In early 1994, the 716th deployed to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, in support of JTF-160 Operation Sea Signal. The 711th, which built the C&P Railroad in Louisiana, went to Iran while the 727th headed for North Africa. December 21st, 1943 marked the day of activation of the 716th Railway Operating Battalion. His step sons were going to throw it away, but he rescued it and gave it to me. Unlike civilian railroads, however, the battalions also had to be prepared to destroy the line it operated. Page Transparency See More. The soldier-railroaders' story of the 716th Railway Operating Battalion. Members; 3,974 posts; Location: Nowhere special; Regular Army colonels commanded engineer regiments organized as railroad units. The US 716th Railway Operating Battalion ( ROB ) is building up supplies of fuel , ammunition , men & equipment for the up and coming invasion of Germany and end the war by xmas 1944.The photo is of a French 2-6-0 pulling into Sablon yard at Metz near the German border. Several hundred men with railroad experience were also assigned from the Engineer Replacement Center on the post. Original dark red wool unit flag with sewn on castle and battalion designation. The railroad was in terrible condition due to lack of maintenance, American bombing, and Japanese destruction. Professional railroaders commissioned as lieutenant colonels served as the regimental executive officer. Contact me : Nancy [email protected]. The concept of commissioning experienced railroad men into the Army continued in World War I under the auspices of the Military Railway Service (MRS) operated by the Corps of Engineers. Shortly after the amphibious landings on the island of Luzon in January 1945, a company of MRS troops arrived on the island and began to rehabilitate the rail lines so they could operate the Manila Railway Company. A lieutenant with experience in track maintenance commanded each one of these sections. General Jacob Devers, commanding the army group, commended MRS troops when he wrote:  “I want to send my congratulations to you and your splendid achievement in opening and maintaining the railroad system in southern France since the invasion of our forces.”. Known as the C&P Railroad for Claiborne and Polk, trainees called it the “Crime and Punishment” or the “Worst Railroad on Earth” because it was built on unstable ground, making derailments common. The 705th Railway Grand Division (Southern Pacific Company) oversaw military rail operations in India and Burma. After freeing North Africa from German occupation the Allies’ next move was to Sicily, and MRS personnel went with them. It was inactivated 11 January 1946, at Camp Kilmer, NJ. and is filed under Most of the officers and many of the enlisted men were experienced railroaders, but the new battalions included men drawn from Army training centers who needed to be trained. FOR SALE! With the rail yard back in operation, Naples became the primary port for supplying Fifth Army. This is the unit history of the 716th Railway Battalion and their activities in Europe during WWII. Cemeteries & Memorials; Burial Search; About Us; Education; Facebook; Twitter; YouTube; Instagram; ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: (703) 696-6900. Work began using rented earthmoving equipment operated by soldiers in the 711th until Army equipment became available. The Army Historical Foundation is the designated official fundraising organization for the National Museum of the United States Army. At its peak, it included eleven grand divisions, thirty-three railway operating battalions, and eleven railway shop battalions. 716th Railway Operating Battalion book 716th Railway Operating Battalion book. In areas of the world where there were large numbers of electric trains, such as Europe, a Company D could be added to the battalion to maintain the electrical supply system. THE 716th HIGH - BALL Weekly Newspaper published by the 716th Railway Operating Battalion Vol. To find and train officers and men for the new battalions, the Corps of Engineers developed an Affiliation Plan whereby commercial railroads in the United States sponsored specific units in the MRS. After a brief training period in St. Paul monitoring troop trains and studying car records and other documents in the Twin City terminals, the headquarters traveled by train to New York where it boarded the USS Orizaba as part of the Allied forces bound for North Africa. More than 6,000 troops worked on the line. Use PayPal link above ! Many of the enlisted soldiers were experienced railroad men who performed essentially the same jobs in the Army as they did in their civilian professions. The Manila Railway Company had about 712 miles of track on Luzon, but the American forces used only 234 of them designated the Luzon Military Railway. Organization. Our funding helps to acquire and conserve Army historical art and artifacts, support Army history educational programs, research, and publication of historical materials on the American Soldier, and provide support and counsel to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals. The 711th was joined by the 730th Railway Operating Battalion (Pennsylvania Railroad) and two shop battalions, the 754th (Southern Pacific Company) and 762d (American Locomotive Company, Baldwin Locomotive Company, Electro-Motive Corporation) Railway Shop Battalions. On 18 June 1941, the Army organized the 711th Railway Operating Battalion, the first of its kind, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. If you have any materials connected to these great Army Railway units please share them here with the families of the soldiers. They also supported British and the American forces fighting the Japanese in Burma. On 9 April, the 720th operated the first train across the new bridge. Unlike other railway operating battalions, it did not have a civilian company sponsoring it. 716th Railway Operating Battalion RARE WW2 716TH Railroad Operating Battalion Unit History - $20.91. As the war effort increased, the War Department activated additional railway units including grand divisions to coordinate operations in overseas theaters of operations and shop battalions to support the operating battalions. The 713th Railway Operating Battalion was activated in April 1942 and was one of the units which, after the crossing of the Rhine, helped to put destroyed railroad lines into operation and to operate them for the Allied armies. or trackback from your own site. Three days later, the 757th Railway Shop Battalion (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad) went to work at Cherbourg. Between World Wars I and II, the Corps of Engineers determined that the regiment was not the best organization for operating railroads. As new battalions arrived, the ones already on the continent moved forward behind the advancing armies. While in England, the American railroaders conducted technical training, prepared American steam and diesel locomotives for use on the continent, and assembled prefabricated railcars shipped from the United States. BATTALION ACTIVATED December 21st, 194 3 marked the day of activation of the 716th Railway . On 7 June 1945, American railroaders were operating 1,937 locomotives, 34,588 freight cars, and 25,150 miles of track in western Europe. The soldier-railroaders' story of the 716th Railway Operating Battalion. Locomotives and railway cars were not assigned to the battalion but moved through the entire railway system as needed. By October, MRS troops in the Philippines reached its peak strength of 3,200 officers and enlisted men and 6,010 civilians. THE 716th HIGH - BALL Weekly Newspaper published by the 716th Railway Operating Battalion Vol. After thirty-one days at sea they arrived at Bombay, India, in January 1944 to begin operation of sections of the Bengal and Assam Railway. In March 1945, the 729th, the first operating battalion to arrive in France, began transporting rail and construction material to Army engineers building a bridge over the Rhine River at Wesel, Germany. On 2 July, the 729th Railway Operating Battalion arrived in Normandy and took over operations at the Cherbourg terminals. A unique aspect of railroading in India was the use of elephants to switch cars when locomotives were not available. This entry was posted on 2:03 PM By the end of the month, the MRS was operating 1,006 miles of track and had carried 29,450 passengers on 251 trains and moved 136,169 tons of military freight on 991 trains. We seek to educate future Americans to fully appreciate the sacrifices that generations of American Soldiers have made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation. The 718th Railway Operating Battalion relieved the 712th on 14 March 1944, and at 1500 on this day the second Troop Train of the 712th left for Camp Myles Standish, Mass., the port of embarkation. The next higher headquarters for a railway operating battalion was a railway grand division that corresponded to the office of a general superintendent in a civilian railroad and oversaw the operations of several divisions. If you are a collector or memorabilia dealer PLEASE share copies or scans of items BEFORE you sell these priceless materials to private collectors . The same procedure was followed for other specialties in the battalion with soldiers working alongside their civilian counterparts to learn the basics of railroading. You can leave a response, His parents Newie and Alice were born in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. India also had little in the way of telegraph, telephone, or signal communications. Up for bid is an original book commemorating the 716 Railway Operating 292328242775 I received a nice little grouping tonight by the guy I worked with. Three days after the initial landings on 10 July 1943 the 727th Railway Operating Battalion went ashore at Licata, Sicily, and immediately began work on the Sicilian railway. Assisted by French engine crews and volunteers, the American railroaders repaired roundhouses, shop buildings, engines, and rolling stock while Army engineers cleared the rail line from Cherbourg to Carentan. Transportation Military Railway Service and more, 716th Railway Operating Battalion Millionaire Battalion by Nancy. In addition to Europe and North Africa, MRS units operated railroads in India, Burma, and the Philippine Islands. The move took only about one-third the time it would have taken for the troops to cover that distance by marching, and they arrived ready to fight. We were established in 1983 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The guidon has the leather attachments in the loop and also the QM tag. In general, a railway operating battalion could maintain and operate between ninety and 150 miles of single-track railroad, although its actual area of responsibility in wartime depended on the military situation. During the campaign in Sicily, the 727th operated 1,373 miles of railway using 300 locomotives and 3,500 freight cars that carried an average of 3,400 tons a day to supply Seventh Army. During the peak of the mission, the battalion provided command and control of nine … In July 1861, Confederate Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston dramatically demonstrated the importance of railroads in modern warfare when he moved 12,000 troops by rail from Piedmont Station (now Delaplane), Virginia, to Manassas Junction, a distance of about fifty miles, to reinforce the Confederate forces assembled southwest of Washington, DC. Engineer Reserve officers who were railroad men in their civilian careers helped design appropriate units for military rail operations. The MRS deployed five operating and two shop battalions to keep the required supplies moving. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, impressed with the work of the soldier-railroaders, wrote that “When we went into North Africa the railway could deliver a maximum of 900 tons of supplies…Yankee energy and modern American methods of operation…increased the daily tonnage to 3000.”. Engineer Battalion, 716th.] In September 1942, a detachment of men from the 713th and 727th Railway Operating Battalions became the first soldier railroaders to deploy outside the contiguous United States when they left Clovis, New Mexico, to assume operations of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad in Alaska. . Labels: One former member of the battalion did not have railroad experience. We seek to educate future Americans to fully appreciate the sacrifices that generations of American Soldiers have made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation. Grand divisions, operating battalions, and shop battalions continued to deploy to both northern and southern France to support the Allied forces rolling into Germany. They also operated sections of the British rail system that carried American troops and supplies. Share Followers 0. Fifth Army commander Lieutenant General Mark Clark recognized the contributions of the soldier-railroaders in Italy when he presented them with a plaque in 1944 that read in part:  “The services performed by the Allied Force Military Railway Service have contributed materially to the military operation of the Fifth Army.”. He was born on June 8, 1918 in Mississippi. Some 43,500 soldier-railroaders, most of whom brought years of experience with them, served in the Army in every theater of operations moving personnel and freight, often under enemy fire and through extreme weather conditions. MRS troops supporting the operation came from Italy. The grandfather was in the 726th Railway Operating Battalion and they didnt want this stuff, so here it is. All of C Company, 716th ROB was arrested in Nov 1944 for the theft of millions of dollars of railshipments of military goods. It means so much to the families of the guy's that actually served in these units. 2:03 PM His address in 1946 is listed as Brooklyn, New York. On 25 January 1968, the 716th Transportation Group (Railway) was activated and initially received attachment of the 714th TBROS&DE with its attached 488th, 508th, and 663rd Transportation Companies. After passing a physical examination, they were commissioned as Reserve officers in the Army and assigned to appropriate positions in the battalion sponsored by the railroad to provide a cadre of professional railroad men. In January 1943, the 701st Railway Grand Division, sponsored by the New York Central Railroad, was activated at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. As in Italy, railroads and yards were prime targets for Allied bombers in the months before the landings in Normandy, France. The last MRS unit, the 716th Railway Operating Battalion (Southern Pacific Company) left Europe in February 1946. For example, the U.S. signal for “go” or “highball it” in railroad terms meant “stop!” in the French system used in North Africa. The last American soldier railroaders left Iran in July 1945. the RSS 2.0 feed. The 761st Railway Transportation Company was formed for service in England, North Africa, and Europe; The 790 Railway operating Company was originally activate for service in New Caledonia later it was expanded into a battalion. 747th Railway Operating Battalion photos from KSan... 716th Railway Operating Battalion High-Ball Newsle... 716th Railway Operating Battalion -Millionaire Bat... 727th Railway Operating Battalion -Carping. Hardcover – January 1, 1945 by 716th. The ride to Myles Standish was an enjoyable one. Between D-Day at Normandy and V-E Day, MRS loaded and moved more than eighteen million tons of military freight. Using a Jeep equipped with flanged wheels, the detachment surveyed the lines from the landing area to the port of Cherbourg. In May 1945, when the war in Europe ended, the MRS included seven grand divisions, twenty-four operating battalions, seven shop battalions, and a variety of depot and maintenance units as well as eight battalions and two separate companies of military police. Army. Company B operated the roundhouse and repaired and maintained rolling stock—locomotives and cars. When the 730th Railway Operating Battalion was activated in May, its sponsoring company, the Pennsylvania Railroad, trained the unit on its line near Fort Wayne, Indiana. Company C was the largest unit in the battalion with two platoons, each of which had twenty-five crews to operate trains, yards, and stations in the battalion’s area of responsibility. Forgot account? 716th Railway Operating Battalion DI : Battalion AOR : Map showing area of responsibility for the 716th Railway Operating Battalion appeared in the 12 September 1945 edition of the 716th High-Ball. About See All. Destination Berlin: "The Transportation Corps will... 752nd Railway Operating Battalion Thomas E. Willia... 765th Transportation Railway Shop Battalion maps a... 765th Transportation Railway Shop Battalion Awards, 765th Transportation Railway Shop Battalion Insignia, 765th Transportation Railway Shop Battalion photos, 709th Railway Grand Division by Dave Kaufman. Eleven days after the Allies landed on 6 June 1944, a small detachment of MRS troops arrived to assess the railroad facilities in the beachhead, estimate damage to rails and yards, and locate available locomotives. Under the plan, a commercial railroad nominated officers based on their technical duties. American railroaders installed modern communications equipment to coordinate the increased train movements. or. Its next assignment was a bit more challenging. While the emphasis was on railroading, the soldiers attended basic combat training and the battalions all conducted disciplinary, physical, combat, and technical training in accordance with appropriate Army field manuals. From January 1942 through November 1943 the Second, Ninety-fifth, and Eighty-eighth Infantry divisions used Camp Bullis. Recommended Posts. 748th Railway Operating Battalion Dave Kaufman. With a variety of languages among the railroaders, the crew often used hand signals, although that was not always a solution. *716th, 732nd, and 744th Railway Operating Battalions * Northern France* Rhineland * Central Europe * METZ, FRANCE Sablon Railway Yards Uncle Raoul and the Soldier-Railroaders continued their work in the Aulnoye sector for a few months until orders came down for the 716th to depart for Metz, France. Between 1 June and 31 December, they operated a total of 7,410 trains with 48,131 cars. A variety of engineer, signal, and military police units provided support to the railroaders. Company A repaired and maintained track and associated equipment such as switches, bridges, water tanks, signal equipment, and buildings. 7 --- 10 October 1945 Page 1 The battalion deployed to Operation Desert Shield in October of 1990, and during Operation Desert Storm supported VII Corps, XVIII Airborne Corps, 22nd COSCOM, and the 1st Infantry Division. The headquarters … The Military Railway Service was a remarkable team effort made possible by the Affiliation Program the Army and American railroaders developed in the 1930s and implemented as the clouds of global war appeared on the horizon. 716th Railway Operating Battalion -Millionaire Battalion, 716th Railway Operating Battalion Millionaire Battalion, 712th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, 714th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, 765th Transportation Railway Shop Battalion, 8010th Transportation Traffic Regulating Group, Atlantic Coast Training Corps Officer Training School, 752nd Railway Operating Battalion Barney photos, 752nd ROB: Division Mourns Death of Jim Guerci. The book is 13X91/2 with 90 plus pages of 100+ pictures and related maps. The organization of a railway operating battalion paralleled a typical Army battalion with a headquarters company and three or four lettered companies. 716th Military Police BN Vietnam Reunion Inc. After serving some months together at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA and then their year together in Vietnam, Duane Hursey and Tom Malotke came home to the USA; together also. 7 --- 10 October 1945 Page 2 In September, the company deployed to Scotland where it operated the Melbourne Military Railway and provided switching service to depots being established by American forces. The first railway operating battalion to arrive in England was the 729th (New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company) in July 1943. Our funding helps to acquire and conserve Army historical art and artifacts, support Army history educational programs, research, and publication of historical materials on the American Soldier, and provide support and counsel to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals. In addition to the freight, special passenger trains carried 16,000 Iranian military personnel, 14,000 Polish war refugees, 40,000 British troops, and 15,000 Russian ex-prisoners of war. At its peak the MRS operated 1,905 miles of railway in North Africa. the RSS 2.0 feed. The only other changes to the end of January were the opening up of the branch out of Angleur south to Trois-Ponts on 17 January, and resumption of service on the Malmedy line to Sart-lez-Spa on 25 January. It also had two platoons, one to repair locomotives, the other to repair cars. Trains were operated by British, French, and American crews assisted by Arab civilians. It was but the first effort to transport large numbers of soldiers during the Civil War by rail. By July 1944, all of the MRS troops that had been in North Africa were in Italy operating 2,478 miles of railway with an average of 250 military trains a day in addition to civilian passenger and freight service. The work included replacing thousands of ties, repairing several bridges, and installing twenty culverts. The scene is the Allied invasion of France during World War 2. Railway supplies began to reach Luzon in February, including locomotives, cars, shop machines, and track material. While Army engineers rebuilt bridges along the rail line, railway troops repaired locomotives and railcars. Railroads were so important that the War Department organized the U.S. Military Railroads and the Railroad Construction Corps to repair, operate, and maintain rail lines as the Union Army moved into Confederate territory. The Army returned control of the Luzon Military Railway back to the Manila Railway Company on 1 January 1946, and the last MRS personnel left the Philippines three months later. willysmb44. The company had two platoons, one for bridge and building maintenance and one to maintain track. When the Americans and British began planning for an invasion of North Africa, logisticians estimated that it would require thirty-four trains a day to move 5,000 tons a month from the ports of debarkation at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers to keep Allied forces supplied. Two of the most experienced operating battalions, the 713th and 727th, deployed to Marseilles and began operations at the end of August. [United States. I often talked with our guys at Taekwangni which, at that time, was our last rail station north. Shop battalions handled major repairs, construction, and overhaul of equipment while the base depot company provided supplies. In its first thirty days of operation, 273,141 tons of freight moved east across the bridge while another 403,656 tons and 309,000 displaced persons moved west. Later other companies were attached directly to the Group, but not a battalion headquarters. They decided to use the lowest organizational element of American railroads, divisions, as the basis of the new organization. Army. Railroading in North Africa proved to be a challenge. In March 1942, the 727th Railway Operating Battalion, sponsored by the Southern Railway Company, became the first battalion to be activated after the war began, followed in April by the 713th, affiliated with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company. The first track was laid in September, and in October, the 91st and 93d Engineer Battalions, both manned by African American soldiers, arrived to assist with the construction.

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