Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
722nd ROB Richard Miramontes Co. B
Greg is scanning his grandfather's Robert Seeley's photos from the 722nd ROB C co. Also amongst his grandfathers rerecords Greg found an envelope of pictures from company B belonging to Richard Miramontes - please email me if you know or are connected to this soldier militaryrailway@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
763rd Railway Shop Battalion, Company A reunion
Frank sent this great photo of the 763rd 1952 reunion that both his Dad and Uncle attended he writes ....
763rd Railway Shop Battalion, Company A held a reunion at the Hotel Governor Clinton, NYC, on Aug 2, 1952.
Thanks Frank!
763rd Railway Shop Battalion, Company A held a reunion at the Hotel Governor Clinton, NYC, on Aug 2, 1952.
My dad (T/Sgt. Franklin W. Hurd) attended the
reunion with his wife Dorothy. Also in Company A and attending
was my uncle T-5 Charles E Hurd.
Monday, August 15, 2016
MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE REUNION - ARMED FORCES DAY WEEKEND (MAY 19 - 21) 2017- FT EUSTIS, VA
MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE REUNION - ARMED FORCES DAY WEEKEND (MAY 19 - 21)
2017- FT EUSTIS, VA
Currently, there are no formal national organizations for Military Railway Service (MRS) veterans to unite, share their experiences preserving the history of military railway transportation, network, or develop relationships. In post WWII, numerous MRS battalions formed veterans’ associations to carry on the comradeship developed during the war. These WWII battalion level associations were united on a national level through The Military Railway Service Veterans. Reunions were held at both the local battalion as well as the national levels. For WWII Veterans, national level reunions were held through the mid-1990s. The last of the battalion level reunions were held two to three years ago. Similar veterans’ associations were formed following the Korean War with two of these continuing to hold reunions.
Following WWII, the 714th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion (TROB) at Ft. Eustis was the Army's primary active duty railway unit until deactivated in 1972. Additional MRS units served on active duty at Ft. Eustis for short periods during the Korean War and Viet Nam War eras. None of the active duty units that served at Ft. Eustis have a surviving veterans’ association. The post WWII reserve rail structure has mirrored that of the 714th TROB and has left no surviving veterans associations. With only the two Korean War associations remaining active, it is safe to say that many if not most Veterans assigned to the 714th TROB and other short lived active duty units as well as those who served in the post WWII reserve structure have not visited the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (TC Museum) or are members of the U. S. Army Transportation Museum Foundation (USATMF.)
To address this issue, the USATMF is in the preliminary planning stages of developing a MRS Reunion to be held at Ft. Eustis over the 2017 Armed Forces Day weekend (May 19 -21). The Reunion is dedicated to the service of all active duty and reserve MRS Veterans from WWII to the current date. This weekend endeavor will provide MRS Veterans, their families, friends and the general public the opportunity to unite as one group; to visit the TC Museum, to share their story and history of MRS railroading; to receive a formal, interactive historical rail presentation, from a former professor of military history and to tour the Fort Eustis rail network.
While dedicated and open to all MRS Veterans, their families, friends and the general public; it is USATMF's intention to recognize those Veterans who served in MRS units during WWII, the Korean War and the BERLIN DUTY TRAIN through the Korean War era as Honored Guests by sponsoring their attendance at this Reunion. The Honored Guest program's objective is to provide up to 25 MRS Veterans with round trip transportation, accommodations and meals for the two-day Reunion. USATMF's intention is to fully fund the selected 25 MRS Veterans along with providing financial assistance to their escorts.*
We are currently endeavoring to identify MRS Veterans meeting Honored Guests criteria and interested in attending the Reunion. If you are such a Veteran or know of such a Veteran and desiring additional information please contact LTC (R) Mark Metz at m-m-e@comcast.net or (717) 331-8405. Additional general and specific Reunion details will be provided as they are confirmed. Please mark Armed Forces Day 2017 on your planning calendars and plan to join us at Ft. Eustis.
** 2011 photo
Currently, there are no formal national organizations for Military Railway Service (MRS) veterans to unite, share their experiences preserving the history of military railway transportation, network, or develop relationships. In post WWII, numerous MRS battalions formed veterans’ associations to carry on the comradeship developed during the war. These WWII battalion level associations were united on a national level through The Military Railway Service Veterans. Reunions were held at both the local battalion as well as the national levels. For WWII Veterans, national level reunions were held through the mid-1990s. The last of the battalion level reunions were held two to three years ago. Similar veterans’ associations were formed following the Korean War with two of these continuing to hold reunions.
Following WWII, the 714th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion (TROB) at Ft. Eustis was the Army's primary active duty railway unit until deactivated in 1972. Additional MRS units served on active duty at Ft. Eustis for short periods during the Korean War and Viet Nam War eras. None of the active duty units that served at Ft. Eustis have a surviving veterans’ association. The post WWII reserve rail structure has mirrored that of the 714th TROB and has left no surviving veterans associations. With only the two Korean War associations remaining active, it is safe to say that many if not most Veterans assigned to the 714th TROB and other short lived active duty units as well as those who served in the post WWII reserve structure have not visited the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (TC Museum) or are members of the U. S. Army Transportation Museum Foundation (USATMF.)
To address this issue, the USATMF is in the preliminary planning stages of developing a MRS Reunion to be held at Ft. Eustis over the 2017 Armed Forces Day weekend (May 19 -21). The Reunion is dedicated to the service of all active duty and reserve MRS Veterans from WWII to the current date. This weekend endeavor will provide MRS Veterans, their families, friends and the general public the opportunity to unite as one group; to visit the TC Museum, to share their story and history of MRS railroading; to receive a formal, interactive historical rail presentation, from a former professor of military history and to tour the Fort Eustis rail network.
While dedicated and open to all MRS Veterans, their families, friends and the general public; it is USATMF's intention to recognize those Veterans who served in MRS units during WWII, the Korean War and the BERLIN DUTY TRAIN through the Korean War era as Honored Guests by sponsoring their attendance at this Reunion. The Honored Guest program's objective is to provide up to 25 MRS Veterans with round trip transportation, accommodations and meals for the two-day Reunion. USATMF's intention is to fully fund the selected 25 MRS Veterans along with providing financial assistance to their escorts.*
We are currently endeavoring to identify MRS Veterans meeting Honored Guests criteria and interested in attending the Reunion. If you are such a Veteran or know of such a Veteran and desiring additional information please contact LTC (R) Mark Metz at m-m-e@comcast.net or (717) 331-8405. Additional general and specific Reunion details will be provided as they are confirmed. Please mark Armed Forces Day 2017 on your planning calendars and plan to join us at Ft. Eustis.
** 2011 photo
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Researching MRS at the National Archives
National archives :
U.S. Army Chief of Transportation "Historical Program Files"
World War II historians should also take note of the records of the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief of Transportation (OCT), "Historical Program Files, 1940 50," which contain documentation of the role of the U.S. Army in the rail transportation system in the United States and information concerning foreign railroads during World War II. These files include records relating to army operation of all or parts of the U.S. railroad system in 1943, 1946, and 1950. A long report entitled Plan for the Possession, Control, and Operation of the Railroads by the Army, dated December 27, 1943, describes the army plan, mandated by executive order, to seize control of the nation's railroads in response to the threat of rail union strikes set to commence on December 30, 1943. The purpose of the plan was to ensure uninterrupted rail service in moving troops, war material, and equipment for the war effort. Army control of the railroads, assumed on December 27, 1943, was terminated on January 18, 1944, as the threat of strikes ceased.(21)
Other records in this file include historical reports of the Military Railway Service and the Transportation Corps, Rail Division; army technical manuals, plans, and regulations on hospital railway cars, railway kitchen cars, other troop cars, locomotive repair shops, and locomotive inspections; army field manuals concerning the Military Railway Service and the Railway Operating Battalions; copies of The Yankee Boomer, a newsletter of the Military Railway Service; reports concerning wartime traffic control and the relationships between OCT and the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Office of Defense Transportation; records of the American Association of Railroads including the scripts of The Line Behind the Lines -- The Story of Railroads in War, a series of ten weekly radio programs; correspondence concerning civilian labor recruiting due to manpower shortages; and a report entitled American Rails in Eight Countries: The Story of 1st Military Railway Service, which tells the story of supply and service in Europe during the war.
The Southern Railway System wrote a report called Well Done, which describes the efforts of Southern to teach the fine art of railroading to American soldiers who would be operating military railroads overseas. Southern trained the 727th Railway Operating Battalion and other units a total of six thousand officers and men. Also included in these records are the annual reports of the Pullman Company for the years 1942-1945 and the Railroad Retirement Board, 1942-1945.(22)
The U.S. Army Military Railway Service prepared reports on foreign railroads in Europe and Africa, including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Libya, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. These reports include photographs, maps, charts, and general information concerning the status of foreign railroads in 1942-1943.(23)
https://goo.gl/c3BBtt
U.S. Army Chief of Transportation "Historical Program Files"
World War II historians should also take note of the records of the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief of Transportation (OCT), "Historical Program Files, 1940 50," which contain documentation of the role of the U.S. Army in the rail transportation system in the United States and information concerning foreign railroads during World War II. These files include records relating to army operation of all or parts of the U.S. railroad system in 1943, 1946, and 1950. A long report entitled Plan for the Possession, Control, and Operation of the Railroads by the Army, dated December 27, 1943, describes the army plan, mandated by executive order, to seize control of the nation's railroads in response to the threat of rail union strikes set to commence on December 30, 1943. The purpose of the plan was to ensure uninterrupted rail service in moving troops, war material, and equipment for the war effort. Army control of the railroads, assumed on December 27, 1943, was terminated on January 18, 1944, as the threat of strikes ceased.(21)
Other records in this file include historical reports of the Military Railway Service and the Transportation Corps, Rail Division; army technical manuals, plans, and regulations on hospital railway cars, railway kitchen cars, other troop cars, locomotive repair shops, and locomotive inspections; army field manuals concerning the Military Railway Service and the Railway Operating Battalions; copies of The Yankee Boomer, a newsletter of the Military Railway Service; reports concerning wartime traffic control and the relationships between OCT and the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Office of Defense Transportation; records of the American Association of Railroads including the scripts of The Line Behind the Lines -- The Story of Railroads in War, a series of ten weekly radio programs; correspondence concerning civilian labor recruiting due to manpower shortages; and a report entitled American Rails in Eight Countries: The Story of 1st Military Railway Service, which tells the story of supply and service in Europe during the war.
The Southern Railway System wrote a report called Well Done, which describes the efforts of Southern to teach the fine art of railroading to American soldiers who would be operating military railroads overseas. Southern trained the 727th Railway Operating Battalion and other units a total of six thousand officers and men. Also included in these records are the annual reports of the Pullman Company for the years 1942-1945 and the Railroad Retirement Board, 1942-1945.(22)
The U.S. Army Military Railway Service prepared reports on foreign railroads in Europe and Africa, including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Libya, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. These reports include photographs, maps, charts, and general information concerning the status of foreign railroads in 1942-1943.(23)
https://goo.gl/c3BBtt
Saturday, June 18, 2016
712th Railway Operating Battalion Edward Rosenberg
Edward's son Mark is working hard digitizing (scanning) and sharing photos of his father's service!
Thanks, Mark
He writes ...My father was a med tech with that unit which confirms what I could discern from the 700+ photo archive I have of his. It seems that as a med tech with the support group instead of front lines he had a lot of time on his hands.
This is what's he's working on .. it's up to us ( the kids and grand-kids of the soldiers) to honor their service.
Thanks, Mark
He writes ...My father was a med tech with that unit which confirms what I could discern from the 700+ photo archive I have of his. It seems that as a med tech with the support group instead of front lines he had a lot of time on his hands.
This is what's he's working on .. it's up to us ( the kids and grand-kids of the soldiers) to honor their service.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
German Reichsbahn Railway Eagle book released by Wilhelm Saris
Wilhelm Saris let us know his book about German Reichsbahn Railway Eagle was released
You may purchase a copy here www.bender-publishing.com
Previous article about the project here http://militaryrailwayservice.blogspot.com/2013/04/german-deutsche-reichsbahn-railway.html
You may purchase a copy here www.bender-publishing.com
Previous article about the project here http://militaryrailwayservice.blogspot.com/2013/04/german-deutsche-reichsbahn-railway.html
Monday, May 16, 2016
German Reichsbahn Eagle Major W.H. Hathaway to Mr F.A. Murphy. 708th RGD
Mr F. A. Murphy
Presentation of a plaque with a RMB German Reichsbahn-eagle and two affixed metal plates by Major W.H. Hathaway to Mr F.A. Murphy. (1 May 1945)
German Reichsbahn Eagle 722nd Railway Operating Battalion - McCormick
This eagle was captured and returned to the US after the war by Capt. William McCormick. McCormick was a member of the 772nd Battalion and rolled over the Rhine into Mainz Germany in 1945 for the express purpose of rebuilding the rail lines and communications. During his exposure to the German Railway system he managed to obtain a railroad eagle and he additionally managed to obtain the letters mounted under it. He took care removing the items as the studs are present not only on the bird but on the letters themselves. It was packed carefully in a unique box and sent home to his wife in Georgia.
The eagle measures at 600mm (24.5″) and is undamaged retaining it’s studs. The letters retain their studs and measure approx. 3.5 inches in height. In addition, period correspondence, newspaper articles, and the unit history for the 722nd are included in the collection as well as notes to his wife on the holiday.
Note:
Read more HERE
Friday, May 6, 2016
741st Railway Operating Battalion and 710th Railway Grand Division Captain Ralph H. Deets
Sally is working on her dad's, Captain Ralph H. Deets photos from the 741st ROB and the 710th Railway Grand Division. Here is a little sample- Thanks Sally
Friday, April 29, 2016
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
735th Railway Operating Battalion Francis Lewis (more)
John says (thanks john!) .... I found some additional photos of the 735th ROB in my father’s WW-II album. Most of these pics were either taped or glued onto pages of his 70+ year old album and I did not take the time to remove them when I sent my previous photos to you in July, 2013. It was a tedious process removing the pics without damaging the pages or the mountings. In this grouping I was also able to identify several specific men who were members of the 735th. Most but not all were from company C. I was able to connect a story my father had told me about the place where several 735th men stayed during their first three months in France. Only two days before they had landed at Omaha Beach Sept, 30, 1944. My dad said he was given orders to commandeer the ….hotel? for members of the 735th company C. He said it wasn’t a forceful thing at all as the owners welcomed the arrival of the Allied forces. If it was a hotel it was quite a facility (see photos).
Several years following the war in 1965, my father took my mother on a 2+ week vacation to northern Europe. He wanted to show her the places he traveled while in the Army. He went back to this hotel and they remembered him! It was a family owned business and when he first went in, he explained who he was to a descendent of the previous managers/owners that he knew from 1944.
My mom said he spoke to them in broken French that she didn’t understand, and it surprised her that they seem to understand him. She said suddenly this younger man he spoke with got real excited and started talking loud to others in the room. He disappeared to the back of the hotel and came back with his father. My mom thought something had gone wrong until this elderly man started hugging my dad. She said for several minutes it was a blur of foreign language. The elderly man tried to explain to my mom in broken English how much he and his family appreciated all of the American servicemen for their efforts and sacrifices liberating France. My mother said they had other places to see but the family kept them there for hours. She said they were very kind and prepared a dinner for them.
Please review the attached photos and add them to your site as you see fit. I enjoy doing my part in providing pictures of ROB servicemen for their descendants to enjoy. Last week I contacted the youngest daughter of Lt. Donald Baughman also of the 735th. I had not seen or talked with her in over 50 years. Her dad passed in 1973. She said that she also has photos that her father took when stationed at Fort Snelling and later overseas. Don and my father Francis Lewis remained close friends for many years. They were both promoted to Captain at war’s end, and both also worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad before and after the war. Michelle has promised to scan and send to me some of his photos. I will forward them to you after they are received.
Thanks so much for your efforts in developing your site to honor all American ROB members.
Best regards,
John
https://goo.gl/photos/FmthtP7bRa3VDXBq8