722nd Railway Operating Battalion wooden shoes

 

 Gloria writes... I have a question, these wooden shoes (pictured below) were bought at a yard sale in Red Bluff, California. 

A teenage girl selling them said they were found in her grandfather’s house when they were cleaning it out. 

 Would the ROB stand for a railroad battalion? And would Co. B have been in Germany in 1945? 

We have had no idea what the writing stands for. 

Thank you for your assistance.

Answer: Maybe a gift sent home from Holland by the soldier ? Company B was in charge of the rolling stock. 

Unfortunately she did not get the soldiers name .

717th Railway Operating Battalion etched soldier's cup

This cup was destined for the metal recycling at a thrift shop, was rescued and given to our Sisters Museum in Sisters, Oregon.

It is a diary and timeline compactly etched into the cup issued by US A Co 1943. 

Etched is the following: 

On the base: Co - A H D B 717th Ry. Opr. Bn 

1943 

  • Oct. 9 Ft. Dix 
  • Oct. 19 Cp. Harahan 
  • Dec. 16 Cp. Scott 

1944 

  • May 2 Cp. Kilmer 
  • May 25 ENGLAND 
  • Sudbury Bury Southampton 
  • Hereford 
  • Longmoor 
  • Sept 1 FRANCE 
  • Cherbourg-Chartres-Paris 
  • Valenciennes - Bohain 
  • BELGIUM 
  • Liege 
  • Sept. 23-29 

1945 

  • Antwerp Dec. 23-Jan 13 '45 
  • Apr 4, 45 GERMANY 
  • Frankfurt Bremen Bad Nauheim 
  • Wesel 
  • HOME

706thRailway Grand Division: Military GI Railroading with the 706th RGD Vol 10 No 3 winter 2004

717th Railway Operating Battalion - Yacono

 





Front- line Express by Charence Woodbury This Week Magazine March 11, 1944

Right now Yankee hoggers and brake-heads, engine hostlers, car knockers and gandy dancers are delivering goods in five continents. They are operating rail lines from Alaska to North Africa and from Iran to Caledonia ... This Week Magazine March 11, 1944

Research : Hospital Trains

US Army in Germany https://bityl.co/IiA0

 

WW2 US Medical Research Centre 

https://www.med-dept.com/articles/ww2-hospital-trains/

Movements of Railway Battalions ETO illustration Transportation Corp V. 5 Part II-3

One of the most important documents on this blog!

WWII and Korea Campaigns - Unit Citation campaign participation credit register

Campaign Register Prior to 1962 pages 322 - 429 (700s units)

715th Railway Operating Battalion - Lane

Railroad men from the 705th Railway Grand Division and the 720th Railway Operating Battalion training in New Orleans

Troops demonstrate military tactics. Official caption: "Railroad men from the 705th Railway Grand Division simulate defense against aerial attack. ASFUTC, New Orleans, La., 11/9/43." "

. Soldiers line up to eat dinner. Official caption: "Captain Chennault of the 720th Railway Operating Battalion supervises the messing of his company as they camp in the Combat Bivouac Area. ASFUTC, New Orleans, Louisiana, 7/14/43. Official U.S. Army Photograph. New Orleans Port of Embarkation. Publication Prohibited Unless Authorized. When published credit line must read: 'Photograph by U.S. Army.'" New Orleans, Louisiana.
Photos donated by : Richard Vernon Powell Jr. was born 14 July 1920 in Beebe, Arkansas and served in the United States Army duing World War II. Powell had been attending Harvard Business School when he registered for service. He would later serve as a captain in the U.S. Army at the New Orleans Port of Embarkation (NOPE). Powell passed away on 17 August 1999 in Norman, Oklahoma. The collection consists of 200 black and white photographs, most created by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, that Powell collected during his service in Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. Subjects include: The New Orleans Port of Embarkation (NOPE), the Army Service Forces Unit Training Center (ASFUTC), Services of Supply Unit Training Center (Camp Plauche/Camp Harahan), British Lend-Lease, Jackson Barracks, mosquito control, 814th Signal Port Company, 493rd Port Battalion, Sanitary Corps, Army Nurse Corps, 720th Railway Operating Battalion Transportation Corps Officer Candidate School, and the 400th and 393rd Stevedore Battalion. https://www.ww2online.org

716th Railway Operating Battalion - Chaplin Addison

 


716th and 724th Railway Operating Battalion theft articles

 

 

Evening Star  24 Jan 1945 

Evening Star Fri Feb 23 1945 

The Evening Sun_13_Feb_1945

Amarillo Daily News Fri Jul 13 1945 

Crestline_Advocate Thu Jun 21 1945

The Bradenton Herald Tue Jan 23 1945

Ft Worth Star Telegram Feb_23_1945

716th Railway Operating Battalion - Fleishman

1st Sgt Carl Flieshman 716th Railway Battalion 

This belonged to First Sergeant Carl F. Flieshman (ASN: 39118130) who served with the 1st Military Railway Service, 716th Railway Operating Battalion during World War 2. 

Full Name
Army Serial Number
Enlistment Place
Enlistment Date
Army Branch
Branch 
Race Or Ethnicity
Residence

Scrapbook: The scrapbook is filled with over 100 photos, newspaper clippings, command events, menus of locations in France and many more. There is a lot of official documentation like rosters, promotion notices, travel orders and tickets and so on. A Lot of reading and research is to be had with this scrapbook! 

Photo Album: This album contains hundreds of personal photos belonging to First Sergeant Flieshman, as well as his brother. There are pictures of the Flieshman brothers scattered throughout the album, as well as being seen together while in France at Metz. The photos mostly feature trains and other railway related scenes. There are many pictures of war torn landscapes, cities, train car crashes and so on. The most interesting photos are the ones of the victory parade in Paris and pictures of French General Charles de Gaulle, who would eventually go on to be the President of France for 10 years. 

One of the most historically significant items in the album is an original telegram dated December 20, 1944 and was addressed to the 716th Railway Operating Battalion in Paris. It is a notice alerting the guards and men of the 716th that German paratroopers were seen wearing American and British paratrooper uniforms. 

The original telegram is as follows: 12/20/44 710TH RWY GRD DIV PARIS 716ROB PARIS. PARACHUTISTS ARE DROPPING IN FOWARD AREAS DRESSED IN AMERICAN AND BRITISH UNIFORMS USING MOTOR AND RAIL TRANSPORTATIONS TO REAR AREAS. CHECK ALL TRAINS CAREFULLY APPREHENDING ANYONE ACTING IN SUSPICIOUS MANNER. C-157 CRILL—---0115. 

This telegram is in reference to Operation Grief, a special operation commanded by Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The operation was the brainchild of Adolf H, and its purpose was to capture one or more of the bridges over the Meuse river before they could be destroyed. German soldiers, wearing captured British and U.S. Army uniforms and using captured Allied vehicles, were to cause confusion in the rear of the Allied lines. A lack of vehicles, uniforms and equipment limited the operation and it never achieved its original aim of securing the Meuse bridges

716th Railway Operating Battalion - Skalka

716th Railway Operating Battalion - Highball newsletter (only front page )


 

Casey Jones at War : the story of Military Railway Service of the Transportation Corps

On five continents the Army's railroad troops are putting the spirit of American railroading to work in supplying the advancing armies of the United Nations

Ralph W. Engram, Jr. Unknown Unit

Bart writes about his cousin Ralph W. Engram, Jr. 

He was commissioned on October 20, 1943, at the Transportation Corps Officer Candidate School at the New Orleans Staging Area in New Orleans, LA. 

He knows that he served in France, close to Paris as he sent home several pictures of him on Christmas Day in Paris and others in the French rail yards, on locomotives, and in front of rail cars. 

Ralph is wearing LT insignia in all these pictures. He died in the 1950s so Bart never met him. His tombstone lists his unit as 1964th S.C.U.T.C. (these were ad hoc Service Command Units) which is a unit he served in after service in Europe. 

We would love to know what MRS units he was in, if anyone knows about Engram contact me militaryrailwayservice@gmail.com



 

Here are the captions from the back of the pictures: 

1. Picture with 3 figures: Capt Boyer, Capt Redding, Lt Engram 

10. Picture with 7 figures: Capt Haase, Lt Hellman, Lt Engram, Lt Lindsey, Lt Howell 

2. Picture of chateau: Chateau where Lt Engram lived January 1945 

9. Picture of soldiers in mess line: Chowhounds 

7. Picture of locomotive 1791: Lt Engram France January 1945 

5. Picture of front of locomotive: Lt Engram France January 1945 

Picture of person on rail car: Lt Engram France January 1945 

3. Picture of milkman: Lt Engram Paris Christmas Day 1944 

6. Picture of person standing in beside a rail car: Lt Engram France January 1945 

8. Picture of person leaning on pile post obstacle: Sgt Ralph Engram Camp Claiborne September 1942

714th Railway Operating Battalion -- Freshour

https://www.alaskarails.org/historical/Freshour/

Research MRS in Italy : Gotica Toscana

http://win.goticatoscana.eu/EN/Italy_at_war/StoryOfMRS/StoryOf1stMRS.html

Yanks win glory in Korea by Ruben Levin Signal Men's Journal October 1951

Yank Railmen win glory: military chieftans pay glowing tribute to heroic job done on five continents 1944 By RUBEN LEVIN

The Machinist, Official newspaper of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, published 1946 to 1994.

Keep ’Em Rolling By Shelby A. McMillion, Captain, Corps of Engineers

The Machinist, Official newspaper of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, published 1946 to 1994.

Military Railroading with the 706th Railway Grand Division

 


https://wjcnrhs.square.site/product/vol-10-no-2-winter-2004/77?cp=true&sbp=false

Research : Whitcomb Locomotives in WWII

  

 http://www.robertsarmory.com/whitcomb.htm

Research the 745th Railway Operating Battalion - India on this great Facebook page from George Duffy

 

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064592983689

Research Camp Claiborne

 Find out more about Camp Claiborne

http://www.campclaiborne.com/

Research locos -- United States Army & Air Force Locomotives

 


http://military.railfan.net/locos/

Rail Transport and the winning of wars by Gen James A Van Fleet

Military Railway Service: U.S. Army Railway Units of the Past has a new web page !

We have a great new web page: https://militaryrailwayservice.wordpress.com/we own the domains militaryrailwayservice.com and militaryrailwayservice.org and they will both redirect! This costs money, I would really appreciate any donations towards all of this sites expenses. Thanks DONATE HERE or email us if you'd like to send a check. Militaryrailwayservice@gmail.com

744th Railway Operating Battalion thanks letter from Major General Ross