WWII vets' 62nd reunion looks like the last for them
BYLINE: Jeb Phillips, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The men who once repaired and ran the broken railroads of Luzon sat in their hotel yesterday, talking about accepting reality.
These reunions used to draw dozens of World War II veterans of the Army's 749th Railway Operating Battalion. More than 100 gathered the time they met in Las Vegas, but that was a long time ago.
The reality is that only eight made it to this week's reunion in Dublin.
Every year, there are fewer living. The baby of the group is 84 years old, and he can't muster the same kind of enthusiasm for these gatherings since his wife passed away in 2000. She always came with him.
So the veterans have decided that the 62nd reunion, which ends Saturday, will be the last.
"Travel is just too difficult," said Don Gothard, the 84-year-old, who lives on the Far West Side.
Of course, they've all done their share of hard traveling. The 749th left San Francisco for the Philippines in January 1945 and spent 39 days aboard ship. It took them so much time because they took a zigzag path to avoid enemy submarines, said George Scott, 94, who spent most of his life in Athens County and now lives in Columbus.
They debarked at Luzon island under a red sky: Manila was burning. The Japanese had occupied the capital for much of World War II until American and Filipino forces liberated it in early 1945.
Manila was an important distribution point for American supplies, but the railroads were ruined. The 749th's job was to help open them back up, said Gene Farrow, 89, of Seymour, Ind.
They rebuilt bridges, laid track, dispatched trains and supervised the restringing of communication wires. They worked as firemen, shoveling coal, on steam trains. They moved prisoners of war. Most had railroad experience before the Army, and many spent the rest of their careers working with trains.
The members of the 749th don't have war stories the way some other veterans do. Other than the occasional sabotage, they weren't bothered by an enemy.
The story that Winston Johnson, 87, of Lincolnton, Ga., told yesterday was about being invited to a Filipino home for dinner. He had to take his shoes off, he said, and they sat on the floor. Three meat dishes were placed in front of them. He was told that one of them was dog.
"I ate a lot of fish over there," he said.
The soldiers spent about a year in Luzon, beyond the end of the war, and then were transferred to Korea, from where most were sent home.
The first reunion was in 1948 in St. Louis.
The group tried to make the "749th Railway Veterans Club" a family affair from the beginning, Gothard said.
Myra Lyon, 56, of Plainfield, Ind., attended her first reunion when she was 6, accompanying her father, Jack Swinford. She kept coming with her mother after her father died in 1991. Her mother couldn't make it this year, but Lyon did.
"I've grown up with all these people," she said.
William Bearfield, 70, of Tonawanda, N.Y., made it, too. His father, Isaac Bearfield, died in 1986. He said he feels these are family reunions without the bickering.
Bearfield and Lyon and some of the other "kids" have been talking. The veterans don't plan to meet anymore, but that doesn't mean the families can't. Tennessee sounds like a good spot for next year, Bearfield said.
The 749th might live on after all.
jeb.phillips@dispatch.com
GRAPHIC: Photo, (1) TOM DODGE / DISPATCH , The eight veterans at their final reunion are, from left, Gene Farrow, Bob Kern, Winston Johnson, Don Gothard, Ernie Buttice, Dick Likens, George Scott and Forrest Jenkins. , (2) Don Gothard, left, of the Far West Side, talks with Dick Likens of Hudson, Ind., at the 62nd reunion of their Army battalion. The gathering runs through Saturday in Dublin.
he Columbus Dispatch
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The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
WWII vets' 62nd reunion looks like the last for them
Wartime railroading Trains to Victory: America's Railroads in World War II By Donald J. Heimburger
RECOMMENDED READING Wartime railroading Trains to Victory: America's Railroads in World War II By Donald J. Heimburger and John Kelly. Heimburger House Publishing Co., 7236 W. Madison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130; www.rieimburgerhouse.com; 8 ½ x 11 in.; hardcover; 380 pages, 542 photos, 285 illustrations; $59.95, or $74.95 with slipcase and gold foil imprint.
The gigantic contribution of America's railroads to victory in World War II is a familiar story, but never told as impressively as this imposing new volume. Heimburger House has published many good railroad books, but this is its high-water mark. Jammed to the gunwales with photographs, charts, technical drawings, firstperson accounts, and vintage advertisements, the book feels as big as its subject.
The 542 photos, mostly black-andwhite, depict every aspect of the war effort on rails. It's all here: the men and material of troop trains, scores of steam locomotives built during the war years, specialty equipment such as troop sleepers and Baldwin export 2-8-2s, jam-packed freight yards and bustling passenger terminals, and the quiet moments of soldiers on their fateful journeys. The authors have tapped an impressive range of contributors and archives in an effort to be comprehensive, and the images benefit from a first-class printing job.
The book chronicles the role of newspaper and magazine ads that buoyed the public morale and extolled the railroads' patriotism. The New Haven's famed "The Kid in Upper 4" and the Pennsylvania Railroad's heroic color paintings are included.
The book's 13 chapters tell, perhaps tor the first time in one volume, a number of important stories: the strain on the nation's passenger terminals and trains; the effect of the War Production Board's quotas on steam locomotive design; the importance of the Army's railway regiments and its military "camp railroads;" the challenge of running the Army troop trains; the role of women railroaders.
The authors have thoughtfully included a number of personal anecdotes, such as the enlisted man who managed to keep his seat in the dining car despite the protests of officers at surrounding tables, or the Katy fireman briefly arrested for taking 8mm movies of German prisoners of war, or the man in Ogden, Utah, saddened when injured soldiers paused during a hospital-train station stop. These stories bring to lite the larger story of railroading's finest hour. - Kevin P. Keefe
Military Railway Service Veterans of World War II and Korea to be Honored at Conference 2009-05-28
Military Railway Service Veterans of World War II and Korea to be Honored at Conference
2009-05-28
Military Railway Service (MRS) veterans of World War II and Korea will be honored at the annual Transportation Corps (TC) Conference at Fort Eustis, Va., July 29-Aug. 1.
During World War II (WWII), more than 43,500 solder-railroaders served in more than 50 commercial railroad-sponsored MRS units stationed in theaters around the world. Seven of these were sponsored by BNSF-predecessor railroads.
Specific events scheduled to honor MRS veterans include "staff ride" visits to nearby rail facilities, tours of the Army Transportation Museum, showing of 1950s-era Army rail training films, history presentations on the Military Railway Service and the Claiborne and Polk Military Railway and access to the locomotive simulator trainer. The Museum Foundation General Membership Meeting luncheon and Conference Ball will enable veterans to meet and share their knowledge with each other and with today's generation of TC soldiers. Throughout the event, an Army History Detachment will be on hand to record the personal MRS experiences and impressions of these veterans for future generations. A detailed schedule listing times and locations for specific events will be published in the near future.
Most TC conference events will be open to the public. A special invitation, though, is extended to post Korean-era soldiers who served, or are currently serving, in active or reserve MRS units. MRS veterans of WWII and/or Korea, who want to participate in TC conference activities, should contact Mark Metz, LTC-USAR (Ret.) at e-mail: m-m-e@comcast.net or 717-597-2636. Other individuals should go to the Fort Eustis Web site at the end of May 2009 and complete the registration form.
BNSF Headquarters
BNSF Railway Company
2650 Lou Menk Dr. 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 961057
Fort Worth, TX 76161-0057
Phone: (817) 352-1000
For more information on the company and its transportation solutions, visit the BNSF Web site at www.bnsf.com
MRS rail units sponsored by BNSF
MRS rail units sponsored by BNSF (Burlignton Northern Santa Fe)
Here are the MRS rail units sponsored by BNSF processor companies as listed in MG Gray's RAILROADING IN EIGHTEEN COUNTRIES:
Unit Sponsor Activation Date
704th RGD GN 30 NOV 42
710th RGD ATSF 14 DEC 43
713th ROB ATSF 15 APR 42
732nd ROB GN 12 JAN 44
745th ROB CB&Q 19 MAY 43
747th ROB ATSF Not Activated
750th ROB SL-SF 21 MAR 44
758th RSB ATSF 6 APR 43
