U.S. Army Railway Units of the Past

704th Railway Grand Division Unit History

2012-02-06T15:49:00.001-06:00

704th Railway Grand Division The story of a Railway Grand Division

Original 1945 Unit History
Published by the 704th Railway Grand Division First Military Railway Service Transportation Corps, U.S. Army 1945
Printed in Germany by Stuttgarter Vereinsbuchdruckerei AG Engraving by Graphische Kunstanstalt Schuler Stuttgart Binding by Grossbuchbinderei Oskar Pfau Stuttgart "Affiliated with and sponsored by an excellent railroad, the Great Northern..." Served in North Africa, Italy, Southern France and Germany "This is the story of the 704th Railway Grand Division Headquarters and Headquarters Company..." Includes a short biography (including a photo in most cases) of all personnel - including enlisted men.

*** own one of these books - if you have someone who served in this unit contact me and I'll be hapy to scan the bio of that soldier -the books includes bios and photos for many of the soldiers.

Here is a list of the soldiers..
704thmembershiproll

Korean War error troop train wreck Ohio Sept. 11, 1950

2012-01-30T08:52:00.000-06:00

**I bought some photos of this wreck on Ebay for $15 bucks if anyone would like to reimburse me I'd be glad to send them to you.

21 OR MORE DIE IN OHIO WRECK. MANY INJURED AS FAST TRAIN HITS TROOP CARS.

Newcomerstown, O. -- A fast Pennsylvania railroad passenger train ploughed into the rear of a standing troop train during a heavy fog early today, killing at least 21 National Guardsmen.
LT. COL. FRANK TOWNSEND, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., commanding officer of the Pennsylvania National Guard troops aboard the train, said 13 bodies were carried from the wreckage, four died at hospitals, and the bodies of four more soldiers were still in the wreckage. The state highway patrol, however, placed the death toll figure at 25.
COL. TOWNSEND said 44 were injured. All of the dead and most of the injured were members of the 109th Field Artillery Battalion, Pennsylvania National Guard, enroute to Camp Atterbury, Ind., to begin training under Federal Service. The Pennsylvania Guard was one of four militia divisions recently called into Federal Service for the Korean War.

3 Cars Demolished.
Three cars of the troop train, carrying 655 troops, were demolished when the Spirit of St. Louis, enroute from New York to St. Louis with 240 passengers, rammed the rear of the stalled troop carrier at Isleta, five miles west of here. The first unit of the twin-unit Diesel pulling the passenger train plunged into a creek and two cars on the Spirit of St. Louis were derailed. They did not overturn, however, and none of the passengers aboard the passenger train was injured seriously.
Witnesses said the troop train stopped west of a signal when a steam valve controlling the train's air brake system apparently snapped. Crewmen had just placed flares at the rear of the disabled troop carrier when the Spirit of St. Louis plunged out of the dawn and smashed into the end of
read on

The Chronicle-Telegram Elyria Ohio 1950-09-11

Killed In The Wreck:
Service Battery:
CORP. CARL W. ARMBRUSTER.
CORP. JOHN L. BARNA.
PVT. WILLIAM R. DISBROW.
CORP. JOSEPH E. FLETCHER.
PFC EDWARD W. GALLAGHER.
PVT. WALLACE R. LUDWIG.
WO JAMES F. McGINLEY.
SGT. BERNARD S. OKRASINSKI.
CORP. THOMAS M. OSTRASZEWSKI.
PVT. WILLIAM F. TIERNEY.
CAPT. ARTHUR J. THOMAS.
RCT. THOMAS W. WALLACE.
Battery B.
PFC LEONARD BALONIS.
RCT. EUGENE CARR.
SGT. JOHN W. COX.
RCT. WILLIAM J. DOUGHERTY.
SGT WILLIAM C. EDWARDS.
RCT. HUGH L. FARGUS.
PFC. HAROLD HANDLOS.
PFC CLYDE P. HARDING.
PFC MARTIN F. HORNLEIN.
PFC RONALD J. JACKSON.
SGT. LESTER J. KUEHN.
CORP. LARRY L. LUZENSKI.
RCT. FRANK C. MARTINEZ.
RCT. CHARLES NORTON.
PFC RAYMOND PUDLOWSKI.
RCT RICHARD A. ROYER.
RCT. WILLIAM F. SOBERS.
WO WILLIAM M. WELLINGTON.
SGT. GILBERT B. WHARTON.
PFC EDMUND ZABICKI.
PFC DONALD C. ZIEKER.
List Of Injured:
PFC EDWARD BILSKI.
CORP DAL. D. DAUBERT.
PFC DEAN DAUBERT.
PFC JOHN J. DOUGHTERY.
SECOND LT. MERLE R. EDWARDS.
CORP. FRANCIS D. FISHER.
CORP. LEONARD FLECKNOE.
CORP ARTHUR GIAMPA.
CORP. CYRIL G. GULIUS.
PFC FRED D. HAWKE.
SGT. JOSEPH J. KUDRAK.
CORP NICHOLAS MARSHALL.
CORP CARL O. METZGER.
SGT. KENNETH MISHKELL.
LT. EARL W. PHILLIPS.
PFC FRANCIS X. QUAREQUIO.
CORP. JOHN D. ROOPER.
PFC ROBERT ROWLES.
CORP. JAMES SAMPSON.
PVT. JAMES SAUERWINE.
PVT. ROBERT H. SCHELL.
CAPT. ROBERT SHORTZ.
CORP JOHN SIMONSON
SGT. RAYMOND TALMADGE.
CORP. ROBERT J. THOMPSON.
PFC FRANK TOWH.
CORP. LEONARD J. WALKOVIAK.
PFC ALBERT WILLIAMS.
PFC WILLIAM YESIRVIDA.
CAPT. FRANCIS R. BRANNAN.
M/SGT. ROBERT ROBERTS.
SFC LAWRENCE ROBERTS.
SGT. GEORGE YANCK.
PFC JOSEPH DIMIRCO.
PFC DONALD FORIET.
PFC THOMAS GALLAGHER.
PFC WILLIAM HALL.
CORP. LEWIS A. COMPTON.
RCT. RAMON MARTINEZ.

60 years ago, death took Wyoming Valley’s bravest

Thirty-three members of the 109th Field Artillery died in an Ohio train crash.

RUTH WHISPELL Times Leader Intern

An unbelievably loud noise awoke Virginia Norman in the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 1950.

759th Railway Operating Battalion - Jack Dellinger Obit

2012-01-25T17:24:00.000-06:00

759 dellinger

732nd Oliver Moran

2012-01-25T17:23:00.001-06:00

732nd Moran Brothers

3rd YMRS Romeo Aultman

2012-01-25T17:22:00.000-06:00

3rd Aultman

763rd Cpl. Milton M. Hanna

2012-01-25T17:16:00.000-06:00

763rd Hanna

746th Railway Operating Batalion Company C Roster / Directory

2012-01-25T17:14:00.000-06:00

746th CoCdirectory

740th Railway Operating Battalion -- James Thomas Davis

2012-01-21T09:29:00.002-06:00

740th James Thomas Davis

746 R.O.B - Donald James Banyard obit

2012-01-21T09:16:00.001-06:00

	Died Oct. 15, 2011 Pocatello Bannock County Idaho, USA
POCATELLO - Donald James Banyard, 96, Pocatello, passed away Saturday evening, Oct. 15, 2011, at a local health care center. A special thank you to Highland Hills and Idaho Home Health and Hospice. Funeral services will be held Friday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in the Cornelison Funeral Chapel, 431 N. 15th Ave., Pocatello. Interment will be in the Mountain View Cemetery, Pocatello, with military graveside rites by the Pocatello Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers memorials in Donald's memory can be made to the charity of the donor's choice . Arrangements are under the direction of the Cornelison Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Ave., Pocatello, 232-0542. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.cornelisonfh.com. Published in Idaho State Journal on October 21, 2011 His neighbor wrote me in 2010 ....I have a neighbor who is having his 96th birthday in a couple of weeks. He was an engineer with the 746 ROB, 1944-1946. I told his wife I would gather some information

746th - Never to forget : an informal history of Company D 746 R.O.B Donald James Banyard

2012-01-21T09:11:00.002-06:00

Special thanks to friend and neighbor WFerguson for sharing with all of us Mr Donald James Banyard copies of his MRS unit's history. Below you will find a scanned pdf of Never to forget : an informal history of Company D 746 R.O.B and a scanned image of the original. I am scanning 746th company C roster and will get it up soon.

Never to Forget

714th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion - Harold Cooper

2012-01-19T18:36:00.000-06:00

For The Telegraph

Veteran Harold Cooper was a brave lineman who climbed power poles to keep the line of communication open for railroad cars carrying supplies U.S. infantrymen fighting on the battlefields of Korea. Cooper, of Godfrey, was a soldier in the 712th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion, which gained fame for transporting supplies and ammunition through dangerous territory to the U.S. soldiers who were in fierce battles against North Korean and Chinese communist forces.
Cooper climbed 35-foot wooden power poles in 30-degree-below-zero temperatures to make emergency repairs along 52 miles of territory in the Korean War.
"The lines froze and broke in the cold temperatures," Cooper recalled. "We climbed high on the poles in the bitter cold air to set up an emergency phone system."
The soldiers of the 712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion gained a reputation for their courageous action to keep supplies moving to U.S. infantrymen.
The Korean War was raging in 1952 when Cooper was drafted in the Army in his hometown of East Alton.
He graduated from East Alton-Wood River High School in the class of 1950 and worked a year at Laclede Steel Co. until he went into the Army.
Cooper was sent to special training to learn to climb wooden power poles as a lineman to keep lines of communication open to the fighting front.
He learned to dig the steel spikes on the side of his boots into the wood pole and climb 35 feet in the air. Dozens of soldiers underwent intense training to learn the skill of standing near the top of a pole in the dangerous job of keeping lines of communication open for U.S. forces fighting to defeat communist troops in Korea. Cooper was assigned to the elite 712th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion, which first went to battle in the early 1940s in World War II. In the Korean War, the 712th was activated on Sept. 3, 1950 at Ft. Eustis, Va., with officers and enlisted men who had experience in railroad operation. The 712th operated the Korean National Railroad in the early months of the war from Taejon north to the frontlines of the battlefield. Cooper climbed poles to set up emergency phone communication systems on the site of four major wrecks of railroad trains.
In one Collision, rocks slid down a hillside in the night and slammed into a train, killing the engineer.
Armed with a pistol in his shoulder holster, Cooper dug his steel spikes in the wooden pole and climbed to install phones to open the line of communication at the scene of the train wreck cause by the rock slide.
Cooper's 712th Railway Transportation Battalion was awarded the U.S. Meritorious Unit Commendation medal for courageous action in transporting troops to the battlefields.
In one dangerous mission, men of the 712th transported U.S. infantrymen, tanks and artillery guns of an entire army division through the night across Korea to another fighting front.
Cooper and his crew did maintenance work on 52 miles of power lines through deep valleys and up mountains in the hot, steamy summer and 30 degree below zero winters. After 17 months in Korea, Cooper came home in 1953 with Army service medals, including the Korean United Nations ribbon with three bronze battle stars. He returned to work at Laclede Steel Co. where he operated a press in the wire mill, retiring after 42 years. Cooper and his wife, Juanita, married in 2003.
He was married 51 years to Shirley Cooper, who died in 2001. They have two daughters, Debbie and Starla, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Cooper is a life member of Alton VFW Post 1308.

Unit histories - do you own one ?

2012-01-18T08:59:00.004-06:00

If you own a MRS ( Military Railway Service) unit history book, please consider sharing it with others.

So many families do not still have a copy of their veteran's ( Dad or Granddad's ) unit history- so I have been working hard obtaining and digitizing copies of the books on the blog and making them freely available to everyone .

If you own a book, please contact me if you'd be willing to let me digitize it -so it can be shared with others who served together and their families. These books contain precious information on service and many, many have not seen before photos of their loved one. They just all shouldn't end up in private collections or in boxes in attics.

You don't have to give it up and scanning won't hurt it in anyway and it will be immediately returned to you !

Please help...

Thanks , Nancy
cunningb2@gmail.com cunningb2@gmail.com

We could also create a fund of $$ designated to buy these when they become available - let me know if you'd be willing to donate of sponsor a purchase.

732nd R.O.B.Major T.J. Brennan photo

2012-01-18T08:49:00.001-06:00

Special thanks to Becky, daughter of Maj T J Brennan 732nd ROB for sharing some of his great photos ! She is sending more -- keep watching!

745th Railway Operating Battalion- Duffy photos

2012-01-17T08:59:00.004-06:00

Thanks to Sandy Duffy ( son of Lt. George Duffy)for sharing these great photos and he'd like to talk to anyone else connected to this unit.

In his email he says ....
I think that the story of how 5 ROB's and 1 shop battalion got diverted from assignment in France to the steamy jungles of India only to face an impending Japanese invasion is good stuff. ..
Again, if anyone from any of these India ROB's wants to contact me, maybe we can enlarge this effort.

You can contact Sandy here: whlrydr[at]aol.com
Thanks Sandy !

744th Railway Operating Battalion --Memories

2012-01-16T18:32:00.000-06:00

744th Memories

US Army TC S100 Class

2012-01-16T18:27:00.001-06:00

US Army TC S100 Class

717th Transportation Battalion heraldic

2012-01-16T18:24:00.002-06:00

3rd Transportation Military Railway SAervice Cited

2012-01-16T18:22:00.002-06:00

3rd Tmrs Cited

759th Railway Operating Battalion - Bonnehon

2012-01-16T18:14:00.005-06:00

759th Loyalton Man

Troop Train Post Card

2012-01-16T17:43:00.002-06:00

727th Railway Operating Battalion- Interview with Herschel M. Lewis

2012-01-16T17:40:00.003-06:00

727th Railway Operating Battalion Lewis

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Training Army

2012-01-16T17:38:00.002-06:00

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Training Army

743rd Railway Operating Battlion Organized

2012-01-16T17:35:00.000-06:00

724th Roger King memories and photo

2012-01-16T13:22:00.001-06:00

Roger King 724th

721st Railway Operating Battalion mention and photo in memoir

2012-01-16T13:12:00.001-06:00

721st

726th Co. C Thanksgiving Day Day Menu 1943

2012-01-16T13:10:00.003-06:00

726th Tday Menu

732nd Thomas Brennan obit

2012-01-16T13:07:00.002-06:00

Tm 5-410 - 29 November 1940 - Technical Manual Railway Shop Battalion

2011-12-29T09:32:00.002-06:00

Tm 5-410 - 29 November 1940 - Railway Shop Battalion

723rd Railway Operating Battalion soldiers and mail

2011-12-28T09:29:00.000-06:00

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

721st Raliway Operating Battalion Company C History

2011-12-28T09:25:00.000-06:00

If anyone has a copy of this -please contact me

Thanks, Nancy cunningb2@gmail.com

Railway Advertisement " Tourists"

2011-12-28T09:22:00.002-06:00

759th Arkansas Railroader v.30 n.11

2011-12-28T09:17:00.000-06:00

759th Arkansas Railroader

759th Arkansas Railroader v.16 n.6

2011-12-28T09:13:00.004-06:00

759th Arkansas Railroader 2

743rd Railway Operating Battalion Major H.A. Rust article

2011-12-28T09:10:00.000-06:00

743rd Rust

Railroad Sponsor units article (715th, 725th, 737th, 743rd, 750th, 759th ROB

2011-12-28T09:08:00.000-06:00

743rd and Others Railroad Sponsors

732nd R.O.B. photo Major T.J. BRENNAN

2011-12-28T08:58:00.000-06:00

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 ]

What makes a Railway Operating Battalion, Railway Shop Battalion or Railway Grand Division ?

2011-12-28T08:49:00.000-06:00

Railway Grand Division: Administrative unit which oversaw 4-5 Railway Operating Battalions (ROB) and 1-2 Railway Shop Battalions (RSB)

Railway Operating Battalion: TO&E consisted of four (4) companies:

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

Railway Shop Battalion: Performed major/minor overhauls, electrical repair, blacksmithing

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 Transportation Battalion History

2011-12-28T08:46:00.001-06:00

714th Trans Bn

714th Transportation Battalion

2011-12-28T08:45:00.000-06:00

712th TROB locomotive

2011-12-28T08:41:00.000-06:00

712th Railway Operating Battalion : 'From Oakland' article

2011-12-28T08:40:00.002-06:00

712th Oakland

712th Railway Operating Battalion History

2011-12-28T08:38:00.001-06:00

712th Trans Bn

714th Railway Operatrng Battalion Christmas Card

2011-12-28T08:25:00.000-06:00

US Army Locomotive #1217

2011-12-28T08:21:00.002-06:00

770 Railway Operating Battalion 1943 Christmas Menu

2011-12-14T08:56:00.000-06:00

770thxmas Menu 1943

735th Railway Operating Battalion McClelland photos

2011-12-14T08:50:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Mike McClelland for sharing his Dad's photos !

The wording on the back of the one in the upper left reads "Finley and his pride--Remicourt, Belg.". The upper right says "Call Board". The title at the top read CO. C. 735th RY. OPN. BN. The three categories below it read 1st Opr. Platoon, Hqtrs. Platoon, and 2nd Opr Platoon. The lower left picture has "Ronet Yards, Namur, Belq." on the back, and the picture in the lower right reads "Full Field Inspection, Ft. Snelling, Minn" on the back.

On the back it says, "H.J. Finley, Gutershol, Germany". Mike

"aboard H.M.S.S Princess Maud, English Channel" MikeTablet Scanner - Export File

Here is one you may find interesting...the caption on the back reads, "Tom Jones and unexploded power section of V-2...Antwerp, Bel.

743rd Railway Operating Battalion LStephenson photos

2011-12-14T08:41:00.000-06:00

726th Railway Operating Battalion Co. C Thanksgiving Menu 1943

2011-12-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

726th Tday Menu

764th Railway Shop Battalion photo

2011-12-14T08:13:00.000-06:00

Atlantic Coast Transportation Corps TAC Officers Training School Dec1943

2011-12-14T07:54:00.000-06:00

TAC Officers Training School Slocum_Dec1943

753rd Railway Shop Battalion 50th Anniversay

2011-12-14T07:50:00.000-06:00

750th Railway Operating Battalion Glen Wilton article

2011-12-14T07:48:00.000-06:00

750th Wilton

757th Transportation Battalion

2011-12-14T07:44:00.000-06:00

U.S Army Railroad locomotive WWII

2011-12-14T07:43:00.000-06:00

Claiborne and Polk Military Railway Louisiana

2011-12-14T07:24:00.001-06:00

Louisiana 2

719th Railway Operating Battalion Walter F. Naedele Obit

2011-12-14T07:20:00.002-06:00

719th Railway Operating Battalion Walter F

3rd TMRS Tidemand article

2011-12-14T07:12:00.002-06:00

3rd Tidemand

712th TROB History and membership

2011-12-14T07:09:00.000-06:00

712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion

765th TRSB Korean Commisary article

2011-12-14T07:06:00.001-06:00

765th orean Commisary

743rd Railway Operating BattalionCo. C photos of Paul T. Walker

2011-12-14T06:55:00.000-06:00

Paul's son, Larry Walker writes ....

My father was Paul T. Walker, Sargeant with the 743rd Railway Operating Battalion Company C
The attached are a few of the pictures I have of him and comrades. I attached some labels at the bottom

Thanks Larry!!

746th photos Charles Lamb

2011-12-08T20:44:00.002-06:00

Thanks for much to Jerry Lamb, son of Charles Lamb for sharing his Dad's photos and unit history!

746th Railway Operating Battalion History

2011-12-08T20:39:00.001-06:00

Thanks for much to Jerry Lamb, son of Charles Lamb for sharing his Dad's photos and unit history!

746th history2

Yankee Boomer Railway Unit Newsletter

2011-12-02T08:23:00.000-06:00

I am always trying to get more copies of these- if you have any I would appreciate it if you would contact me so we can arrange to get them scanned and on the blog.

They are a treasure trove of various units news as well as mentions of many soldiers.

I try to buy any histories, ephemera and newsletters as I can afford. If you would be willing to sponsor a purchase for the blog let me know - most things costs under $50 but I can't afford everything that comes along.

I don't want these things to go into private collections, I want them scanned and shared here for all the vets and their families to see, enjoy and learn from.

Thanks, Nancy

Email me at cunningb2@gmail.com if you have anything to share or if you'd be willing to sponsor a future purchase.

Yankee Boomer Vol. 1 No. 9 December 2, 1943

2011-12-02T08:16:00.001-06:00

YBVol1No9

Harold Shaughnessy and the 745th ( thanks to son, Mark )

2011-11-28T14:32:00.001-06:00

Mark writes ....Harold Shaughnessy was born in Huntington, Indiana, in 1914 and died suddenly in 1976 in Hornell, NY. His father was Chief Trainmaster in Hornell in the 1930s and 40s. In his early 20s, Harold started working for the Erie Railroad in Hornell as a brakeman, then conductor, and after attending Cornell University, on to their Cleveland, OH, offices as their safety engineer. (The Erie became the Erie-Lackawanna, then Con-Rail)
In 1941-42 he served in the US Naval Reserves aboard the USS Wichita and was in the North Atlantic. He then served in the US Army with the 745th Railway Operating Battalion as a conductor and was stationed in India for all of 1943 and most of 1944. His job was handling trains full of military equipment, supplies and troops.
After arriving home from India he developed complications from the malaria and dysentery he had while stationed there and was placed in an Army hospital in NY State. While there, he met a kind Army nurse and married her 6 months later. They then had seven kids from 1947 until 1963 of which I am one.

745th Railway Operating Battalion - RailBird newsletters pt 2 from Shaughnessy

2011-11-21T22:26:00.001-06:00

Rail Birds Issue 1

Rail Birds Issue 1 - Copy

Rail Birds 7
Rail Birds 7 - Copy

745th Railway Operating Battalion - RailBird newsletters from Shaughnessy

2011-11-21T22:20:00.007-06:00

Thanks to Mark for these great newsletters -other ROBs are mentioned.

Mark writes ....My dad was a conductor in the 745th ROB and I have some bits of info and a few wartime pics. I also attended the 55th reunion of the 745th in 2001.

Your site is great! I did all of my research in 2000-01 and many links were dead and few were interested, especially in the 'forgotten theater of war'.....China-Burma-India.

For starters, I have info on the ships & routes the 745th took to get to India and when they left. In storage I have newsletters they self-published while en route.

Thank you, Mark Shaughnessy

Rail Birds Issue 3

Rail Birds 3 - Copy

Rail Birds 8

Rail Birds 8 - Copy

Rail Bird 10

Rail Birds 10

Hospital Trains World War II

2011-11-12T10:45:00.001-06:00

Hospital Trains:

HOSP TRAIN No. 1 – 8 Feb 44 England – ETO Rhineland - Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 3 – 20 Apr 44 Wales – 19 May 44 England – ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 4 – 2 Feb 44 England – 23 Apr 44 Scotland - ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 5 – 7 Mar 44 England – 23 Apr 44 Scotland
HOSP TRAIN No. 6 – 7 Mar 44 England
HOSP TRAIN No. 7 – 3 Jun 43 England – ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 8 – 13 Mar 44 England
HOSP TRAIN No. 9 – ETO 31 Oct 45 Northern France - Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 10 – ETO Normandy – Northern France
HOSP TRAIN No. 11 – 31 May 44 England – ETO 4 Aug 44 Normandy – Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace (first improvised HOSP TRAIN, consisting of French freight cars fitted with litter brackets, ran between St. Lô and Cherbourg, 4 Aug 44)
HOSP TRAIN No. 12 – 21 May 44 England – ETO Normandy – Northern France - Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 13 – 21 May 44 England – 24 May 44 Wales - ETO Normandy – Northern France (later redesignated 7th Hospital Train)
HOSP TRAIN No. 14 – 21 May 44 England - ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 15 – 30 May 44 Wales – ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 16 – 7 May 44 England – 30 May 44 Wales – ETO Northern France – Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 17 – ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 18 – 26 Mar 44 England – 10 Jun 44 Scotland – 8 Sep 44 Wales – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 20 – 30 May 44 Wales – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 21 – 24 Oct 44 England – Wales - ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 22 – 30 May 44 Wales – 15 Jun 44 England – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 23 – 14 Sep 43 England – 24 Mar 44 Scotland – ETO Sep 44 France -Central Europe (partly destroyed by German bombing, at the Gare St. Lazare, Paris, 26 Dec 44)
HOSP TRAIN No. 24 – 14 Sep 43 England – ETO 29 Sep 44 Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 25 – 6 Jul 44 England – 25 Jul 44 Scotland – ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 26 – 6 Jul 44 England – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace – Central Europe (inactivated 10 Sep 45)
HOSP TRAIN No. 27 – ETO 14 Aug 44 France (FIRST Hospital Train to reach the continent, disembarked in France 14 Aug 44, carrying the 43d GEN HOSP on board, also the very FIRST one to reach Paris 2 Sep 44, with part of the 203d GEN HOSP)
HOSP TRAIN No. 31– ETO 5 Jul 45 Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 34 – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 37 – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 38 – ETO Oct 44 Belgium
HOSP TRAIN No. 41 – MTO Naples-Foggia – Rome-Arno – North Apennines - ETO Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 42 – MTO Rome-Arno – Southern France - ETO 10 Sep 44 Rhineland – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 43 – 11 Mar 43 England - ETO 14 Aug 44 Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 44 – 13 Nov 43 Northern Ireland - 17 May 44 England - ETO Northern France - Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 45 – 26 Jun 43 England - ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 47 – 6 Apr 44 Scotland – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 49 – 6 Apr 44 Scotland
HOSP TRAIN No. 55 – 27 Jul 44 England – 2 Aug 44 Wales - ETO Northern France – Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 56 – ETO 20 May 45 Rhineland – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 57 – 25 Feb 44 England (inactivated 12 Nov 45)
HOSP TRAIN No. 58 – 25 Nov 44 England
HOSP TRAIN No. 59 – 6 Sep 44 England
HOSP TRAIN No. 73 – ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 74 – ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 76 – ETO Rhineland – Central Europe
HOSP TRAIN No. 77 – ETO Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 79 – ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 80– ETO Rhineland
HOSP TRAIN No. 82 – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace
HOSP TRAIN No. 83 – ETO Rhineland – Ardennes-Alsace

U.S Army Railroad locomotive cranes

2011-11-12T10:08:00.001-06:00

Please contact us if you have more info -thanks John!

John writes....My interest is the railroad locomotive cranes used by the US Army.

Below is what I have found to date. As you can see there are a lot of wholes. Most of this comes from the builder's records. If anyone has additional information on this equipment they can share -please contact me [ jtaub at juno.com ] or Nancy [ cunningb2@gmail.com ]

Thanks.

John Taubeneck

Cranes Us Army

Happy Veteran's Day 2011 - help this blog remember those who served.

2011-11-12T09:48:00.001-06:00

We salute all those who serve and have served and thank them for their service.
It's so important that we keep the history of their accomplishments alive and that's the reason for this blog.

The vets and increasingly their children and grandchildren help keep the efforts of our WWII, Korea and other wars/conflicts soldiers alive by contributing to this blog!

Please if you have a photos, letters, document or other information that adds to our knowledge of the service of our Military Railway soldiers, please contact me and I will help you share it with others.

I get emails every week from someone who learned about a father's, grandfathers, uncle's service from information they found here. Quite frequently, I get emails saying that someone saw a previously unknown photo of their relative here ..

Please help me keep this going...

Email me today if you have something to share ... I also buy what documents and books I can so it all doesn't all go into the hands of private collectors and I scan and publish for all to see, everything I buy and you can also help with that effort by donating here you can also donate your items to me.

Thanks, Nancy Cunningham cunningb2@gmail.com

1205th Transportation Railway Battalion- Brothers keep trains, wars on track

2011-10-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

Brothers keep trains, wars on track
Byline: Martin B. Cassidy Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

Oct. 04--STAMFORD -- Looking back over his 13-month tour helping transport supplies from Kuwait to other soldiers in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, Thomas Finn Jr., of Stamford, said he is wistful thinking of his daughter Angela's prom and other milestones in his children's lives he missed while abroad. "Whether it was my son's first Little League home run or my younger daughter's first soccer goal or my son Kevin's first day of nursery school, I've missed a lot," Finn said. "I've spent the past couple of weeks catching up and just trying to spend time with my children."

A master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve's 1174th Deployment and Distribution Battalion, Finn returned to Stamford in late August after spending more than a year moving equipment for the U.S. Army from Kuwait into Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Finn and his younger brother Troy Finn, 39, share a great deal of common experience, having both served in the U.S. Army Reserve in Iraq and as train conductors for Metro-North Railroad in their civilian lives. Finn joined the reserves in 1990 and previously served in the U.S. Army Reserve's 1205th Transportation Railway Battalion. Troy Finn, a former U.S. Army reservist who works as a conductor on the New Canaan branch line, served an 11-month tour in Iraq in the U.S. Army Reserve's 325th Transportation Company in 2003.

"It's been great to have Tom back home," said Troy Finn, who now lives in Stratford.
Their father Tom Finn Sr., retired from a 39-year job as a Metro- North Railroad engineer in 2006.
"I did a lot of different things before working for Metro-North, but it's a very good job," Troy Finn said of his job. "I wish sometimes I had joined the railroad sooner." Thomas Finn Jr., who also served a 13-month deployment during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 working in the United States, said he is training to transition from his previous post as a conductor to that of a flagman on the New Haven Line's catenary replacement project or another initiative.

Thomas Finn Jr. has worked for the railroad since 1987; Troy since 2000. When Thomas Finn Jr. joined the military in 1990, the recruitment officer helped get him an assignment with the 1205th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion in the continental United States on the basis of his professional experience. I feel like with both deployments I was able to bring something from my job to the military and after the deployment bring a different experience back to my job," Finn Jr. said.

Tom Finn Sr. said he was initially surprised by his two sons' interest in the military, but was supportive and proud though somewhat concerned about their deployments to Iraq in the past decade. "My thought is that I don't want it to be one time more; it's one time too much," Finn Sr. said about Thomas Finn Jr.'s still active reservist status. "I'm aware in his position he could be remobilized. But he's done his time and served his nation proudly and I'd just as well have somebody else take a turn."

Finn Sr. said he got his son a job as a porter for Metro-North to help pay his way, but said in retrospect that many railroad workers tend to end up in it as a career. "I thought he'd go on with his career but I've found over the years that once you work on the railroad it kind of gets in your blood," Finn Sr. said. "I guess that's what happened with my kids." Since 2001, Metro-North Railroad has had 30 employees who have been activated for military service for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Angela Finn, Tom Finn Jr.'s 19-year-old daughter, said that she already feels like she has made up for some of the lost time with her father, who drove her back to the University of Connecticut at Storrs a few days after returning from the Middle East. "When he first left I didn't realize how long he would be gone," Finn said. "Then I realized, 'wow, my Dad is going to be gone a long time' and missed him a lot."

Finn Jr. said that he would not balk at another deployment if it came, because he believes that people in Iraq and Afghanistan are mainly supportive of American troops and the improvements that the military has been able to make there. "It's still in me to go back," Finn Jr. said. "For me it's more about the entire world, because the people there are no different from us and I felt like I was helping them to have the opportunities that we have."

Staff Writer Martin B. Cassidy can be reached at martin.cassidy@scni.com or 203-964-2264.

4544).

Call for saving history ! Please help me save the history of these Military Rail units!!

2011-10-21T11:17:00.006-05:00

If you have anything you'd like to share I would appreciate it ..you can
send me copies or scans. If you only have originals you can send those to me and I'll scan them and return them to you

We all have this stuff sitting around in old boxes, photo albums or in files on our computers and we need to get them out where others can see them. So many relatives of these veterans ( kids , grandkids) are so thrilled when they see this materials. It only takes up a few minutes to make sure the incredible service of these guys is remembered

Thanks so much for your help and look what we've alread gotten up. http://militaryrailwayservice.blogspot.com/

Please contact me is you have anything you can share ....

Thanks, Nancy Cunningham cunningb2@gmail.com

744th Goetzelman

2011-10-21T11:10:00.001-05:00

George writes ...

Hi - Come across your pages. I served with the 744th ROB in France, Belgium and Germany. I was admitted to hospital in Germany before returning back home.

I would love to have you add my Web Page to your collection. Thank you.

George Goetzelman
http://community-4.webtv.net/orecartent/744thROB

717th Railway Operating Battalion Fred Bahre photos and rosters of HQ & Co A

2011-10-21T10:41:00.001-05:00

Thanks so much to Fred's daughter Linda.

Linda his daughter writes .....

I know that dad was in Mons, Belgium in 1945. He made very close friends with Dr. and Mrs. Therionet that lived there. They corresponded after dad got home until the Dr. passed away in the early 1960’s. I have nice pictures of Dr. and Mrs. Therionet. While dad was in Belgium, there was a Royal wedding. Dad got me a wedding commemorative ring that he gave me for my 16th birthday. It is a very dainty ring, the top shaped like a crown with diamond chips in it. I will give it to my granddaughter when she turns 16 years.

My dad spoke German and some French. At some time or other he was exposed to German prisoners. He said that he knew the war was over when he saw 14 years old kids in German Uniform.

Also, the winter he was overseas he said he had never been so cold in his whole life.

While I was waiting for your e-mails to send out, I read the history of the 717th. There’s not much mention of Company C. Perhaps he was attached to another battalion for some reason or another. I definitely know that he was in the Ardennes (Alsace), France and Germany.

I don’t know if I’ve contributed very much to the 717th Battalion because the lists that I sent you are questionable. I could not find any of the names on those lists in the Battalion history. I have to commend you for the railway battalions that are listed on the web. They are wonderful. If I find anything else among my father’s things (I still have some boxes of stuff), I will let you know. Good luck and good hunting for info. I admire you for what you are doing.

I have a picture that I think that is from a reunion. It is a group photograph, and may be a combined reunion with other Battalions. A man in the center foreground of the photo is holding a locomotive with the words “Detroit – 744.” It could be the 744 Railway Battalion. My dad is in the photo marked “Detroit 1964.” If you’d be interested in that photo, I will send it to you. There are several women in the photo – probably wives and daughters – or grandchildren.

I have some photos that are labeled Buchenwald (Concentration Camp). They are depressing. I have no idea how they came to be in his possession. I do know that he gave some of his photos away at one of the reunions. So they’re bouncing around out there somewhere. I think his buddies were good at trading photos.

I live in Houston Texas. I came here in 1967 with the Space Program. So if there’s anyone in my direction that might be from the 717th, I’d love to talk to them.My dad was a very special guy. When I was very very little, he told me he’d put the stars in the heavens – just for me. He was a very loving man.

717th Company a Roster

717th Headquarters Co. Roster

763rd Railway Shop Battalion Opal L Presley photos

2011-10-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

From BPresley ....(thanks !)

I just discovered your web site after a Google search of my dad’s military unit. I have in my possession a copy of the booklet “A History of Two years Activation”. My father was Opal L. Presley and served in this unit. I know precious little about his experience in the war as he died at the age of 49 in 1957 when I was only 7 years old. I only recently discovered this book....Attached are a few pictures my dad took while in Belgium. Unfortunately, I have no narrative of who are where.

763rd Railway Shop Battalion photos

2011-10-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

755th RSB Document and Unit Card

2011-10-21T09:02:00.001-05:00

755th RSB Unit Card

755th RSB

Thanks Tim

Reports of the General Board-123-Military Railway Service US Army, 1945 (ebook)

2011-10-21T08:49:00.000-05:00

Description: US Army, 1945.

008193-Reports of the General Board-123-Military Railway Service 37 Pages1945 At the beginning of hostilities in December, 1941, one railway operating battalion was in training. Additional battalions were organized shortly thereafter, consisting of officer personnel drawn from the Reserve Corps, and enlisted personnel, transferred from other units and obtained through the Selective Service system.

It was from the latter that most of the men with civilian rai1way experience were obtained. About 40 per cent of the enlisted personnel of the Military Railway Service had from 6 months to 10 years of civilian railroad experience. Of this number, about 50 percent had over four years experience. On 16 November 1942, shortly after the arrival of the first military railway units in the United Kingdom, all personnel assigned to the Railway Transportation Service of the Corps of Engineers was transferred to the Transportation Corps, Services of Supply, European Theater of Operations. The General Board was established by General Orders 128, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army, to prepare a factual analysis of the strategy, tactics, and administration employed by the United States Forces in the European Theater.
eto-123

712th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion : Harold Cooper

2011-10-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

By ANDE YAKSTIS

For The Telegraph video too :http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/cooper-56689-712th-korean.html

Veteran Harold Cooper was a brave lineman who climbed power poles to keep the line of communication open for railroad cars carrying supplies U.S. infantrymen fighting on the battlefields of Korea.

Cooper, of Godfrey, was a soldier in the 712th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion, which gained fame for transporting supplies and ammunition through dangerous territory to the U.S. soldiers who were in fierce battles against North Korean and Chinese communist forces.

Cooper climbed 35-foot wooden power poles in 30-degree-below-zero temperatures to make emergency repairs along 52 miles of territory in the Korean War."The lines froze and broke in the cold temperatures," Cooper recalled. "We climbed high on the poles in the bitter cold air to set up an emergency phone system."

The soldiers of the 712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion gained a reputation for their courageous action to keep supplies moving to U.S. infantrymen.The Korean War was raging in 1952 when Cooper was drafted in the Army in his hometown of East Alton.

He graduated from East Alton-Wood River High School in the class of 1950 and worked a year at Laclede Steel Co. until he went into the Army.Cooper was sent to special training to learn to climb wooden power poles as a lineman to keep lines of communication open to the fighting front.
He learned to dig the steel spikes on the side of his boots into the wood pole and climb 35 feet in the air.

Dozens of soldiers underwent intense training to learn the skill of standing near the top of a pole in the dangerous job of keeping lines of communication open for U.S. forces fighting to defeat communist troops in Korea.

Cooper was assigned to the elite 712th Transportation Railway Operation Battalion, which first went to battle in the early 1940s in World War II.
In the Korean War, the 712th was activated on Sept. 3, 1950 at Ft. Eustis, Va., with officers and enlisted men who had experience in railroad operation.

The 712th operated the Korean National Railroad in the early months of the war from Taejon north to the frontlines of the battlefield.Cooper climbed poles to set up emergency phone communication systems on the site of four major wrecks of railroad trains.

In one Collision, rocks slid down a hillside in the night and slammed into a train, killing the engineer.Armed with a pistol in his shoulder holster, Cooper dug his steel spikes in the wooden pole and climbed to install phones to open the line of communication at the scene of the train wreck cause by the rock slide.

Cooper's 712th Railway Transportation Battalion was awarded the U.S. Meritorious Unit Commendation medal for courageous action in transporting troops to the battlefields.In one dangerous mission, men of the 712th transported U.S. infantrymen, tanks and artillery guns of an entire army division through the night across Korea to another fighting front.

Cooper and his crew did maintenance work on 52 miles of power lines through deep valleys and up mountains in the hot, steamy summer and 30 degree below zero winters.After 17 months in Korea, Cooper came home in 1953 with Army service medals, including the Korean United Nations ribbon with three bronze battle stars.

He returned to work at Laclede Steel Co. where he operated a press in the wire mill, retiring after 42 years.Cooper and his wife, Juanita, married in 2003.He was married 51 years to Shirley Cooper, who died in 2001. They have two daughters, Debbie and Starla, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Cooper is a life member of Alton VFW Post 1308.

Read more: http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/cooper-56689-712th-korean.html#ixzz1bLTnDPVl

745th Railway Operating Battalion: Company C [Photo]

2011-10-20T10:05:00.000-05:00

US Army locomotive #1781 [Bas Relief]

2011-10-20T09:54:00.000-05:00

764th RailwayShop Battalion Obits : Lester, Delvecchio & Wieczork

2011-10-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

Cook, Lester A, b. 04/24/1908, T/4 CO C 764TH RAILWAY SHOP BN TC, Plot: D 586, bur. 09/27/1961

Camp Butler National Cemetery
Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois

ALBERT A. DELVECCHIO
Albert A. Delvecchio, son of Mrs. Mary C. Delvecchio of LeRoy, N. Y., and the late Dominic Delvecchio, was born November 2, 1913, in LeRoy. He attended LeRoy Grammar School and High School. He was employed at Hirschman Ventilating Company plant. On January 10, 1942 he married Carmela LaRussa of Batavia.
He was inducted August 5, 1943. Serial No. 42 020 026. He left with the 39th contingent for Camp Upton, L. I. Then to Camp Harahan, La., and to a railroad battalion in Bucyrus, Ohio.
Albert went overseas July, 1944, three months in Southport, England and then to France. Sgt. Tech. Delvecchio served in General George Patton’s Army for eight months in Co. B, 764th Railway Shop Battalion. He died of bronchial pneumonia June 15, 1945. General George Marshall sent a letter of condolence and the Army Chaplain, Dennis McCarthy, wrote assuring his widow of his every care.
Sgt. Delvecchio received the Good Conduct ribbon and the European Theater ribbon with Bronze battle star. His body was brought to LeRoy to be buried in St. Francis Cemetery in the family plot. Besides his wife and mother, he was survived by five sisters and three brothers serving in World War II.

WIECZOREK, Steve J. 8-18-1911 - 10-14-1958
Nebraska PFC
Co C 764th Ry Shop Bn
WWII

740th Railway Operating Battalion Headquarters Company : May 1944

2011-10-20T09:39:00.002-05:00

Fort Benning 1941 Railroad photo

2011-10-20T09:35:00.001-05:00

U.S. Army Advertisements [various]

2011-10-20T09:27:00.001-05:00

744th Railway Operating Battalion: Joe Kizzia

2011-10-20T09:13:00.001-05:00

kizzia744

716th, 757th & 728th : 10 Soldiers sentence blackmarket

2011-10-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

Black Market Robs

3rd TMRS KComz readies for release of POWs

2011-10-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

3rd KComz