Thanks to Rich Massad for these great photos and obit of his dad, Michael Massad, who served in the 729th Railway Operating Battalion
Michael DeCillo 730th Railway Operating Battalion
Mikes son John writes ... Just a note to say that my father Mike DeCillo served with the 730th during WWII. He passed at age 83 in 2000.
He sent along these photos and obit
U.S. National Archives Recalls Fire That Claimed Millions of Military Personnel Files
The National Archives and Records Administration recently marked the 45th anniversary of a devastating fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, that destroyed approximately 16–18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) documenting the service history of former military personnel discharged from 1912 to 1964.
https://goo.gl/juKzQj
745th Railway Operating Battalion Co. B -- Leo Clark Williams Jr.
Chris writes..... Here is the Company B photo. It looks to me like the photo was taken after they returned from overseas. My father, Leo Clark Williams Jr. is in the top row, 3rd from the right. Thanks Chris and he's sending more photos.
715th Railway Operating Battalion -- Ball
Loay J. “Jack” Ball
Dec 30, 2007
PRINCETON — Pastor Loay J. “Jack” Ball, 85 of 1131 Old
Athens Rd. in Princeton died Saturday, December 29, 2007, at Princeton
Community Hospital.
Born in Buchanan, Va., June 17, 1922 he was the son of
the late Matt Perry and Bessie Perkins Ball. He retired after 30 years of
service as a heavy equipment operator for Consolidated Coal Co. He was a member
of the Pentecostal Holiness Church and faithfully served in the ministry for 54
years. “Jack” proudly served his country in the U.S. Army during World War ll.
He served in Company A, 715th Railway Operating Battalion in North Africa and
Italy.
In addition to his parent's his wife, Opal Mae
Blankenship Ball; one son, Michael R. Ball; and several brothers and sisters
preceded him in death.
Survivors include one daughter, Sue Smithson and her
husband David of Princeton, with whom he made his home; four sons, Loay Dennis
Ball and his wife Betty of Bland, Va., Perry W. Ball and his wife Elsie, Billy
Joe Ball and his wife Jo Ann and Steven R. Ball and his wife Sandy, all of
Princeton; 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and eight
great-great-grandchildren, one sister, Stella Belcher of Princeton.
Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 p.m. Tuesday,
January 1, 2008, at the George W. Seaver Chapel of Seaver Funeral Home in
Princeton with Pastor Casper Dalton officiating. Burial will follow in Roselawn
Memorial Gardens in Princeton.
The West Virginia National Guard will serve as
pallbearers and conduct military graveside rites.
Friends may call at Seaver Funeral Home in Princeton from
1:00 p.m. to the service hour on Tuesday, January 1, 2008.
Seaver Funeral Home in Princeton is serving the Ball
family.
Below Ball's medals
Below Ball's medals
728th Railway Operating Battalion travel manifest 1944
Company a 728th ROB Manifest by Nancy on Scribd
Company B 728th ROB Manifest by Nancy on Scribd
Company C 728th ROB Manifest by Nancy on Scribd
718th Railway Operating Battalion William J. Ricketson
Thanks to Barclay for sharing his grandfather's William J. Ricketson great 718th ROB photos.
Please get in touch with me if anyone can identify any of the other soldiers or locations.
My grandfather William J. Ricketson (4th row from bottom, 2nd from right) of Cornelia, Georgia, pictured with his unit - the 718th Railway Operating Battalion, Headquarters Unit, at Camp Claiborne, Alexandria, Louisiana, 1944.
The 718th would deploy to the European Theater in July of 1944 and move from England, to France, to Luxembourg, and into Germany. The 718th Railway Operating Battalion took part in The Battle of The Bulge, moving troops and supplies back and forth to the front.
Historical notes follow:
One railroad historian, Carl Gray, notes of this Christmas that "the most noteworthy action was the Battle of the Bulge, when Von Rundstedt counterattacked the Third Army. In the thick of this action the troops of the 706th R.G.D. . . . Among those operating battalions directly involved in this action were the 718, 722 and 732 R.O.B." The Yankee Boomer elaborated, saying "Assigned to the task of a railhead battalion in support of the Third Army, the 718th operated the advanced line in Patton's territory, moving as close to the front as possible." Gray writes that "During the period of the [Battle] the 718 R.O.B. accomplished a rather remarkable feat in that they moved within forty-eight hours four divisions, including supply, of the Third Army laterally across the front into the south flank of the Bulge." The Boomer agreed, asserting that "this movement was so successful that units withdrawing from the line in the south received their supplies at railheads and were returned to combat without delay. Third Army spokesmen consider this a primary factor in the repulse of the Bulge." This was not all, for, as the unit's own historian indicates, there was the additional problem "of moving the Seventh Army, which was replacing the Third Army, and this was accomplished [by the 718th] also without halt."
712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion (TROB) Jimmie Ross Mulkey
712th TRSB Mulkey by Nancy on Scribd
706th Railway Grand Division 25 October 1943 - 9 May 1945
706 Railway Grand Division by Nancy on Scribd
740th Railway Operating Battalion Photos - unknown soldier
740th Railway Operating Battalion Photos by Nancy on Scribd
790th Railway Operating Battalion~~ Matlosz
My Dad, Pvt. Michael W. Matlosz, served in the 790th Railway Operating Company (Battalion?) in the Philippines during WWII. Any information about the 790th which you can provide, like date and area of deployment, would be most appreciated.
I know that his records were destroyed in the St. Louis fire. I've attached a few photos. Dad can be seen in 0164 and 0165.
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