Thanks to his son , Arttie for sending us this !!
759th Railway Operating Battalion Reunion 2012 : WWII battalion holds 65th reunion in Oberlin
759th Railway Operating Battalion
WWII battalion holds 65th reunion in Oberlin
The 759th Engineer Battalion, Railway Operating — a battalion that served during World War II building, salvaging, and repairing railways in the European Theatre — held their 65th annual reunion in Oberlin over the weekend.
Family and friends gathered with the remaining members of the battalion, along with the families of those who have died, for four days at the Oberlin Inn.
Over the past 65 years, the reunion has been held in various locations across the country including St. Louis, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Anaheim. This is the eighth year the group has met in Oberlin.
“It’s a really nice place for us to stay, they were really accommodating to our group, and that’s why we wanted to be here,” said Mary Weiler-Noll — of Aurora, Ill. — the event coordinator this year.
Weiler-Noll’s father started the reunions in 1947.
“The town is fun. It’s a cute town to go to, and some of the more mobile ones of our group like to troll around the town,” said Weiler-Noll about the city of Oberlin.
Of the 1,200 who served with the 759th Engineer Battalion, only three members remain. All three attended the reunion.
Dozier Wallace, 90, of Chesterfield S.C., admits his memory wasn’t what it used to be, but does have one dominant memory of the war.
“Going home,” he said with a large smile.
“When we got our discharge at 11 o’clock at night, they told us we could spend another night in the barracks if we wanted. We told them to go to hell.”
Another member of the battalion, George Nies, 90, of Cincinnati, was a train operator while serving in Europe.
“We hauled freight, and drove the trains up to the front lines. It was day and night on duty,” he said. “We had some wild rides down those mountains (in North Africa). We didn’t have any air, just the engine brake to hold that train back.”
While most members of the 759th didn’t see much action during the war, Wayne Humphreys — 91, of Bountiful, Utah — wasn’t as fortunate.
Humphreys was involved in six major battles while serving overseas.
“I was shot at by snipers, they missed me twice. I was caught in a minefield, strafed by Americans and strafed by Germans, bombed by Americans and bombed by Germans,” he said.
Once, after finishing his assignment in a town in Germany, Humphreys stayed the night in a German hotel. In the middle of the night, he heard someone beating on his door.
It was the hotel manager telling him the Americans were on their way to bomb the city, and it would be best if he went down into the basement with the rest of the guests.
“I walked into a room with a big long table in it and there were about 15 Germans sitting around the table. They had a candle shining at each end. That light shining didn’t make them look like angels,” Humphreys said.
Worried he’d just walked into a trap, Humphreys turned to aim his gun toward those gathered around the table.
“I opened my mouth to say, ‘Sit still or I’ll shoot,’ and what came out surprised me so much I could hardly move. It was, ‘Let’s have a party,’” he said.
The Germans invited Humphreys to sit down with them. The group sat together eating canned peaches and a fruitcake while bombs exploded overhead.
“We had a nice party until the all-clear sounded, and the bombs quit falling. We shook hands, wished each other a good night, and went to bed,” Humphreys said.
The reunions not only give the veterans a chance to share memories and old war stories, but also give the families a chance to see a side of fathers, or grandfathers, they didn’t know existed.
“Oh, it’s neat.
It was neater the first time (I came) because there was a lot more members,” said Ray Nies, who has been coming to the reunion for years with his father.
“My son always thought his grandfather was a meek and quiet guy, until one year they had a picture of him wearing a coconut bra and a grass skirt. That’s when my son knew they were really related,” he said.
Weiler-Noll said its getting too hard for the remaining members to make the trip, and after 65 years, this may be the final reunion of the 759th Engineering Battalion.
724th Railway Operating Battalion William Scholtes
Jean has shared an amazing collection of photos and documents from her father, William Scholtes. William served in the Military Railway Service as a train dispatcher with the 724th Railway Operating Battalion, Headquarters Company, in Paris, France from 1943-46. I will be posting some additional documents .. Thanks Jean and William for sharing.
713th Railway Operation Battalion Russell E. Jones + "Emporia Men" article
Linda shared this great photo of her dad, Russell E. Jones and this article that ran about him in the local papers.
Unknown Railway Operating Battalion in North Africa 1943 Pfc. Jack W. Smith
Anyone know what unit this is ??
Photos of five men of the "Best" railroad crew in the US
Army in North Africa, 4-13-1943, all named on the back.
Photo is by or from Pfc. Jack W. Smith who was from Dennison, Ohio, and who served in a US Army railroad unit in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France in WWII.
723rd Railway Operating Battalion Headquarters Roster
Kevin writes … Thank you for posting the info and photos of
the 723rd Railway Operating Battalion on the blog. I stumbled onto it, and was interested---
In the HQ photo the Lt. McClooney seated in the front row
center—he was my uncle. James E.
McClooney. He now rests at Arlington
National Cemetery here in Washington DC.
I heard many stories during visits to my uncle, while
growing up as a child in the 1960s about the 723rd and his work in the Railway
Operating Battalion. At that time he was
a civilian instructor at the Army Transportation School at Ft. Eustis
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