723rd Railway Operating Battalion

Raymond C. Jensen -Raymond was a Staff Sergeant with Company A, 723rd Railway Operating Battalion during World War II.

Wilbur A. Hunt-Wilbur was a Tech 5 with the Headquarters Company of the 723rd Railway Operating Battalion.

Guilford H. Howe - Corporal

If anyone has a copy of this -please contact me

Thanks, Nancy   cunningb2@gmail.com

743rd Rust

743rd and Others Railroad S... by Nancy Cunningham

Below is a photo of Major Thomas J. Brennan, the commanding officer of the battalion throughout the war.  He died in September of 1973. 

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PHOTO from collection of Ernest Everett Pittman (PITTMAN Ernest Everett b 3 Nov 1908 IL d 20 June 1968 Mt.Vernon, IL , pre-war boxcar builder at Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Company)
Inscription on reverse of photo: "Major T.J. BRENNAN 732nd R.O.B." (handwritten)
This particular copy was printed on wartime Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation German paper (Agfa-Lupex paper), which would have been readily available at camera shops in Northern France.

In this photo, Maj. Brennan is holding a copy of the December 7, 1944, Stars and Stripes army newspaper, printed from  its Paris press.  (Vol. 1, No. 134 of that publication.) 
The headline reads "Saar Crossed at 6 Points /// 3rd Forces Four New Bridgeheads on 50-Mile Front"
There are two boxes of "Kleenex Tissues" and a pack of smokes behind him.

It is speculated that this photo was taken within one week of the publication date of the newspaper pictured (07-DEC-1944), because one week  later on 16 December the Germans sought to break through in the Ardennes forest, starting the Battle of the Bulge in which 19,000 American soldiers died.   
[The full front page of the newspaper can be seen at http://www.wartimepress.com/WWII-Archives/images/717/Paris%201944%2012%2007.jpg ]

[ Photo:  Major_Thomas_J_Brennan_DEC_1944.jpg ]

• A:  Two (2) track platoons and one bridge platoon to handle construction
• B:  Shop company: Two platoons responsible for equipment maintenance, one platoon shopped the rolling stock
• C:  Operating & Supply company: provided engineers, conductors, and operations personnel
• H & S:  Supplied the dispatchers, telegraphers, MPs, and other support personnel

• A:  Responsible for lathes, milling machines, locomotive repair
• B:  Boiler repair, firebox rebuilds, blacksmithing
• C:  Foundry operation
• H & S:  Administrative duties, supply and maintenance of shop power and equipment

714th Trans Bn by Nancy Cunningham on Scribd

712th Oakland

712th Trans Bn by Nancy Cunningham