Army Transportation Journal Vol 1 No 8 September 1945 pp. 68

Thanks so much to author, Michael Heinzel for providing to the blog an English translation of a chapter pertaining to MRS units from his new book, Buch Eisenbahn in Ostbelgien nach dem 2. Weltkrieg: Besetzung - Befreiung - Wiederaufbau (Railway in East Belgium after World War II: Occupation - Liberation - Reconstruction) 

Reports from a German, American and Belgian perspective The railways in the Belgian-German border area served as deployment lines for the German invasion of Belgium in the First and Second World Wars. 

During the First World War they were only slightly destroyed, but then mostly ceded to the kingdom. During the Second World War, the destruction was serious. The local events of the years 1940-59 can be reconstructed using original documents from the Federal Archives, diary reports by American railway pioneers and official SNCB files from the Belgian train station Weywertz, and interesting insights into the political upheavals of that time can be gained. 

You can purchase in German here you can purchase in German here: Softcover 14.7 x 21cm 103 pages : https://bityl.co/B7jj 

 

If you can't see image click here : https://drive.google.com/file/d/165mOKwCNngH8q7hrAjwgEaQJGOWIOzK9/view?usp=sharing

Joe Morgan son, Don shares his dad's amazing photos from 741st ROB in Germany.

 Love the last line ... " Wallace now has green signals lined up for a run all the way "Home"."

https://www.ajc.com/news/obituaries/haywood-wallace/GGBVFHAYTJBKLIJGGSOEUX7PME/

Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 - burial cards US Archives 

Name    Robert W Ciarlelli
Gender    Male
Rank    Private First Class
Residence Place    Missouri
Service Number    37729458
Military Unit    741st Railway Operating Battalion
Military Branch    U.S. Army
War    World War II
Death Date    19 Oct 1945
Cemetery Plot Number    D
Cemetery Row    20
Cemetery Section    Grave: 3
Cemetery    Netherlands
Burial Place    Margraten, Netherlands
Father    J C Ciarlelli

 

**Thanks to Lewis for working on this if you know email me militaryrailwayservice@gmail.com and I will get you in touch with Lewis.

Do you know the numbers, names and ranks of the eighteen locomotives named in Belgium during February 1945 after 708 RGD soldiers and are there any photographs of these named locomotives?

During the WW2 USA supplied 2120 S160 locomotive The United States Army Transportation Corps S160 Class is a class of 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive designed for use in Europe during World War II for heavy freight work. They worked on railroads across the world, including Africa, Asia, all of Europe and South America.
During February 1945 eighteen S160 were named after Military personnel who lost their lives during the aerial and V1 bombardment of Liege and environs, Belgium. The locomotives were named after servicemen from 740th and 741th railway operations battalions and 755th railway shop battalion. Torret (1995) list 15 of the locomotive numbers and the names of three of the locomotives.

 Locomotive No    Name    Battalion
1    1609    ?   
2    2039    ?   
3    2052    ?   
4    2171    ?   
5    2174    Pvt J. A. Auriemma    741
6    2181    Pvt H.B.Lindsey    741
7    2182    ?   
8    2208    ?   
9    2327    ?   
10    2360    ?   
11    2582    Pvt H. J. O'Brien    741
12    2603    T/5 A.A. Van Kleeck    740
13    2615    ?   
14    2792    Pvt J. M. McGillis    755
15    2913    Pvt C J Anderson    741
16           
17             
18             


Gregory (1947) includes a photo of 2582 Pvt H. J. O’Brien being names by Major Gen. Frank S. Ross at Kinkempois Yard on 28th February 1945, also present were Lt. Col. S. Pulliam, Brig. Gen. C. Gray and Col. W. S. Carr. T/4 E. H. Welborn and T/Sgt A. R. MacDonald crewed the locomotive.
Recently I came across the photo of locomotive 2181 Pvt H. B. Lindsey on the internet and 2174 Pvt.  J. A. Auriemma.
Livingstone (1981)  list the eight 740th servicemen are the following T/4 D. R. Gnovese, T/5 J. L. Mullin, Corp S. J. Belcastro, T/5 F. Rallo, Pvt R. J. Greco, Pvt O. L. Lance, Pvt A. G. Lewis, and T/5 A. A. Van Kleeck.
Livingstone (1981) states 8 were named after servicemen from the 740th, 8 after servicemen from the 741st and one from 755th.
Ross (1945) states “On Dec. 24, a lone German plane bombed the joint billet of the 740th and 741st Railway Operating Battalions, six blocks from the Guillemins yard. Nine soldiers were killed, several injured. Three days later, a V-1 exploded in the Kinkempois yard in Liege. The 740th lost eight men this time, had twenty injured.”
Tourret (1995) states eighteen locomotives were name in February, the other references list seventeen, but are referring specifically to incidents in the 740th history.

Pictorial Handbook of Military Transportation: Operational Photographs of the U.S. Army
Transportation Corps European Theater of Operations 1945, list the eighteen men dedicated:
     Rank    Name    Battalion    Died    Locomotive No.   
1    Corp    S. J. Belcastro     740    27/12/1944    2171 ?   
2    T/4    D. R. Genovese     740    27/12/1944       
3    Pvt    R. J. Greco    740    27/12/1944       
4    Pvt    A. G. Lewis     740    27/12/1944       
5    Pvt    O. L. Lance     740    27/12/1944       
6    T/5    J. L. Mullin     740    27/12/1944       
7    T/5    F.    Rallo     740    27/12/1944       
8    T/5    A. A. Van Kleech    740    27/12/1944    2603   
9    Pvt    C. J. Anderson     741    24/12/1944       
10    Pvt    C. H. Creamer     741    24/12/1944       
11    T/5    R. D. Gugger     741    24/12/1944       
12    Pvt    H. B. Linsey     741    24/12/1944    2181   
13    Pvt    M.H.  Massaro     741    24/12/1944       
14    Pvt    B.    Reiss     741    24/12/1944       
15    Pvt    E. H. Wiese     741    24/12/1944    1609 ?   
16    Pvt    J. A. Auriemma     741    12/12/1944    2174   
17    Pvt    H. J. O'Brien     741    24/12/1944    2582   
18    Pvt    J. M. McGillis     755    25/12/1944    2792   

Unfortunately the scanned image of the locomotives around edge of the dedication is illegible, does anybody have a copy of Pictorial Handbook of Military Transportation: Operational Photographs of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps European Theater of Operations 1945. It shows 17 of the 17 locomotives.
               
 


References
Ross I. (1945) Combat Railroading VFW Bulletin Sept 1945 p33-35.
Gregory A. G. (1947) The saga of the 708 Railway Grand Division

Tourret R. (1995) Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War

Livingstone J. (1981) 740th Railway Operating Battalion History

Pictorial Handbook of Military Transportation: Operational Photographs of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps European Theater of Operations August 1945, Technical Information Office
Office of the Chief of Transportation.














           

Great bio of Joe Morgan he served in 709th RGD, 743rd ROB and 741st

741st ROB Stout by Nancy on Scribd

Jay writes about his Uncle Buddy ...
attached is the picture of my Uncle who was killed in Leige along with the train. You can see his name stenciled in on the side of the Engine. I wonder how that occurred since he was only a Private.

Dave shares his grandfather's photos from 741st.Thanks Dave ! My Grandfather Harold W Stout served in the army in the 741st Railway Operations Battalion and was at the Citadel in Liege on December 24th 1944 when a German plane got through and hit the ammo dump and fuel storage area. This is a picture of the makeshift memorial some priests erected for the American soldiers in his battalion that lost their lives that night.
 

Jay writes ...My dad's older brother, Harmon Braxton Lindsey, was in the 741st Railway OPR BN TC(Not sure what any of these acronyms mean).
I also have a few pictures that are attached. If you have any information on my uncle, please let me know. He was KIA on 12/24/44 in Leige, Belgium. The 2 pictures where he is with his unit buddies, I have no idea who these men are or if they are even still alive.
One of them is from Chicago I believe and had a nickname. I also have a picture of my Uncle on a Train with his name on the locomotive.
 ** update May 2018 Jay writes .....my 86 yr old aunt whose brother was Harmon said the man standing in the picture with my uncle on the cobblestone street was named Mickey Dominic from Philadelphia PA. If you can post his name to that picture somehow that would be great in case he has Descendents still alive.

Joe Morgan son, Don shares his dad's amazing copy of the Headquarter Company roster from 741st ROB. Thanks Don

741st ROB Headquarters List All by Nancy on Scribd

  



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

741ROB.pdf by Nancy

Thanks so much to Mark Volk for this great photo of a handgun and the paperwork needed for the soldier to bring back the weapon after the war ..

740 741st Combat Railroading by Nancy

American Battle Monuments Commission