Monday, May 15, 2023
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." "
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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 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.
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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
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