printing job.
The book chronicles the role of newspaper and magazine ads that buoyed the public morale and extolled the railroads' patriotism. The New Haven's famed "The Kid in Upper 4" and the Pennsylvania Railroad's heroic color paintings are included.
The book's 13 chapters tell, perhaps tor the first time in one volume, a number of important stories: the strain on the nation's passenger terminals and trains; the effect of the War Production Board's quotas on steam locomotive design; the importance of the Army's railway regiments and its military "camp railroads;" the challenge of running the Army troop trains; the role of women railroaders.
The authors have thoughtfully included a number of personal anecdotes, such as the enlisted man who managed to keep his seat in the dining car despite the protests of officers at surrounding tables, or the Katy fireman briefly arrested for taking 8mm movies of German prisoners of war, or the man in Ogden, Utah, saddened when injured soldiers paused during a hospital-train station stop. These stories bring to lite the larger story of railroading's finest hour. - Kevin P. Keefe
