727th Railway Operating Battalion In World War Ii Unit History 1r5a5n

Inspection at Camp Shelby.

Kring was held in late August, after the battalion

received a tentative alert order. September 29th

our battalion lined up to take a good look at

the man who was in charge of the whole vast

job of winning a war which we had not started,

but in which we were now fully committed.

That was the day President Franklin I). Roose-

velt inspected camp in his quick tour through

the training areas of the South.

On November 7th the War Department an-

nounced that a task force had landed at numer-

ous points on the North African coast under the

direction of Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This electrifying news spread rapidly through

camp and over the road we were operating. This

was it! The first dent had been made. Would

we be a part of it—or would Ave be only 'listen-

ing in" while history was being made?

For those who asked this question the answer

came almost at once. Two days later the 727th.

"at existing strength," officers and enlisted men.

was ordered "to proceed to Port of Embarkation.

Brooklyn, New York." The order could have

left no doubt, but in case there was any, this line

appeared almost at the order's end: "Dependents

will not accompany troops."

It looked as if we would be in the war—and

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fast . . .

in U.S.A.

l1

Col. Okie, Capt. Stevens, Lts.

Gary, Shelton and Norris of Co.

"B" at Key Field . . . Capt.

Wittekind, Major Moss, Col.

Okie, Lt. Mauney at Camp Shel-

by .. . Some of the men of Co.

"B" relaxing after work call at

Key Field . . . More of Co. "B"

at Key Field . . . Capt. Oshom,

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Battalion Medical officer.

l2

The 727th Railway Operating Battalion

»

(Top) A view of the Co. "B" area at Key Field . . . (Bottom) Co. "A's" area at Camp Shelby.

We had eighteen days to get ready. In that byes said. We congratulated M/Sgt. Baker,

time garrison property was turned in, pack. T/Sgt. Hunter and l. Weaver, all of whom

equipment issued, medical checkups made, final ed their exams—and stiff ones they were—for

furloughs granted, enger lists compiled. Warrant Officer, Junior Grade,


crating and boxing completed and final good- On November 20th we pulled out behind

in U.S.A.

l3

Shoving off

(Top to bottom) Loading up the 76lst

Transportation Co. for its last ride from

Camp Shelby, l942 (The personnel were

furnished from our outfit.) . . . Our train

pulling out of Hattiesburg for POE, Fort

Dix . . . The train crew lines up to say

goodbye (I to r) Lt. Cabra, Pfc Keegen,

Sgt. Reese, T/4 Guard, Pvt. Carter, Ltd.

Hickey, Clark Hungerford (Gen. Mgr.,

Southern lilt.), Sgt. Qjiillen and the civilian

crew.

(Right) The hour of departure for POE

from Camp Shelby . . . Taking exercise

somewhere in Pennsylvania, enroute to


POE.

li


Southern Railway officials and somr 727th officers before our departure for overseas.

Southern Railway engine No. 727 with engineer

Sgt. Willard M. Quillian and conductor Sgt.

John H. Reese hauling the first train, which car-

ried battalion personnel from Hattiesburg.

Three trains did the transport job. two from

Camp Shelby and one from Key Field. Our

sponsor, the Southern Railroad, did much to

make the trip as pleasant as possible. We were

accompanied as far as Washington by two of the

road's officials, Mr. Morris Stewart, Superin-

tendent of Motive Power, and Mr. Clark

Hungerford, General Manager. The latter was

one of the men who, in l929, had been selected

to set up the battalion which evolved into the

727th.

After the heat of Southern summer. winter at

Fort Dix, New Jersey, was no bargain. Com-

pared with the warmth of barracks or an office

down the tracks, tents were not too much appre-

ciated. But the inconveniences were soon for-

gotten in the excitement of preparing for the

long trip overseas. After two days in Dix we were

pretty well set up, and the business of staging

was begun. During the month, we worked to

get ready. Many of us received 24-hour leaves,

and on one of them, Sgt. Mannion of Company

"C" was given permission to take 48 instead of

Wooing Lady Luck enroute to POE.

24. For this was an important occasion—the

sergeant planned to get married, and did, with

many of his C Company buddies attending the


ceremony.

in U.S.A.

l5

During our stay at Dix we also located seven

of our yardmasters and operators who had been

sent out from the battalion several months

earlier to Fort Hamilton, where they had ap-

parently been misplaced in the early rush to get

men overseas. We wanted them back. Upon

application to the Commanding Officer of the

New York Port of Embarkation, Sergeants A. J.

Moxley, Melvin E. Miller, W. Farrel, W. J.

Husting, Millard M. Bartlett and Joseph C.

Cravey were transferred back to the 727th. It's

worth ing that at least two of these

men were destined to receive special recognition

for outstanding service overseas.

On December l0th, the waiting period ended.

Our battalion, which ten months before had

started with a handful of officers, equipped with

a set of blueprints, at a camp of which few of

us had ever heard, was now boarding a ship for

an unknown destination. Only the tall towers

of New York, and the Statue of Liberty, shining

in the morning mist, saw us leave for overseas

and whatever fortunes of war awaited us there.

We were ready for them.

OVER THE BOUNDING MAIN

Guessing started shortly after we steamed out

of New York, and started across the grey Atlantic

for an unknown port. Which port was the big

question.

The guessing didn't last long, at least not dur-

ing the first part of the voyage. The old Atlantic

was having one of its winter tantrums. Four

days of continuous rough weather sent a good

many of us to our bunks with seasickness as Sgt.


M. Morris of "H & S" and Sgt. F. A. Walker of

Company "A," who were particularly kind to

the fish, could well testify. On the fifth day the

weather cleared, and the voyage became more

enjoyable, marred only by two sub alerts. The

sound of the sub doors closing deep down in the

holds of the three ships on which we were pas-

sengers brought the war very close.

On Christmas Eve, near midnight, we learned

more about our destination. It was a beautiful

warm night with a full moon. On deck the

chaplain was holding a Christmas Eve mass. The

lights of Ceuta, Spanish Morocco, the first un-

shielded lights we had seen in eleven days, ap-

peared on our starboard. The Rock of Gibraltar,

ghostly in a halo of mist, was on our port. It was

all so beautiful and awe-inspiring that we were

deeply impressed. We were thinking of home.

Then we became aware that our black ships on a

silvery sea made us sitting ducks for a waiting

submarine.

We now knew where we were going. We were

sailing into the Mediterranean Sea, which

Benito Mussolini, in his balmier days, was so

fond of calling Mare Nostrum. The day after

Christmas we docked at Mers El Kebir, near

Oran, Algeria, and marched down the gang

plank in a cold, intermittent rain.

The 727th arrived the day after General

Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of

the Anglo-American invasion forces. On the

same day the great German battleship Scharn-

horst was sunk off Norway, and the assassination

of iral Darlan made front page headlines in


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ftortk Africa

OUR MOST SPECTACULAR OPERATION

On-Tlie-Job Training

YTTHOEVER coined the phrase about the

** African desert being "a tactician's paradise

but a quartermaster's hell" hit it right on the

button. That's what we found the Sahara to be.

We had landed at a crucial time. The British

Eighth Army, which had made a name for itself

at El Alamein, was attacking and driving Rom-

mel westward from Egypt through Libya. In a

bold stroke that had made the world catch its

breath, and Hitler ponder a little more uneasily

about the invincibility of his •Master Race," the

Allies invaded North Africa on November 8th,

landing at Casablanca, Oran and Algiers. After

a few nominal skirmishes, the French came over

to our side. Still new on the "Dark Continent,"

our forces had not landed sufficient supplies and

men to push the advance through to Tunis. By

January, l943, the Allies were in complete con-

trol of North Africa from Casablanca to a line

just east of Constantine, Tebessa and Gafsa, and

it was to this area that the 727th was sent.

All of this didn't develop overnight. Upon

disembarking at Oran, we were informed that

our housekeeping and operating equipment had

been unloaded at Casablanca, 500 miles west and

weeks away. But we met good and old friends

at Oran, the 76lst Railway Transportation Com-

pany, which fed us and helped us to find

quarters. It was at Oran that we discovered that

pup tents were fine for maneuvers in the States,


but that garages, stables, theatres and abandoned

railway coaches were better fitted for North

Africa's winter weather.

Mixed up or not, there was work to do almost

immediately. The battalion was split up into

small detachments. "A" Company got two jobs:

assisting French civilian railways to maintain

trackage, and constructing a few depots for

Army Engineers. Most of "C" Company went to

work in a QM depot, but some of its men acted

as highway traffic officers as far away as Oujda.

We found that our men who originally had

been sent out as special troops from Company

"B" were wasting good railroad talents in an

ordnance outfit. Upon application to Base

Headquarters we managed to have them re-

turned to our battalion. It seemed to us at the

time that all the training we had been given had

not been worth the time and effort.

On January l9, l943, the 727th Railway Op-

erating Battalion assumed responsibility for the

operation of the meter-gauge railroad lines in

eastern Algeria and Tunisia. At that time it was

the plan of SHAEF to build up a big supply

l7

l8


base at Tebessa. The Americans had a small

reconnaissance force at Gafsa and were operat-

ing patrols in western Tunisia. The Germans

and Italians had similar forces, but as the coun-

try was wide open and the number of troops

(Tup) This was our camp at Ouled Rhamoun . . .

Tebessa—last rail terminal to the front during the

Kasserine operation, January-March, l943.

limited, there was little actual and no

well-defined front lines.

The Americans had hoped to make a dash to

the coast: that is, to the Gulf of Gabes, cutting

the line of communication between the German

and Italian armies near Tunis, and preventing

Where Co. "A" slept the first night on African soil.

Other companies were not so fortunate.

their uniting with Rommel's army, which was

retreating westward through Lybia. The Ameri-

cans hoped to build up quickly a strong force

in Rommel's rear while the British Eighth Army

was driving him westward. The two Allied

armies might then be able to destroy the famous

German desert army in the vicinity of Sfax.

The CO had been far up ahead doing recon-

naissance near the front. When he returned, the

future became clear. Something big was brew-

ing east of Tebessa, and the battalion was to have

a good deal to do with the success or failure of

the advance. The Americans could not build

up a strong force until there were sufficient sup-

(Above) The staging area at Tabarka, Tunisia . . .

(Below) Looking toward the Pirates' Castle, Tabarka.

plies in the semiarid desert area around Tebessa

to sustain several divisions.


The 727th was assigned to transport these

supplies to the base at Tebessa and to supply by

railroad a thrust to the coast, as there were prac-

tically no highways over which supplies could be

carried. All this depended on time and Rommel

could easily guess the American plan. There-

fore, it was good strategy on his part to strike the

Americans at Tebessa and Gafsa and destroy

in North Africa

l9

Agha yard, Algiers, Algeria. The

famous African city was ivest of

our area of operations.

iheir supplies before they could build up suffi-

cient force to endanger his rear. The American

force at Gafsa knew that Rommel would antici-

pate their plans and tried vainly to secure addi-

tional troops. For reasons best known to the

supreme command no help was sent and so it

appeared probable that Rommel would force

the Americans to retreat from Gafsa.

But this is getting ahead of our story. Mean-

while, Capt. Carrol C. Mullen, Capt. Harold

C. Mauney, Lt. James G. Beard, and Sgts. W. S.

Ward, V. F. Hoster, and D. C. Proctor were sent

ahead as an advance party. Morale improved

immediately. On January 2lst we arrived at

Tebessa and started learning the road on all the

narrow gauge lines. Part of Company "A" and

Extensive Roman ruins we saw


/it Tebessa. Algeria.

20


ten train crews and operators went on to

Thelepte to be ready to assist any forward move-

ment— a move which did not come off.

Colonel Okie's field notes reveal some of the

dition, and 25% of all locomotives fail be-

fore making a round trip. The local French

railway its that had this Organization

not assisted, that operation would have

(Auove) Co. "A" area, Tabarka, Tunisia . . . (Below) The mess tent in Ain Beida yard, March, l943. Lt.

Hodges in the foreground is coining to tness.

work we had to do, and what we had to work come to a complete stop. For instance, the

with: shop at Tebessa had only l8 mechanics of

... the motive power [on the Ouled all types to work on locomotives. Company


Rhamoun-Tebessa line] is in terrible con- "B" has replaced more than 250 boiler

in North Africa

21

Zke Qermans Ceft Zkese for Us

Nos. I and 2 bridges (I to r) east of Kasserine after German retreat, March, '43. A y^-mi. "shoo fly"

u'as built around No. l.

(Top) No. 3 bridge, Kasserine , double span, March, l943 . . . (Bottom) Close-up of frog demolition

at Thelepte. Retreating Nazis destroyed all frogs at every station.


r

')•)


(Above) This Co. "A" truck was strafed on "Messerschmitt Lane," the highway between Thelepte and

Gafsa. The Nazis got l2 trucks and seven men, but none of the casualties were ours. Men Cornwell, driver,

and Love . . . (Below) The Nazis destroyed vital water supplies, like this lank and treating plant at Kasserine.

tubes and has given two engines Class 3 re-

pairs. Much of the material that is used,

such as packing, is of such poor grade that

it has to be continually replaced . . . Also,

the first priority supplies and tools of this

Organization are just arriving, and it is ex-

pected that 70% of the supplies will have

arrived by l March. [They never arrived.]

At the end of January, the 727th knew what


it was like to be under fire—and strafing fire at

in North Africa

23

that. The II Army Corps was active in the

Sbeitla-Gafsa area. Company "A's" B & B pla-

toon, with two crews from Company "C," moved

into Gafsa by truck. On the road going into

town, a German fighter came down through the

clouds, strafing seven trucks in the convoy, and

killing seven soldiers—none of them, however,

from our battalion.

At Gafsa, the party secured a French locomo-

tive and went out on track reconnaissance, mov-

ing l7 miles east of Gafsa where the tactical

situation up front stopped further advance.

February 3rd, Engineers J. O. Ling and J. L.

Stump drew one of the trickiest assignments in

our railroad work in North Africa. In the engine

house at Sened there were six dead engines, l4

cars of ammo, one coach and one boxcar that

were to be moved back to Gafsa. Capt. Edwin

B. Connerat decided that the only way to get

those engines out was to pull them out by means

of a cable. His crews used a winch on a four-

ton truck for the job—a field expedient that did

the trick. Faced with heavy grades, and using

only a small engine for the job, Ling and Stump

hauled the big load of dead locomotives, ammo,

and odd cars back to Gafsa, and then on to

Metlaoui, drawing for themselves and their unit

a verbal commendation from Col. Frederick B.

Butler, II Corps, who was in charge of the Gafsa

area.

On February 8th we took over complete op-

eration and maintenance from the French

civilians at Tebessa and suffered our first direct

street bombing attack. We built up tonnage


movements to more than l,400 net tons daily

from the rear of Tebessa, and to between 600

and 800 tons toward the front, plus troop and

hospital trains. Equipment was in very bad

shape, and the l22-mile run from Ouled

Rhamoun to Tebessa, for example, took a good

40 hours to run.

Two Diesel jobs picked up at the phosphate

mines near Le Kuif helped a great deal. It was

not until near the end of the North African cam-

paign that the first shipments of GI locomotives

arrived. To add to our difficulties, old telephone

lines were either cut or failing constantly, giv-

ing Headquarters and Service Company men a

real run for their money as Sgts. G. W. Nethers

and D. C. Proctor could testify. "C" rations

were the food mainstay, with pork and beans

taking precedent, for most of us, over the beef

and vegetable stew. Food was eaten on the run,

or in our pup tents that were spotted in and

around the cactus patches.

The first three weeks of February were not

only tense and crucial for the 727th; they were

memorable for the entire II Army Corps, which

we were helping to on General Rom-

mel's left Hank. For suddenly, in early February,

the "Desert Fox" threw Panther and Tiger

tanks of his 2lst and 22nd Panzer Divisions in

our direction in an attempted break-through

that came close to success. Both the Kasserine

and the supply base at Tebessa were threat-

ened. We received orders to do our level best

to salvage all engines and equipment from cap-

ture before the enemy reached Sened, Gafsa,


2i


Some of the Men Who ' Went to Work 'oh the Mis

26


lst Sgt. Walker and Capt. Boles at Co. "A" head-

quarters, Tebessa.

the railroad through Gafsa was still privately

owned and had not been requisitioned by the

French Army and was. therefore, not under the

control of the military.

Three engines were commandeered and fired

up. Lt. Howie and his detachment of Company

"C" went by truck to Metlaoui, the main ter-

minal of the Sfax-Gafsa Railroad, to evacuate

the engines and cars. There had been very little

railroad traffic on this line because coal Avas al-

most unobtainable. The engines were cold and

had to be fired up. The only trail to Metlaoui

ed through Gafsa, and it was necessary to

instruct Lt. Howie to send his truck back as soon

as he arrived in Metlaoui. He and his men

understood that they would have to get out of

Metlaoui by railroad; otherwise they would be

cut off and captured by the Germans. It was

during this operation that one of our trucks•

driven by Pvt. E. M. Barnhardt, became our first

truck battle casualty between Gafsa and

Metlaoui.

There was terrific confusion at Gafsa as the

French Army decided to move a detachment of

Senegalese and Ghoume troops and all remain-

ing mules by railroad. No one had anticipated

this movement and it was a comical as well as

an exasperating experience to watch the

Ghoumes load their stubborn mules in the tiny


French boxcars. The Americans had to load 290

tons of artillery ammunition which they could

not afford to leave. There were not sufficient

troops to load this ammunition so the 727th had

to do this also. Finally, at 2:45 A.M., or two

hours and forty-five minutes after the combat

troops had left town, the last train pulled out of

Gafsa.

Lt. Howie and his detachment from Company

"C" reported by telephone that they were hav-

ing good success in firing up the engines they

found in Metlaoui. At first, the French civilians

at Metlaoui were very hostile to the Americans,

thinking they had come to steal their engines.

When they learned that Gafsa was being evacu-

ated, everyone went to work and helped.

There was also confusion on the highways be-

tween Thelepte and Gafsa. Conflicting orders

had been issued with the result that the rear

lines were stationed ahead of the front-line com-

bat troops. To complete the rout, at daybreak

Monday morning the Germans came over and

strafed the highways and railroads. The first

train out of Metlaoui was strafed about l5 miles

south of Thelepte.

Lt. Howie and his group had done a mar-

velous job. starting eight trains out of Metlaoui

which to all intents and purposes would have

evacuated all the important railroad equipment,

troops, and personnel in that sector. The rail-

road from Metlaoui to Thelepte runs through

a rough, semiarid, sparsely settled country.

There were a number of large bridges and sev-

eral tunnels on this line. About 25 miles south

of Thelepte the railroad crossed a long masonry

viaduct at S'Bou Bakar. For some unknown rea-

in North Africa

27

son, a detachment of United States Engineers

blew up 29 spans of this viaduct, effectively

cutting our lines so that all the equipment leav-

ing Metlaoui was blocked behind this long

bridge.

The "C" Company men who found the bridge

destroyed, returned the trains to the side tracks

at Henchir and placed the train of ammunition

in a railroad tunnel so it could not be discovered

from the air by the Germans. The 25 Company

"C" men were effectively cut off and, since they

did not have sufficient transportation, could only

get out of Metlaoui and Henchir on foot. Two

officers of the 727th drove cross-country in a

•%-ton truck, located the men in Henchir, and

arranged for additional battalion trucks to come

and evacuate them. Capt. Connerat, who was

in charge of the trucks, became lost in this prac-

tically unmapped section of the country and ac-

tually entered Metlaoui again after the Ger-

mans had taken over the town. He was fortu-

nate to get out without being captured and final-

ly reed our men early the next morning.

As this first group of the 727th was leaving

the section where they had been cut off they were

met at S'Bou Bakar by G-4 of the II Corps with

instructions that General Fredendall had per-

sonally ordered that the ammunition which they

had hidden in the tunnel be brought to S'Bou

Bakar and there transferred to half tracks and

taken to Thelepte. This meant that the 727th

men had to go back into enemy territory, fire

up an engine, and start out with the ammuntion.

Just as the train left Henchir a boiler tube in


the old French locomotive failed and the engine

lost all of its steam. A second engine was franti-

cally fired up, but meanwhile the higher com-

mand countermanded previous orders and de-

cided it was too dangerous to attempt to unload

the train in daylight. It would have to be held

in the tunnel and brought over the mountain

to the blown-up bridge the following night. The

Americans had no reconnaissance forces in this

area and no one knew the exact location of the

German troops. They were known to be in

Metlaoui which was oidy 20 miles from Henchir

and about eight miles from Moulares.

The men had all been without sleep for at

least three days and two nights. They took three

hours' rest and then went to Moulares to strip

and hide the locomotives left there. The loco-

motives were placed underground in the phos-

phate mines, after the side rods and valve motion

had been removed. These vital parts were

placed in the 2i/2-ton truck. While everyone

was busily engaged in stripping the locomotives,

a lead German tank of a group of several tanks

entered Moulares and found the 727th trucks.

Evidently, the Germans did not know the size

of the American force there and decided to ad-

vance with caution. This gave our men time

to get to their two trucks and leave Moulares

over a trail toward the southwest.

A book could be written about the trials and

tribulations of that trip. One of the motors

failed and the 2i/2-ton truck lost most of its

power. Thirty men pushed the two trucks

through the sand. They were mistaken for Ger-

28


stripped locomotives. Upon their return the

men were very much surprised and amazed to

learn that they had been officially reported cap-

tured or killed. For several weeks they were con-

stantly explaining that it was all a mistake.

In the meantime, the Germans advanced

Company men were the only ones available to

run the trains. Acting as firemen and engine-

men, they did a marvelous job, and1 later there

was much kidding and arguing about whether

"C" Company or "A" Company was best quali-

fied to operate trains.

Water men on duty at the pump, Armandy,

Algeria.

Col. Okie and the men tie led to

safely from behind the enemy

lines at the crucial point in the

African campaign.

rapidly from Gafsa on Thelepte and Kasserine.

drove the American forces from Thelepte, went

through the and up the railroad toward

Haidra, where they were finally stopped by a

combined force of British and American troops

that had been sent down from the north. The

detachment of "C" Company in that area, on

being cut off, hastily departed from Moulares

via the desert for Tebessa. When it became

necessary, that same night, to evacuate the rail-

road equipment in the Thelepte area, the "A"

On Thursday morning, the day the Ameri-

cans pushed through Kasserine, "A" Company

moved approximately 30 locomotives and 300

cars in Haidra. Actually, every bit of equipment

at Kasserine was moved except one car with a


prefabricated bridge on it. This car had been

derailed by the French and was rerailed by the

727th but could not be evacuated because no

engines were available at that time. A French

captain decided that he and a group of French

soldiers would take one of the locomotives from

in North Africa

(I to r) An antiaircraft protection unit. Two of them

were detailed to each train in North Africa . . . Taking

water via steam pump near Ain Fakroun, Algeria . . .

Arabs transferring gasoline from standard to narrow

gauge railroad near Constantine . . . An old Arab of

Tebessa, whose ragged clothes show the extreme pov-

erty and severe cloth shortage of the region . . . Re-

pairing damaged locomotives at the roundhouse,


Ouled Rhamoun . . . Yard goat, Tebessa.

30


Haidra, go to Kasserine and bring out this last

car. When we returned to Kasserine several

weeks later, only remains of the locomotive were

found. It had been stopped by a dozen artillery

shells when only two hundred yards from the

car. Most of the group were never heard of

again.

The evacuation from Kasserine and Thelepte

and the transfer of troops to stop the Germans

created a tremendous problem. It was not only

necessary for the 727th to bring up food and

supplies for these troops but it was also neces-

sary to keep all of the motive power and cars

at Tebessa ready so they could be evacuated on

almost an hour's notice. Actually, nearly every

piece of railroad equipment was evacuated from

Tebessa and it was not until 60 days later that

this equipment could be replaced in service.

The Germans did not capture Tebessa but they

came so close to it that all of the American supply

dumps were mined and it was just a matter of

a little more push by the Germans and they

would have destroyed the Americans' main

supply base in eastern Algeria.

A digest of Lt. V. E. Williams' notes tells a

vivid story of the work which the B & B platoon

accomplished in this trying time.

Feb. 2: Reconnaissance made from Gafsa

to Sened found that track was damaged in

five places, one large crater blown, and ten

rails required to put line in service. Had


begun repair work on the morning of Feb.

3 when we were told to withdraw to Gafsa,

and abandon this area to the Nazi advance.

Feb. 3: At night we followed one of our

engines out of Sened. About three miles

out the engine stopped, with the engine

having trouble keeping up steam pressure.

At 2:00 A.M. we got her rolling again. The

engineer really took off this time for it had

been over three hours since we had seen a

vehicle or an American soldier ... I was

never more overjoyed than when I saw the

town of Gafsa with American soldiers at the

guarding the city.

Yet when we left Gafsa the following day, the

engine conked out. "This is one of the many

instances,-' wrote Lt. Williams, "in which there

has been a Supreme Being taking care of us."

Feb. 7: Lt. Williams, Sgt. M. P. Miles

and l. Wernsing made a bridge recon-

naissance, and checked equipment at Gafsa

and Metlaoui.

Repairing track damage near La Meskiana with the

aid of native labor.

Feb. l7: The BitB platoon turned into

an S-4 platoon, loading ammo and gasoline.

On the return trip, Pfc. W. C. Brown was

injured when he was sideswiped by another

truck. And to make it a full day, the pla-

toon helped evacuate a truckload of French

refugees and a load of Rangers.

Feb. l7: The platoon was ordered to

in North Africa

3l

(Top) Turning a locomotive at Khenchela ... (Center) Working on the west leg of wye at Tehessa


(Bottom) Co. "A" men surfacing track at Valmy, Algeria, January ll, l943.

32


Kasserine to help run a train from Kas-

serine to Sbeitla for evacuation purposes.

In this move the group was assisted by an

Arab engineer, who consented to run a

train only after a pistol was put against his

stomach . . .

The B & B platoon took out the eighth and

last train from Kasserine that was to leave the

for two months. It was a dangerous job,

ing up supplies to the advancing armies and

corps. On March 29th, all tracks were open

for operation from Gafsa to Sened and Kasserine

to Sbeitla.

There was much unfair and unjust criticism

of the American Army because of the Kasserine

catastrophe. One division was almost complete-

ly wiped out, with less than a hundred men re-

maining in some of its battalions. Although

Working on turntable and retaining wall for a coal chute at the Tebessa shop. Everything was turned by

hand here including the turntable.

with the night sky illuminated by burning tanks

and weapons carriers—a night, says Lt. Williams,

his platoon never forgot.

From February 20th until the 24th, the bat-

talion waited tensely. Then, almost as sudden-

ly as they had attacked, the troops of General

Rommel retreated, destroying bridges as they

went. Company "A" rebuilt these bridges al-

most as soon as the Germans had cleared the

area. They soon gained a healthy respect for

the various types of mines—Teller and bouncing

—which had been placed on bridges and their

abutments. Close behind "A" came •C." mov-

American forces were forced to retreat every


man had done his best. The 727th could justly

feel proud of the part it played in this first

battle. The battalion received a citation for its

work.

Our medics came in for their share of activity

during this phase of the campaign. Enroute to

a Gafsa assignment. Pvts. Luther Hall and Win-

fred Wagner were strafed by a German plane.

At Sbeitla. the small detachment, headed bv Lt.

Robert E. Osburn and Sgt. Arnold C. Kirby.

treated patients from other organizations, in-

cluding the lst Armored Division, and infantry

in North Africa

33

STARS AND STRIPES

Page S

and quartermaster units. The work at Kasserine

was made more difficult by the French hospital

there having been booby-trapped. Perhaps the

most harrowing but successful operation per-

formed by our medics involved the treatment of

an Arab who had been badly injured by a mine

explosion. Using morphine anesthesia, the

Arab's right arm was amputated five inches

above the wrist with the only available surgical

"instrument"—an old hack saw and blade. Two

leg wounds were also cleaned and closed. The

operation was performed in an open field. So

well did our men do their work that five days

later the patient was well on his way to recovery.

About this time we could begin to see victory

ahead in North Africa. The II Corps had ed

the British Eighth Army at El Guettar, and

were slugging it out toward Tunis and Cape Bon

Peninsula. We continued to open up rail lines

toward Tunis and Sfax, the latter being the

main base of the Eighth Army.

March was memorable in another small but

important respect. We actually got some laun-

dry washed, and although its finished condition

was not anything like the stuff we had seen hang-

ing on the wash lines back home, it was better

than what we had been used to among the cacti

of Tebessa.

April and May saw the wind-up of the North

African campaign. More and more, despite

faulty track and dilapidated locomotives and

cars, the 727th was keeping things rolling. On


May l3th, some of our engines hauled several

trainloads of prisoners back over the road to

Tebessa. Rommel was not among them, having

escaped to fight again another day. We were

beginning to understand our French conductors

and Arab brakemen a little better, and in gen-

eral, we were operating as a team that had the re-

spect of all units it ed and worked with.

il

Ghost Of Casey Jones!

Here's A GI Railroad

NEAR THE TUNISIAN FRONT

—That famous old. American

ditty, 'I've Been Working on the

Railroad." now is being warbled by

U. 8. soldiers as they labor- with

45's on their hips and railroad

tools in their hands.

They are commandeered by Capt.

Aubrey Cary, former roundhouse

foreman from Alexandria.. Va..

are operating the only Gl-rail-

road in North Africa. It's 120

miles long, and quite a few trains

make the trip each day with sold-

iers handling all jobs from engine-

ering to rebuilding old cars in the

work shop.

Since they took over on Jan. 26.

the boys have run into enough

problems to set Casey Jones as-

pinning In his grave. The meter-

gauge tracks; Algerian, Tunisian

and Sfax-Oafsa Phosphate Mines

in North Africa

25

(Top, I to r, p. 24) Joe Gunther and George Hell-

brand, Co. "C," and George Pretty, Co. "B," ready to

go to Khenchela from Ain Beida . ' . An outstanding

crew in Africa: J. Swander, engineer; R. Thompson,

conductor; B. Carlqniest, fireman; C. Cargo, brake-

man; T. H. Owen, flagman . . . Scott and "Jackass

Jake," bought from an Arab for a dollar at Tebessa,

Algeria . . . Some officers in Africa: Hall, Moore,

Perkins, Standi, Patterson, Petterson, Voorheis (in

locomotive cab) . . . Lt. Howie, Engr. Swander and

Conductor Thompson looking over train orders at

Tebessa . . . Flagman Owens on the rear of a train.

Ain Fakroun. (P. 25, Top.) Operator and crew caller

at Tebessa yard office . . . Warehouse office personnel.

Constantine . . . Lt. Hackman supervising train move-

ments, Tebessa to Gafsa .. . Yardmaster Lt. Hickey and

operators, Ouled Rhamoun . . . CWO Baker riding a


"hot" trainload of gasoline near Tebessa.

34


and prepare for something that was in the wind, ever such achievements were at all possible.

Whatever it was, the battalion felt ready for We were really a battalion now—in spirit as

anything. In spite of discouraging odds its men well as in a sense of real accomplishment. Our

(Above) Throwing out rail on the Tebessa wye . . . (Below) Bathing at Tabarka on the Mediterranean at

the end of the North African campaign—Maj. Moss, Lt. Hickey and Lt. Perkins in foreground.

had gone through the first test, had followed a surplus of morale was to be drawn on in the next

victorious Allied Army with trains that ran and mission that was shaping up—the operation in


supplies that moved in time and on time when- Sicily.

-&

*

ft

Sicily

A MOST COMPLETE OPERATION

A Real Job With ffBlood and Guts

"

SICILY, when we arrived there in mid-July

to help the Seventh Army, wasn't

much more than another geographical name to

us. It didn't remain just a name for very long.

There was work to be done because the Seventh

Army was determined to finish this job in a

hurry. On July l2th, the day after our first ad-

vance party arrived at Licata from Africa, we

sent out a train to check and repair track be-

tween Licata and Campobello. Finding the track

broken in several places, we made repairs the

same day. The main reason for the trains soon

starting to roll was our getting on the job im-

mediately.

The dominating geographical feature in

Sicily was, of course, Mt. Etna, surrounded by

foothills and the sea. Sicily was an island of con-

trasts. When it rained, villages which clung to

the side of cliffs appeared about ready to wash

down the slopes into the sea. When the rain

stopped, almost as suddenly as it began, the gaily

painted donkey carts would be on their way

again over the narrow winding roads that linked

the towns of the island together.

Lt. Richard O. Bennett of Island Base Section

described some of this in a few lines in his poem.

"Panorama of Sicily."

Lumbering carts, hogging the road;

Nondescript trucks, frequently toived;


Diminutive donkeys, loaded for bear;

Horse-drawn taxis, seeking a fare

Fine old homes, pride of the nation,

Beautiful to see, but no sanitation;

Well-equipped schools, without a scholar,

Temples of learning, surrounded by squalor

The Seventh Army was driving inland under

the picturesque, profane, but sure guidance of

General Patton. He, and others, had estimated

the campaign would take 85 days, partly because

of poor communications and transport. Actual-

ly, the conquest of Sicily took only 38 days.

More, perhaps, than in any other campaign

in which we participated, our army depended

upon us, simply because fast and efficient truck

transport was impossible on what ed for

roads. How we accomplished our job is told

elsewhere in this book, over the signature of the

late great General Patton who ran the Sicilian

show.

Nearly every section of the battalion hit

trouble from the start. From Palermo east to

Cefalu it was necessary to use civilian signalmen

under GI protection. Our signalmen usually

followed Company "C" trains, but on some oc-

35

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in Sicily

37

casions they managed to lay wire and repair

breaks ahead of them. Much wire was badly

cut up by bombing and small-arms fire. Sabo-

tage ed for other snarls, such as fine wire

wrapped around major circuits on the lines.

Our two track platoons under Capt. Boles

learned quite .a bit about tunnel repair in a

hurry. The first tunnel west of Enna was found

caved in at the tunnel's center. It was cleared

by hand and then cribbed up. Near Isola del

Femine, a picturesque name for a town more

picturesque than sanitary, an 800-foot tunnel

damaged by demolitions was reopened by our

battalion with the assistance of Italian workers.

In Sicily we captured and used our first Roth-

Wagner bridging.

Company "A" had the job of water supply.

From the beginning, water was a problem. Sgt.

John L. Denson displayed great ingenuity in ob-

taining it. There was very little of it—so little,

in fact, that some locomotives were given water

from five gallon cans. Water cars and trucks

were pressed into service in a hurry, and by

August l2th, there was sufficient water in the

southern section of the island so that boilers

could be washed. There were enough locomo-

tives for the campaign in both northern and

southern sectors, and by some judicious part-

stealing, about l80 were kept in continuous ser-

vice. Train operation was handled from three

headquarters — Palermo. Licata and Caltani-

setta.

Typical of the improvisations that became

second nature to the 727th during this period


was this by a member of a train crew:

Ran out of water at San Stefano, August

l2, l500 hours. I ed . . . LST376,

Chief Engineer, and he strung a 400-foot

fire hose from ship to locomotive and gave

me 5.000 gallons of water. During this op-

eration six German planes attacked ship

and locomotive. No hits were scored by

German planes. Watering operation con-

tinued until completed and an engine fail-

ure was averted.

On many days in the Sicilian campaign it was

necesary for nearly every man in the battalion to

work around the clock. On some of the ammo

runs up to the front Company "C" crews oper-

ated to within easy earshot of Long Toms and

other big guns firing the ammunition that the

727th had brought up to the lines just a few

hours previously.

Since we were not attached to Military Rail-

way Service, as we had been in the Tunisian

campaign, the battalion did its own staff work,

tactical planning, and maintained liaison with

the supply office (G-4) of the Seventh Army. In

addition to operating 350 miles of railroad that

had been sabotaged and damaged in many places

many times, we had to perform the function of

railway traffic officers in five ports, numerous

base dumps and railheads. What made plan-

ning particularly difficult was the distance of

various parts of the battalion from one another.

Men and equipment were scattered from one

end of the island to the other. This is what the

Yankee Boomer had to say about it shortly after



38

Present and ed for

-

in Sicily

39

(Top, I to r) Somewhere in Sicily: T/5 Counts, Lt.

Perkins, Carter, Patterson and Lineberger. (Front,

I to r) Sgt. Parker, l. Counts, Lt. Perkins, Sgt. Stump,

Januseski: (Rear) Berry, Herkalo, Beck, Carter.

(Center) Chow (l0-in-l) at (ierbini being "enjoyed"

by (I. to r.) Sgt. Wilson, T/5 Carter, Sgt. Ufheil, Pfc

Flanders, Capt. Mauney, Lt. Cvbra, T/5 Piersall, T/4

Pridgen, T/4 Hollie, T/4 Deeney, T/5 Palmer, T/5

Hull, Pfc. Koenig . . . Sgt. Owen with a Sicilian diesel

that ran. (Bottom) POW's boarding LST . . . Capt.

Mauney, Lts. Bowen and Cabra with the "400" in Sicily.

were the homeless who hopped a ride. Particu-

larly unwelcome guests were the scavengers,

camp followers who moved from one stricken

area to another to take advantage of the black

market.

Palermo fell on July 25th, leaving the great

port open for supply ships to come in. Our trains

immediately began transporting supplies east-

wards toward Cefalu. Palermo was the main

railroad center of the island, and Sicilian officials

seemed more than willing to assist in every pos-

sible way. Headquarters w7as transferred to Pal-

ermo. Use of civilian personnel under the sup-

ervision of 727th train and engine crews was

authorized to operate trains, build communica-

tions, and repair tracks and facilities. Palermo's

large locomotive shops were placed in operation,

and their storehouses were operated by our Bat-

talion Supply personnel under Sgt. Robert E.

Honea.

As Patton's army advanced toward Messina,

new ports were opened and railheads estab-

lished. One big task was to memorize the names.


Trapani, Napola, Termini-Imerese, Cefalu, San

Stefano, Pirato, Gerbini, Campofelice, and

many other ports and railheads became common

.

Events moved so rapidly in the Sicilian cam-

paign that it is hard, in retrospect, to combine

them into a connected story. Most of us well

the sounds of the German fighters

coming down out of the clouds to bomb our

hastily set up railheads, especially at Palermo,

and the healthy, alert crack of our tank guns up

at the front. Nor shall we quickly forget the

brilliant colors of the island, with its brightly

painted houses shining against great rocky hills.

Also to be ed will be the sight of our

own cars lurching along the track behind our

engines that ran, by the grace of God and pirated

parts, much longer than we had any right to ex-

pect. Other such things which stand out were:

• The improvised hospital quarters in a

very swanky apartment in Licata, which soon

acquired the name of "Wonderland."

• The Medical Detachment that got its first

taste of working with malaria cases when about

five per cent of our battalion came down with it.

With no hospital available, the resourceful

medics set up their own. Sgt. R. L. Stewart and

his squad performed in an outstanding manner.

• The big blaze at Licata when three run-

away cars loaded with gasoline, ammo and mis-

cellaneous supplies crashed into other cars in

the Licata yards and started a fire which con-

sumed 25 carloads of supplies. With gas drums

and shrapnel flying about in a way that scared

40


Zke Wreckage of War—A New ftut Old Story in Sicily

We had to rebuild litis yard in Palermo,

Sicily, after our bombers struck it.

Captured Italian railway guns near Paler-

mo, Sicily.

Our bombers took the locomotion out of

this locomotive in Sicily.

3,000 tons daily. Because of a coal shortage, in cans established control over the island, plans

part made less severe by Navy help, civilian pas- were made and put into effect to turn the rail-


senger service was cut down. When the Ameri- roads back to native Sicilian officials, who were,

in Sicily

4l

(Aboite) Txl'u bridges, Agrigento . . . (Center) Cani-

catti station as the American bombers left it . . .

(I. to »•, below) The fire and damage caused east of

Licata when a double-Jieader locomotive struck cans

of gasoline heaped on the main line by beach troops


during the night.

42


*

(Top left) Capt. Mauney measuring the girth of a (Center) A panoramic view in central Sicily . . . (Bot-

column among some of the Roman ruins near Tra- tom left) Palermo harbor in the distance . . . (Bottom

pani . . . (Top right) Sicilian ceremonial cart with the right) Canicatti, a junction point in Sicily, xriewed from


usual highly decorated and ornamented sides . . . the water tank back of the shops.

iii Sicily

\:\

(Top to bottom) Bell boys (King's Guards) at Palermo

. . . Bill Bajada in Sicily . . . Gen. Gay, Col. Midler

and Sicilian railroad men just before leaving on a trip

. . . Lt. Col. Okie, Capt. Beard and Lt. Howie at Porto

limpedocle. Lt. Howie was fined $25 for not wearing

his helmet in accordance with Gen. Patton's orders.

of course, under the nominal control still being

maintained by RTO.

The payoff came in the report that some of

our most valiant Avere to be recog-

nized. On September 24th, General Hobart R.

Gay, Chief of Staff of the Seventh Army, and

Colonel W. J. Muller, of G-4, who had observed

our work closely, presented Soldier's Medals to

Colonel F. W. Okie, Major R. P. Moss, Major

C. O. Butler, M/Sgt. K. W. Phillips, Sgt. T. W.

Lonero and T/5 J. G. Healy before a battalion

formation at Caltanisetta. In the same month

Sgt. Norwood L. Stone, Sgt. Charles Swan and

Pfc. Frederick Vogel received the Soldier's

Medal for fighting the ammunition fire at

Palermo.

In October, others came in for their share of

recognition. T/4 John L. Denson, who organ-

ized and directed the vital job of railway water

service and repair, and S/Sgt. J. C. Browning,

who headed the repair work on locomotives,

roundhouses and cars when the advance party

arrived at Licata, were awarded the Legion of

Merit. Maj. Gen. M. S. Eddy, commanding the

Ninth Infantry Division, which we helped sup-

port, praised the work of Sgt. Willard Luscaleet

of Company "C," who directed traffic at Cefalu.

While the 727th was preparing to leave Sicily,


praise from the head of the Seventh Army which

they had ed so well came through:

Allied Force

MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE

Transportation Corps

Office of Director General

A. P .O. 5l2

l9 September l943

MEMORANDUM

NO. l

Under authority contained in Par 7, Cir-

cular l26, NATOUSA, 2 July l943, the

44


GENERAL PATTON LAUDS MRS UNIT

Wkat

Zhey Said

.

Railroad Battalion Cited For

Work In Sicily Campaign

For the »eoond time sinoe it oame overseas, the VKftn njiUay Operating Bat-

talion hag been oited in ita entirety for outstanding accomplishments on the

field of battle in this theater.

This latest award to the now-famous MRS battalion oame from no less a person-

age than Lieut. Gen. Georee S. Patton, Jr., aommander of the Seventh Army in the

Sioilian campaign. In a letter to Brig.

Over MereO

West end of tunnel ease of Marianapoli—Sgt. Shannon

and Capt. Boles on the hand car.

Gen. Carl R. Cray, Jr., UBS Director

General, General Patton gave the "Chem-

inots" a large share of the credit for

the successful conclusion of the war

on that Axis island stronghold.

In addition, the battalion's com-

manding officer, Lieut. Col. Fred w.

Okie, received his second award of the

war in the Mediterranean Theater, add-

ing the Soldier's Medal to the Legion

of kerit ribbon he already had gained

in the Tunisian oampeign.

The 727th's first oitation also was

won in Africa, bei'ore the battalion

went over to Sioily. And, by coincid-

ence. Colonel Okie won his Sicilian

medal as he did his Tunisian award, not

in the everyday routine of oommand, but

by an exploit of personal valor per-


formed amidst bursting grenades and

blying shell fragments rather than in

the shelter of a headquarters.

• he Sicilian honors conferred on the

battalion as a whole were for a job

probably unparalleled in railroad his-

tory. It landed its advance reconnais-

sance party as soon as a bridgehead had

been established. Taking over an un-

familiar railroad system in a hostile

country, it suffered under bombings and

in the mine fields as did the coibat

troops, but nevertheless delivered the

goods exactly as though it were running

trains baok in the States in peacetime.

The advance party was especially

noted by General Patton in his commend-

ation. The group landed at Licata, re-

oonnoitered the rail yards, organised

civilian rail workers, located equip-

ment, got up steam on a locomotive,

figured out how to operate it, and made

a pioneer run, all within four hours

after first hitting the beach. Twe..ty

hours later, full trains laden with vi-

tal supplies were moving into forward

positions held by the Third Division,

thereby releasing many truoka for bat-

tle duties.

The reoor aissanoe party, incident-

in Sicily

45

GENERAL PATION

LAUDS UBS Hit

(Continued from Page 1)

ally, was led by two heroes of an am-

munition train e qlosion which ooourred

during the North xfrioan oampaign. They

were Major Charles 0. Butler, of Lake-

land, Kla.., who stood in the midst of

an inferno to direct the work of drag-

ging to safety the oars not yet reached

by the flames, and Capt. Marvin L. Hor-

ton. Kooky Mount, N.C., who piloted the

locomotive which disentangled the flam-

ing wreckage. Both reoeived Soldier's

Medals. Horton was promoted te oaptain

after the Sicilian hattle.

Obstacles in Sicily were a railroad

man's nightmare. There were demoli-

tions, and mines by the hundreds, which

the 727th personnel handled by them-

selves, thus releasing engineer units

to the combat troops.

Sabotage was encountered, and surli-

ness on the part of the oivilian work-

ers. Very little was known in advance

about the operation of the Italian

equipment, nor the system of dispatch.

Trains were bombed and strafed. They

were fired upon by ground troops, for

as fast as a seotion of road was wrest-

ed from the enemy it was put into use

supplying the front lines.

In spite of these handicaps, "The

opening of the rail lines and organiza-


tion of the Italian railroad personnel

were made so rapidly that rail service

was immediately available in the port

of ralermo when It opened on the 28th

of July, and service maintained from

that port in spite of bombing attacks

and sahotage", the commendation said.

As for Colonel Okie's Soldier's Med-

al, the intrepid Alabaman from Birming-

ham calmly sauntered into a yard where

a warehouse filled with ammunition was

burning and exploding, to take charge

of the work of removing ammunition

trains endangered by the blase.

The citation noted particularly that

Colonel Okie not only told those under

him what to do, but pitched in along

with his men and helped them do the

Job.

It was General Gray who oonferred

the Tunisian citation upon the 727th.

The men of the battalion were the rail-

road heroes of the hasserine fighting)

the advance in January, the retreat the

following month, and the final victor-

ious sweep.

In January the advance parties act-

ually got ahead of the patrols and

wrested French locomotives from the

Axis troops in bitter fighting. Colon-

el Okie won his Legion of Merit deoora-

tion in the retreat of February.

Trying to save a trainload of ammun-

ition that had been abandoned, the col-

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uoipwH tyl MJsMIjmOMQ

in Sicily

47

Director General takes great pleasure in

announcing the following commendation

from Lieutenant General G. S. Patton, Jr.,

Commanding General of the Seventh

Army:

"During the initial operations of the

Seventh Army in the Gela-Licata-Porto

Empedocle Area, an Advance Party of the

727th Railway Operating Battalion landed

at Licata on l2 July. This advance detach-

ment made a reconnaissance of the railroad

yards, organized native rail workers, located

equipment, had steam up, and made a re-

connaissance of the rail lines within four

hours after landing. Within twenty-four

hours after landing, supplies were being

moved by rail to the 3rd Division on l3

July l943. On l5 July, the second incre-

ment of the Advance Party landed at Licata.

They immediately made reconnaissance of

rail lines, communications and equipment,

placed key men in strategic rail junctions,

established RTO's at railheads and port

clearances, and effectively organized the

Italian rail system in spite of many handi-

caps of demolition and enemy destruction.

This accomplishment relieved the truck

transportation for use at more critical

points in advanced area. The main body of

the Battalion arrived on the 23rd of July

and the necessary plans had been so well

formulated by the Advance Party that the

entire Battalion was moved into action in

numerous rail operations extending over


the entire western part of Sicily. The open-

ing of the rail lines and organization of the

Italian railroad personnel were made so

rapidly that rail service was immediately

available in the port of Palermo when it

opened on the 28th of July, and service

maintained from that port in spite of bomb-

ing attacks and sabotage. This Battalion

worked day and night to accomplish its mis-

sion and was a strong influence in the move-

ment of supplies to the front lines during

the Sicilian Campaign. The initiative and

the perseverance of the officers and enlisted

men of the 727th Railway Operating Bat-

talion, working on a strange railroad and

with strange equipment, without regard to

personal safety, are a credit to the Military

Railway Service and traditions of the ser-

vice as a whole."

/s/ Carl R. Gray, Jr.

t/CARL R. GRAY, JR.

Brigadier General. USA

Director General


48


RAILROADS OPERATED

ITALY

Lints operated by the 727'

*

ft

ft

Jtaly

OPERATIONS FROM POTENZA TO PISA

Ripping the Soft Under-Belly of the Axis

T I ^HE first units of our battalion to enter Italy

*- were Company "A" and the signal section

of "H & S" Company. They left the port of Ter-

mini on October l3th and landed at Naples,

where the men set up bivouac in the railway

freight depot of San Giovanni Barra. As usual,

there was plenty of work awaiting us. Repairs

on the main line south toward Torro del Grecco

were necessary to the British, who were

making repairs as they worked north. Our sig-

nal section performed yeoman service in clear-

ing away the wrecked catenary system and estab-

lishing communications. After this job was fin-

ished, the company moved to Capua. This

ancient seat of learning in Renaissance Italy was

also famous for its garden, where Romeo and

Juliet met in the moonlight. But the work which

Company "A" accomplished there included no

moonlight escapades of a Shakespearian nature.

On October 27th the company was assigned

the double job of building a 300-foot bridge over

the swift and muddy Volturno River and of re-

constructing trackage in that area. The retreat-

ing Germans had done a remarkably thorough

job of leaving the entire area in a carefully

planned state of chaos. Huge railroad bridges

were destroyed, tunnels blown in, rail and track

facilities—especially main lines—destroyed by

The 727th crossing the Straits of Messina by ferry at

the beginning of the Italian campaign. Trucks are

49


those we convoyed to Naples.

50


demolition and fire. Water stations were also

destroyed, but 727th water service men had been

up against that sort of thing before in Sicily, and

soon devised ways and means of obtaining water.

and of restoring damaged equipment to service.

Before leaving, the Nazis had put into opera-

tion an ingenious device that was something new

in the art of wrecking a military railroad. They

had constructed a huge plow which they con-

sidered to be so successful that they wrote of it

in operational bulletins issued to their troops on

all fronts. The plow was lowed behind three

locomotives and dragged down the middle of

the track, ripping through every crosstie for

miles. Another demolition machine did almost

as much damage by blowing out every section of

rail in a track. All in all, about 200 to 300 miles

of track were left completely unserviceable.

Company "A," working on the simple theory

that what had been torn out could always be

put back, spent weary days and nights proving

their point. It was here that Sgt. John W. Shan-

non won his recommendation for a commission.

The Company put in bridges at Capua,

Teano, Gargliana, Cecenie. Telemone: and tun-

nels at Itri, Sparinise and Massice. What had to

be clone looked impossible, but by the end of

October, our first •letter" company could al-

most guarantee that the railheads would be only

a few miles behind any part of the front line.

The war in Italy was a bitter "shootin' war,"

and the railheads had to be near the shooting.

The remainder of the 727th was fretting in

Sicily, well aware that its help was needed on the


Italian mainland. How they got into action

again forms one of the classic stories of the

727th's history, and is reprinted here in part

from the in the Yankee Boomer:

So they told the railroad operating bat-

talion they would have to move more than

500 miles by highway. "But we haven't

enough trucks to move a Avhole battalion,"

murmured the commanding officer. "We

will give you the trucks," came the reply.

Most of the soldiers in the battalion are

hard-bitten railroad men to whom a truck

is just a gadget that backs up to a freight

dock to take away something that a freight

car has brought into the station. "They're

not such good trucks," Ordnance itted,

turning over l60 assorted vehicles, "and we

expect that you'll lose about ten per cent of

them in transit."

The officers of the battalion agreed that

the trucks weren't so hot. They had gone

through an entire campaign. They needed

a variety of repairs such as would have made

a third echelon maintenance ollicer ask for

rotation, but the Colonel knew what he was

doing. He selected WO (J.G.) James E.

W'eaver, of Rocky Mount, N. C., and Sgt.

A. A. Wriegert for the over-all survey job—

and it did mean overalls . . . He assembled

a crew of mechanics to supplement his small

motor-pool force, and although most of

them were well versed with the intricacies

of steam power, only a few were familiar

with what goes on under an auto hood.

in Italy

5l

hours to repair. Driving of this vehicle

might have proved disastrous over a tough

mountain stretch if it accompanied the con-

voy, so it was left for repairs the first night

of the four-day trip.

As soon as it arrived at Salerno via its make-

shift truck convoy, the 727th was speedily made

aware of its Italian duties. It was to relieve the

l92nd Railway Operating Group of the British,

and operate the railway lines between San Gio-

vanni Barra at Naples and Agropoli, the line be-

tween Battipaglia and Potenza, and another be-

tween Nocera Inferiore and Avellino.

We were to the American Fifth and

a part of the British Eighth from the Salerno

beaches and the port of Naples. It was an ex-

acting job army headquarters had entrusted to

us, and would have been almost impossible if it

had not been for our "on-the-job" experience in

North Africa and Sicily.

At this time the situation in Italy, or the "big

picture," as we called it was as follows: Britain's

Eighth Army, after biting into the toe and heel

of Italy from the Straits of Messina, had ad-

vanced rapidly up the Italian coasts to meet the

German armies that were rushed south to hold

them. The American Fifth Army established

itself to stay. Mussolini had fallen from power,

and part of Italy had gone over to the Allied

side. The Germans had withdrawn to a line

north of the Volturno River—the same river

where Company "A" was accomplishing its

bridge-building operation. The two armies

(Fifth and Eighth) established a new line ap-

Italy.


proximately 30 miles north of Naples and across

One factor that helped in our early days in

Italy was the fact that when we were off duty

(which was seldom enough), it was possible to

get out of the rain. Headquarters and Service

Company and Company "B" were billeted in a

schoolhouse, while Company "C" stayed in a

former Italian barracks, which they left consid-

erably cleaner than they found it.

After a brief period of "taking it easy" on

sight-seeing tours, and an occasional movie in

Palermo, in Sicily, the battalion was once more

matching Company "A" in volume of work ac-

complished. In our first five days of Italian op-

eration out of Salerno, we averaged 4,700 gross

tons daily, exclusive of enger trains in opera-

tion. This accomplishment was the more re-

markable inasmuch as we were working over

new track, utilizing scraps of information from

Italian officials and referring to hasty notes pre-

pared by the British outfit we had relieved.

On November 25th, more recognition for in-

dividual of the 727th came through.

Soldier's Medals for heroism in extinguishing

a fire which threatened an entire yard and ammo

area in Fiumetorto, Sicily, were awarded to lst

Lt. David M. Perkins and Sgt. Millard M. Bart-

lett. Sgt. Allen C. Metzger was awarded the

Legion of Merit for outstanding work in repair-

ing locomotives, roundhouses, and cars. Signifi-

cantly enough, Sgt. Metzger was raised in Al-

toona, Pennsylvania, home of the country's larg-

est railroad repair shops.


52


in Italy

53

An over-all view of the Rome yards.

December marked the end of the first year of

the battalion's overseas services. The following

month the port of Naples and its yards and rail

installations were assigned to our outfit, and for

good measure the l60 miles of inland line and

l50 miles of coast line south of Agropoli. Com-

pany "C" hoped their new billets, in one of the

large naval buildings, would hold together

better than did their former billets at Salerno,

which collapsed in a heap one day. This was

shortly after Company "C", having observed

similar cracks and reading them as handwriting

on the wall, condemned their quarters and

moved out. Headquarters, Service and Com-

pany "B" moved into the south wing of the Fran-

cisco Bizzaro macaroni plant.

Naples was a maze of trackage and docks, the

layout of which we had to become familiar with

while figuring out means to increase its operat-

ing capacity quickly. The Fifth Army needed

all the supplies that could be brought up to it.

Coal unloading piers were put into operation,

and more than l00 coal cars loaded daily. Troop-

ships, while welcome, were a real transport prob-

lem. During one period approximately l2,000

troops were arriving and being whisked to the

front daily. Hospital trains were filled with

trench foot cases as well as wounded from the

front. Freight tonnage went up to 22,000 a day.

Historic Palazzo Venezia, showing the balcony from

which Mussolini dished out his bunk.

Manpower was desperately needed because the

battalion was operating over a wide area, every


section of which was in continuous need of

supplies.

On March 4th we received relief, the 7l9th


a

O

'a,

£

5:

o

=:

Nvid avounvu

vwou

ia laaooovH 3 inoizvis vnsa

O0I1VIAI3H0S 31VU3N39 ONVId

-r

in Italy

55

Naples and numerous other central Italian cities.

A short distance south of Balvano, the train

entered one of the many tunnels in that terri-

tory. When all but the last two cars were inside

■r. ' - --..

;

The yards at Naples harbor. None of buildings in the

background escaped damage from shelling.

R.O.B. arriving to take charge of rail movements

in the Salerno region. As we prepared to pull

out of that area and were relinquishing operat-

ing control of the line, a strange and terrible

disaster occurred in a railroad tunnel near

Baragiano in southern Italy.

Probably never in the history of railroading

has there been a catastrophe such as occurred at

Balvano, on March 5, l944. Early that morn-

ing, a freight train with two locomotives left

Balvano enroute to the south coast of Italy. As

always, the train was literally crawling with some

500 tresers on their way to Bari, Brindisi,

and Taranto to purchase foodstuffs, oil, etc., for

ultimate sale on the black markets of Salerno,

The same old story: Smistamento yards, Rome, l944.

The puzzle at Naples yard.

Wreckage in Ostiense yards, Rome, l944.

Mussolini's own station, Ostiense yards.

the tunnel, the drivers of the locomotives began

to slip, apparently due to water dripping from


the tunnel roof onto the rails. Then the engine

56


Vesuvius Zakes a Hand

Vesuvius exploded and drowned

out the war. The eruption of

March Iff, l9-H, as seen from

Naples, dwarfed the great Allied

aerial and artillery bombardment

of Cassino 50 miles to the north

. . . Lava pouring down the side

of Vesuvius to knock out the


funicular railway.

in Italy

57

stalled altogether without any further warning.

The grade of coal being used in that sector of

Italy for firing locomotives was poor and con-

tained a large quantity of ash. While the engi-

neer tried desperately to get the train in motion

again, smoke pouring from the stack of the en-

gine filled the tunnel with deadly carbon mon-

oxide gas. From that point on, very little is

known as to what actually happened, partly be-

cause of the very few survivors and partly be-

cause of contradictory s of the incident

given by these survivors.

The toll of life was terrific. The station plat-

form at Balvano was stacked high with the bodies

of those who had been on the train. The final

count of the dead was 508. All apparently had

died without being aware of being in any dan-

ger, inasmuch as there was no evidence of panic

or of attempts to leave the cars in which they

were riding. Some died in their sleep: others

Ashes from Vesuvius at a station near Naples.

were found sitting up as if only lost in thought.

The victims were interred in mass burials

near the village of Balvano. Many of the bodies

were identified by grief-stricken relatives and

friends. Many were never identified.

There were no U. S. Army personnel involved

in the accident. Operation of the railroads in

that sector of Italy had by then reverted com-


Naples and Vesuvius before the eruption.

58


(Above) A diesel collision south of Rome . . . (Below)

Campo Leon, a junction point between Rome and

Anzio.

pletely to the Italian State Railways. In an at-

tempt to determine the facts surrounding the

catastrophe, General Gray appointed a board of

five officers, headed by Lt. Col. Okie, to make a

formal investigation. The board met at Salerno.

Language difficulties made the procedure slow.

The entire testimony was recorded by Sgt.

Frovick. In two days all of the railroad men at

Salerno even remotely connected with the acci-

dent had been questioned. With Italian railroad

officials the board got ready to start on a trip to

all others concerned and to visit the

scene of the accident.

At Pontecagnano, Balvano, Baragiano, and

several other points along the way, Italian rail-

road men who had information regarding the

accident were interrogated. The board of in-

quiry inspected the tunnel itself and made nota-

tions, questioned Italians regarding tunnel ven-


tilation, track condition in damp weather, and


in Italy

59

r

60


previous similar difficulties with locomotives.

In the meantime, a similar accident had oc-

curred in a tunnel further south, near Baragi-

ano. Although there was but one fatality re-

ported, the board was ordered to investigate this

accident also. After traveling as far as Taranto,

at the extreme southern end of Italy, the board

returned to Naples. The stenographic record-

To complete a disastrous month, old Mt.

Vesuvius, which had been smoking away in

comparative contentment for many years, like

an old man with a good pipe, blew its top on

March l8th, and erupted lava and ash for six

straight days and nights. Railway traffic between

Naples and Salerno was suspended for several

days because the tracks became covered with

(Left) A typical Italian wartime civilian enger in a tunnel at Balvano on the Potenza line, suffocating

train. (Right) A few of the more than 500 corpses almost all on hoard. The accident urns never really

taken from the Italian enger train which stalled explained.

ing of the investigation was transcribed, dupli-

cated and forwarded to General Gray.

Although the investigation included testi-

mony of dozens of Italian railroad officials and

employes, as well as U. S. Army personnel, little

was actually brought to light as to the cause of

the accident and responsibility therefor. After

a careful review by General Gray and his staff.

it was officially termed "An Act of God."

There were almost nightly air raids. On

March l5th, that part of the battalion stationed

in Naples was caught in one that lasted 45


minutes, the target being the harbor area. One

bomb blew the side and roof off the building

in which motor-pool personnel were asleep.

There were many lucky escapes, but lucky stars

went to Pvt. Doyle West, who had just moved

his cot from one side to the other of the little box

car in which he slept. Seconds after he had done

so a large bomb fragment tore through the roof

and floor at the spot where his cot had stood.

cinders at Nocera Inferiore. Nearly 700 freight

cars were backed up north of Torre Anunziata

and in San Giovanni yard as a result of the

eruption.

Preparatory to their taking over port and yard

operation in a part of the Naples area Italians

were put to work in April. May and most of

June ed in comparative quiet, but with long

days and nights of work. There were rumors of

another shift.

June saw us moving up to the "Eternal City."

Rome was the proud capital from which Benito

Mussolini had boasted that under Fascism his

trains ran on time. Now, protected by the Ger^

mans in Northern Italy, Mussolini must have

wondered at the poor hand dealt him by the

fortunes of war. Here were American railroad-

ers making Italian trains run on time without

the benefits of Fascismo.

A glance at the record showed good work.

From January to July our tonnage figures out of

in Italy

6l

Naples were marked at 245,000 for January and

492,000 for June, with a grand total for six

months of 2,725,l65 tons. More than 900 cars

had been moved out of the base port in one day,

in addition to movements arriving from the

south. As many as 27 freight trains were made

ready for operation daily out of the port's main

yard to railheads and other outlying districts.

Our new job called for the taking over and

operating of the West Coast Lines from the

vicinity of Anzio, the original diversionary

beachhead that was so costly to take and hold,

through Rome and then north to as close to the

front lines as possible. Capt. Connerat, Capt.

Mauney and Lt. Perkins reconnoitered the area

with a party of men and the battalion followed

them on June 2lst.

It was a fast-moving front for several reasons.

Northern had been invaded by all the

might the Allied Expeditionary Force had been

able to assemble in England. Names like St. Lo

and Cherbourg were headlines in our Yank and

Stars and Stripes. The Fifth Army had captured

Mt. Cassino, ed our forces at Anzio, and

moved straight into and through the city of

Rome. German armies were now withdrawing

rapidly, so rapidly that their previously

thorough demolition technique was limited to

bridges and tunnels.

As fast as possible the Fifth Army was opening

railheads to the north. Our operating distances

lengthened rapidly until the Germans managed

to stabilize a previously prepared line in the

vicinity of Pisa. All of our companies except


"B" were now stationed in Rome. That com-

pany remained in Naples to service locomotives

for other railroad battalions.

By the end of the month, the 727th was op-

erating about l50 miles of main track that in-

cluded the territory of Porto Nettuno, through

Rome to Grosseto. In July, we handled 2ll,000

tons and 53l trains. Company "A" went back to

earning more bridge-building laurels by begin-

ning a 320-foot bridge which would open the

main line to Leghorn. Reports reached us from

Naples that Company "B" was duplicating the

main effort in its own special way by turning

3l7 electric locomotives and l,350 steam loco-

motives per month in the roundhouses there.

In September we again received movement

orders, and spent the middle of the month going

through the familiar pattern of preparing for

shipment by water. Company "A" preceded

the battalion to by a week, to repair a

bridge near Romans which army engineers had

ed up. On September 27th, the remainder

of the 727th left Naples, sailed north between

Corsica and Sardinia, and anchored in the har-

bor of Marseille two days later.

One memorable incident that happened at

Naples before sailing will be long ed,

particularly by the of Headquarters

Company. Supply Sergeant Beverly Younger,

veteran of World War I and life-long resident of

Los Angeles definitely did not care for salt

water. During the water trips Beverly could

always be found in his bunk. The unusual part

of his seasickness wasn't that he was the first one

62


(Top left) Sgt. Kadinger and squad at work near

Cecina . . . (Top right) A Roth-Wagner bridge under

construction . . . (Right) The bridge over the Carigli-

ano River constructed by Co. "A."

A bridge at Capua which was built by Co. "A.

Unloading a Iiospital train at

Naples. Two hospital trains


daily were run from Cassino.

in Italy

65

The 727th Minstrels on stage.

Their show at Naples and Sa-

lerno was a huge success during

Christmas week, l943. The gen-

eral thought it slightly rough . . .

The program for the show


(above and left).

64


"H&S" and "B" Co. billets at

Salerno, Nov., l943.

c-o-p-y

U. S. SECRET equals British SECRET

Allied Force

MILITART RAIlJIAI SERVICE

Office of Director General

Pilei 330.l3

Subjecti ConRedation,

To Coraoanding Officer,

Coasnanding Officer,

Conn inding officer,

Coaraandinf- Officer,

Connanding Officer,

■■fc Cosnonding Officer,

Commanding Officer^

Cosmanding Officer,

Coamanding Officer,

Corauinding Officer,

A. P. 0. liOO

21i April l9Ui

70l at Railway Grand Division, APO liOO, USAnsy

?03rd Railway Grand Division, APO 1*00, USAra^

7l3th Railway Operating Battalion, APO bOO, USAnsy

7l5th Railway Operating Battalion, APO 1*00, USAnry

7l9th Railway Operating Battalion, APO liOO, USAnsy

727th Railway Operating Battalion, APO liOO, USArny

733rd Railway Shop Battalion, APO I4OO, USAr»y

760th Railway Diesel Shop Battalion, APO LOO, USAr

79lth Military Police Battalion, APO tOO, USAmy

2662nd Base Depot Co, TC, Prov, APO LOO, USAnqy

l. The following quoted cablegram has been received from General

Stewart of AFHQ,:

"Congratulations to the officers ano nen of PBS, Royal Kavy and MRS


on performance of Naples Ports during the 2k hour period ending at l600 hours

20 April. The discharge of 33l1*2 tons of cargo, lt9u vehicles and a clearance

fro*, the ports of 29l6l tons of cargo constitutes an all tine record for this

theater and is probably an all tise record for all theaters. The discharge and

clearance of this tremendous tonnage is positive proof of sound organization,

excellent planning and superior execution. It also indicates perfect coordlnati

and splendid cooperation between all agencies of PBS, Royal Kavy and MRS. The

efficiency indicated by this performance reflects great credit on all officer*

and awn concerned and is an assurance to our combat forces that the Bteady flow

of aupplies essential to their operation will continue."

2. Military Railway Service actually handled 67l loads or ll,':"- net

tons of this total clearance fron the port of 29,l6l tons of cargo. This

represents the phenomenal figure of Ui.O&Jl of the total clearance being handled

by rail.

3. The Director General adds his congratulations to each and every member

of Military Railway Service for this fine accomplishment.

By cosoand of Brigadier General GRATt

cci Heads of Departments

P. S. SECRET Equals British SECRET

C-0-P-t

/«/ S. R. Beggs

A/ S. R. Beggs

Major, T.C.

Adjutant

(Above) The commendation we got from the Chief oj

Transportation, Allied Force Headquarters, for our

share in the brilliant performance of the MRS in mov-

ing supplies up to the front just before the climactic

battle for Cassino . . . (Right) What better evidence

would one need than this of Capt. E. E. Jacobson's

painless dentistry? The demonstration is being given

in Italy in January, l944.

(Center, p. 65) Rebuilding blown out bridges . . .

(Top) Lt. Perkins inspects American railroad symbols


in Italy

65

66


A Word of Praise

(

-C

\

C ALLIED FORCE

MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

vke -Aî/^m

COMMENDATION FOR MERITORIOUS bl RY

J TO -H.L Wf/OM IT MAY ( UYf'FRjV

The "a" Company of the 713th, 715th, 719th, 727th ud 759th

Railway Operating Battalions

Ma* rrmvptl official cAin'mriuUlion ana praise (or outsldiirlmf p^rformaurr of duly.

CI CATION

Following rapidly the adrance of the Fifth Army during the period 11
these unlti constructed a 237 foot single span bridge, the large**'!)ul>t In the entire theater.

They successfully dealt with the maximum demolition of track, b£d,'es/«'"anTS'tTmoelB left behind

by the retreating enemy. Without the aid of speeialiat.-gr~~'

aoved booby traps and demolition charges in rehabllltatingxf'ailw

proximately 200 Km north of Rome. Suoh a record of.xlCty and '

excellent performance as these "A" Companies hare attained Is

one of which they may well be proud and one that is a oredit

to the officers and enlisted men of their units as well as to

the entire Military Railway Serrlce, • '.

ther,e >»*'*• 'swe"5T~ifiiii>s and re-

tljrfes to a distance, ot at

',*£*0^.

.CARL R.G

Brteadi*r Geriaial.U.S A


irrctor Gcn«r*l

in Italy

67

Antiaircraft fire at night, Maples, during big Nazi

aerial attack of March l5, l9-H . . . Troops ready to

ship to the front from Naples . . . (P. 66) Gen. Gray

former positions and until they were unloaded

at Toulon the remainder of the trip for that

particular ship was a lopsided voyage.

Italy, with all its dirt, dust, combat and

beauty, was now part of our history. The Nazi

decorating l.t. Perkins, Sgts. Bartlett, Baird ("H & S"),

Benson (Co. "A"), and Metzger (Co. "B") . . . The

Fifth Army plaque awarded the 727th.

was on the run, and there was no man who

watched the shoreline of Italy fade away but who

hoped that we would keep him on the run until

the war was over and won. The 727th would


then be homeward bound at last.

68


Mill ftajada

TN a battalion of 847 men it is unlikely that one will

•*• find one man, ivith the exception of the top officers,

who is known to all the officers and men. However,

there was one man—an enlisted man—who was known

to all by sight or at least by reputation. He was

William "No Middle Initial" Bajada.

Bill was a short, thin, quick-tempered Gl, born and

raised on the island of Malta.

During his teens Bill came to

America to live with a brother in

New York City. Before leaving

Europe he spent several months

travelling through Italy and

seeing the wonders of Na-

ples, Pompei, Rome, Marseille and

Paris.

He entered the service and went

overseas early in l942. He was

transferred to the 727th in Decem-

ber, l943, while the battalion was

at Salerno, Italy.

His ability as an interpreter was

unsured. Unlike most inter-

preters, who can only translate the

spoken word, Bill could speak,

read and write English. Italian,

French, three different Arab

tongues, and the slang expressions

of the Sicilians thrown in for good

measure. His presence at t


meetings between military and

civilian railway officials, at acci-

dents such as the incident at Balvano, Italy, and on the

investigations which followed were not only familiar

but expected events. His previous trips to points of

interest in Naples and Rome saved many hours of

valuable time for the GI's with whom Bill travelled

and for whom he acted as interpreter on his off-duty

time.

It has often been said that a fellow doesn't kid or

play practical jokes on you unless he really has a liking

for you. Bill must have been liked by all because he

was the butt of many practical jokes.

In the spring of l944 he thought he would like to

visit his family and requested a two-week to

Malta. He was informed that he would have to have

sufficient money to cover all expenses to and from

Malta before, he could get his . Finding himself

Bill Bajada, at St. Peter's, Rom

short of cash, he mentioned it to some of his buddies

who promptly told him to "see the chaplain." Bill

took this advice seriously and relied on one of his

associates to get the chaplain on the phone. After a

twenty-minute discourse on his proposed trip he was

informed by the "chaplain" that as soon as Bill had his

he was quite sure he could assist him on the

financial end of it. Bill was in

a spot—he couldn't get the

without the money and couldn't

get the money without the .

After Bill had ivorried sufficiently,

his buddies came through with

the necessary greenbacks and Bill's

request to fly to Malta was grant-

ed. Before he left, he again had a

call from the "chaplain" offering

his assistance and $l00 of his per-

in Italy

69

pool had called and wanted Bill to know they would

have a a recon ready at l830 and would he have his

bags and equipment ready.

By now its was time to go to chow and everyone

including Bill headed for the mess hall. Word had

been spread around about the transfer and all wished

Bill "Good Luck." As expected, Bill put about six

hours between l830 and the time he returned to his

quarters.

The next morning orders came down to move the

whole battalion to Rome. Bill's individual transfer was

forgotten in the excitement. From then on, as far as

Bill ivas concerned, the headquarters company cooks

ivere the best damn cooks in the ETO.

Our last glimpse of Italy: Naples

with Mt. Vesuvius smoking

quietly in the background, Sept.


l944.


70


u'V

RAILROADS OPERATED

Lines operated by the 7271

Lines supervised by the 727'

-A

*

a

ING THE SOUTHERN INVASION

Railroading to the Rhine

WE landed at the ancient harbor town of

Marseille, on the Gulf of Lion, in mid-

afternoon of September 29th. The old church

of Notre Dame shone in the sun at the top of

Steep Street, one of the real crossroads of the

world. Having learned how in POE prepara-

tion days in the States, the 727th went over the

side on landing nets and travelled to shore in

amphibious craft.

We did not spend much time in the city, soon

taking off in troop trains for our eventual desti-

nation, the city of Lyon. Our train was side-

tracked for several hours in Avignon, one of the

centers of painting and once the place of exile of

the Popes. We arrived at Lyon a few minutes

before midnight at the end of September.

It seemed good to have a change of scenery

and an opportunity to learn first hand of the

habits and customs of another illustrious nation.

We began picking up a few handy phrases which

were calculated to help us get some trains roll-

ing. The little language guides the Army issued

about this time proved handy aids.

The overall picture was changing fast. Gen-

eral Patch with his Seventh Army and the

French First Army had invaded southern

on August l5th. This landing show was

witnessed by Britain's Prime Minister, Winston

Churchill, chewing his inevitable cigar. With-

in three days the success of the landing was as-


sured. Intelligence had discovered weak spots

in the German setup in southern., and

the Allied forces had hit them at lightly de-

fended areas around St. Tropez, St. Maxime and

St. Raphael.

The Nazis were undone primarily because

their defenses had not anticipated the mobility

and fast-jabbing striking power the Western

Allies' military machine was now capable of

unleashing. Strong defenses around Nice,

Cannes, Toulon and Marseille were almost use-

less when the Allies crashed through the light

beach fortifications, and quickly drove inland to

encircle these main defenses.

Insofar as the transportation picture was con-

cerned, it soon became clear that we had not

been brought to merely to enjoy the

view. Supply lines were extending from 50, l00,

300 and up to 400 miles inland. Mechanization,

which had accomplished much, now posed this

problem: where to get gasoline to run the

trucks, tanks and weapons carriers that were tak-

ing the Seventh into the mountainous areas of

the Rhone? Gasoline was taking a

7l

72


priority over ammunition, and even—some-

times—food. We had high hopes for this jab

into Festung Europa, and the speed of the ad-

vance was exceeding the highest hopes.

Along the beaches, and back up the Durance

River Valley the rail lines were in relatively

good shape. Fritz had pulled out too fast to

do much real damage there. But the Germans,

past masters of the art of fighting a delaying ac-

tion and hamstringing communications and

transport as they withdrew, had done a real job

in the broad valley of the Rhone. On either side

of the river, heavy tonnage lines rolled up from

Marseille, greatest port of , through the

heart of the country to Paris. These lines had

to be opened because the Alps line along the

Durance had heavy grades, and could carry only

light tonnage. Light tonnage was inadequate for

carrying all the material that the Seventh Army

was now calling for.

Therefore, on October 2nd, the 727th was

ordered to deploy all available personnel from

Lyon, our headquarters, to the railroad lines

and establish control over the movement of

military supplies. It was a big order, and the

727th got on the job immediately. Our men

"took off" with rations and the names of the

towns in which they were to operate. Only re-

sourceful and seasoned railroad soldiers could

have done this job. In all, there were l7 cities,

ranging in size from villages to the large centers

such as Dijon and Epinal, where Seventh Army

advance headquarters was located. There was

also Grenoble, a town which was a Resistance


hotbed and seat of the famous Grenoble Uni-

versity where American graduate students came

to study French literature in more peaceful

times. Company "B," as usual, ran a check on

roundhouses to establish the motive power

situation.

Winter was making things difficult for our

troops. The Rhone River rose to flood stage,

recording the highest water mark since l840.

The Saone also went up to record flood stage.

Twice in November the tracks at Domene, near

Grenoble, were flooded to such depth that op-

erations over that section of trackage were sus-

pended. But these were not isolated instances.

Overflows pulled Company "A" men out to iso-

lated es and ravines time after time.

Two railroading accomplishments many of

us will as highlights of the work in

occurred about this time. To expedite

handling of priority cars that were to be routed

over our 600 miles of track, a form called a

"Switch List and ing Report" was drafted

and approved by headquarters for universal use.

This made it possible for us to keep track of all

our shipments and was of great help to the Sev-

enth Army. Major Mullen established an ad-

vance headquarters at Epinal, but even with

careful utilization of men, engines and cars,

traffic became so heavy that it was necessary to

aid the French with 727th personnel from out-

lying points, where they had been stationed

since shortly after their arrival at Lyon.

The load was lightened when the 759th Rail-

way Operating Battalion moved into Dijon, and

in

73

winds made the work difficult and dangerous, ing their heaviest locomotives. But later, alter

but it was completed in record time. A steel much inspection and the type of hand-waving

span over the main channel permitted river that goes with any Gallic conversation, they

boats to under it. tried it out. and quickly and generously acknowl-

(Top) Roundhouse at Amberieu, . . . (Center)

La Mouche Yards, Lyon . . . (Bottom) A smaller

railroad sun.

(Top) An unusual guard rail encountered in

. . . (Center) French car retarders . . . (Bottom)

Roundhouse at Dole.

This feat brought some "ooh-la-la's" from

cynical French engineers who did not believe

the l800-foot bridge—an open deck pile and

timber bridge trestle—was capable of -

edged it as a feat par excellence. On the strength

of this success, "A" Company built a similar

bridge at a later date over the Saone River at


Seurre, . Timbers were not available at


7-1


in

75

Eiffel Tower, Paris . . . Wrecked bridge 3 miles north

of Vallence . . . Trocadero, Paris . . . "To the glory of

the Republic"—a monument in Lyon . . . Horse rac-

ing, Lyon . . . Two French officers who serx'ed as

liaison men with the 727th.

the bridge site, so the men pitched into some

forest land near the Swiss border, cut timbers

for piling, and hatded them back over wretched

roads to the bank of the river where construc-

tion was in progress.

December brought us an anniversary—the

second year of overseas duty for the 727th. It

also brought us our battalion special insignia,

which had been developed two years earlier. It

was manufactured in Lyon, a city which has a

long tradition of good craftsmanship.

Flood tide on the Rhone River.

The big event was a Christmas party held for

those who needed and appreciated it most: the

orphaned children of the area and those chil-

dren whose fathers were interned or working

in labor camps in . Many of

the battalion had a hand in the program. Capt.

E. B. Connerat's historical notes from this peri-

od of our stay in preserve some of the

spirit of the occasion:

All of the battalion saved and

donated candy, some of which they received

from home and some of which came from

their PX rations. The mess sergeants in

various ways saved flour, sugar, chocolate,

milk and other necessary items for the

preparation of cookies and hot chocolate.

Many of the battalion worked to


prepare and decorate a large hall at the

Caserne Viterioleries in which to hold the

party. Capt. H. C. Mauney, with lst

Sgt. F. Sykora, lst Sgt. P. J. Hubble and

lst Sgt. F. L. Huston co-ordinated most of

the work that was performed in connection

The FFI blew this one off the track

near Grenoble.

with the decorations, programs, refresh-

ments, etc., with lst Lt. S. P. Davis making

arrangements for the musical program . . .

Maj. Mullen was largely instrumental in

securing a movie projector and three ex-

cellent short films, consisting of Christmas

carols and animated cartoons which de-

lighted the children immensely . . . The

party was originally planned to take care

of 600 children; however, it was estimated

that l,800 persons were present. Company

"B" assisted in setting up heating appa-

ratus, lighting effects, and other facilities

around the hall for the comfort and con-

venience of all concerned . . .

Tracks flooded, , Autumn, l944.

To give the party a modern touch, Santa

Claus or St. Nicholas, as the little French guests

shouted when he appeared, came riding into the

party in a jeep.

f

76


The following day, civilian newspapers car- came in for high praise and appreciation. Gen-

ried articles and pictures of the event. This eral Azan, Commander of French headquarters

','

A three-point switch. Dole.

. . . Tugboat on the

Saone River . . . An 0-4-0 French

goat . . .An 0-6-0 French goat at

Lyon . . . Foothills of the Alps

as seen from Grenoble, once one

of the most strongly fortified

cities in Europe.

party, as well as three others which had been at Avignon, wrote to Capt. Beard, Company "A"


given at Amberieu, Grenoble and Valence, commander:


in

77


78


in

79

(P. 78, from top) Crane at work in bridge construction

. . . Capt. Beard's trestle across the Rhone . . . Co. "A"

at work on a big one . . . Co. "A" repaired it . . .

(Upper right) A 727th bridge over the Rhone at

Avignon . . . (Left) Another view of Co. "A's" l400-ft.

pile trestle over the Rhone.

You have responded with results that will

help fill with joy the hearts of many unfor-

tunate children who, up until now, have

seen but the cruel side of life and none of its

sweetness. This deed honors you as it

honors all of America. We will not forget

your kindness.

The Christmas parties represented perhaps

one hundredth of one per cent of our activities

in the southern campaign. But 727th

may rest assured that the memory of

this little series of parties will live in four French

cities for years to come, long after our trains

and engineering feats and complicated sched-

uling have been forgotten.

Of incidental interest is the fact that on this

Christmas the battalion sent home 4,000 identi-

cal pieces of V-Mail—a Christmas card carrying

the depiction of the ETO and the route of our

wanderings, highlighted with the battalion

shield insignia carrying our motto, Semper in

Tempore. Capt. Wittekind had done a splendid

job.

At Lyon occurred a small incident which

seemed to indicate that perhaps the "Master

Race" was ready to give up some of their ideas

of world domination, held since the Munich

conference with Neville Chamberlain and


Edouard Daladier. Our prisoners in Tunisia

had been a sullen lot. Clearly, they regarded

North Africa as only a temporary setback. But

in the "Caserne" at Lyon, Company "B" rode

herd on a few dozen German prisoners who

helped keep the place clean, took over KP duties,

and assisted in the motor pool as mechanics on

some of the minor repair jobs. At night, of

course, they were locked up, but one evening

the sergeant of the guard forgot to turn the key.

The hours ed, and finally one Nazi walked

The old and the new at Avignon.

Co. "A" men in lumbering operations near the Swiss

border. The timber was for the bridge at Seurre.

Repaired bridge near Bourg.

up to the sergeant and asked him if he didn't

think it would be a good idea to lock them in.

They liked it here, the prisoner said, and be-

cause no one was anxious to escape and re

a losing cause, they preferred being locked in.

January was relatively uneventful for the

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80


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Christmas 1944

727th, although Company "A" was still hard at

work on the Avignon bridge project. But in the

following month, there was a change of CO's.

Lt. Col. Okie was assigned to the 704th Railway

Grand Division as CO and General Superin-

tendent. Lt. Col. John M. Budd, Executive Offi-

cer of the 704th R.G.D., assumed command of

the 727th.

Tonnage in the two months following the

holidays was moving both north and south, with

St. Nicholas greets his friends, the children of Lyon,

at our Christmas party, l944 . . . (Inset) Santa's

"sleigh,"

special army troops being moved to Marseille

for shipment to the China-Burma-India theater

of war. Cross-hauling equipment from north-

ern French ports to the south was becoming a

bigger part of our duties. Company "B," in

addition to other duties, was turning l3 USA


locomotives a day at the Lyon roundhouse

82


0 «0£^g--

-Noel-("4"-'TURES

*C*SimzFnt ""JEAN

TH|5 PABtv ."

u---

Oi/r Christmas party

where they were stationed, while a portion of

the company was sent over to the Valence round-

house to relieve the 7l3th. The car shop pla-

toon at Lyon took to the road many times to

repair journals which were running hot on

United States boxcars and flatcars. In the Dijon

district for February, 450 trains carrying a total

of 240,000 tons ed northward.

Late in March the rumor came that the 7l3th

Railway Operating Battalion would be moving

out of Marseille, and that their old sidekick,

the 727th, would be taking over their territory.

Planning for the move began immediately. We

sent dispatchers, operators, car record clerks and

chief clerks to Marseille to become familiar with

the great Mediterranean port at which the bat-

talion had disembarked months previously. It

looked like a big job. From 300 to 400 miles of

track would have to be supervised—important

trackage running from Nice through Marseille

to Lyon. With Marseille this meant taking over

about 900 miles of main-line rails and an assort-

ment of large and small ports, railheads and rest

centers that now dotted this territory. We took

over this area on April 5th. Although it was a

big order for the battalion, we moved into it

willingly.

Meanwhile, in , the Ruhr had been


penetrated at last by three great armies—the

First, Third, and Ninth. Victory was coming

program, Lyon, l944.

closer, and we read the Stars and Stripes closely

for news from all fronts.

But the Army was still the Army. We were

just getting settled into the new routine when

a new order crossed the adjutant's desk:

Effective lS00 hours, April l8, the 727th

Railway Operating Battalion is relieved

from any responsibility for Military Rail-

ivay Serxnce in .

Trains were ready and waiting on the l8th

for the battalion to move up into . By

midnight on the l8th we were loaded and on

our way, picking up some of our personnel who

were stationed out on the line at Berre, Miramas.

and other points en route.

We could not call our work in our

most exciting operation, for many of the dangers

we had faced in other areas were missing. But

from a railroading standpoint, it was a brilliant

stand-out in our record of achievement. Our

battalion had operated from the focal points of

Lyon and Marseille over all of southeastern

. We had supervised the movements of

more than 600 trains a month, and forwarded

428,000 net tons to the armies during the same

period. It made good reading to hear that the

Chief of Transportation listed the tonnage fig-

ures of all totals since D-Day in , and that

the First Military Railway Service, of which we

in

83

were a part, had exceeded tonnage figures of the

Second MRS, even though the First worked

over greater distances with only one third as

many men. We had demonstrated that we could

supply an army in the field, keep it rolling, and

then, after the sound and fury of a campaign had

died down, restore the lines to civilians as a

smooth-running railroad system.

Semper in Tempore had developed into more

than just a nice-sounding Latin phrase on a rail-

way battalion's insignia. It was the summing up

of achievements that had not even been dimly

foreseen when our 800-odd men were assembled

in a hastily-thrown-together camp in Mississippi

in l942.

Up ahead were the green hills and dark rivers

of . Would we be fortunate enough to


make that our last real wartime job?


a

&

&

THE END OF THE WAR

77ie 727th Rolls Over the Rhine

\ PRIL 2lst, 22nd and 23rd, in clear spring

'**' weather, our companies arrived at Ludwig-

shafen in , a city situated on the Rhine,

directly opposite the once-great textile manu-

facturing city of Mannheim. The two cities

were connected by the "Ernie Pyle Bridge,"

which was completed soon after our arrival.

Across this bridge most of our operating equip-

ment moved. It was our mission to work out

from Mannheim through Heilbronn, Lud-

wigsburg, and Stuttgart (where formerly was

located 's most modern enger sta-

tion) .

We were on the heels of the Seventh Army,

which was rolling on in the direction of Munich.

We stayed so close in one case that advance ele-

ments of the 727th were moving into Heilbronn

while white flags were flying and the Army was

still mopping up snipers posted at strategic

points along the Neckar River.

It was a question at this time which armies of

the Allied forces—Eastern or Western—would

reach Berlin first. That question was settled by

General Eisenhower's announcement that the

Russian armies should have the honor of enter-

ing the capital of the Reich before American or

British elements would be permitted to do so.

On the evening of April 23rd, the first train

of Company "A's" equipment crossed the Ernie

Pyle Bridge, and the following morning a test


train went out to Heilbronn. It did not take

long to open the line for business, in spite of

many destroyed bridges, bombed yards and main

tracks blocked with many abandoned trains.

Gasoline and ammunition were soon moving

over the rails to forward distributing points. Our

reconnaissance parties also went out to Stuttgart,

Darmstadt and Frankfurt preparatory to open-

ing up lines radiating from these important

centers. Frankfurt, which resembled our own

Washington, D. C, had suffered heavily from air

raids. Darmstadt was a terrible object lesson in

what can happen to a big city which resists an

army that is determined to get through it at any

cost. Most of Darmstadt's big elms still shaded

the streets, but back from the sidewalks, whole

blocks of houses stood silent and desolate, their

windows shattered by the big guns, and the walls

emitting a characteristic odor of wet plaster that

was common to all former German strongholds

in which the fighting had been severe.

On May 6th, a line was opened to Ludwigs-

burg where a gasoline dump was established.

The completion of the Neckar River bridge at

85

86


Stuttgart meant that a line would be open

through Esslingen and beyond to Munich. In

the course of the month the line was opened to

Darmstadt and Frankfurt, where trains were

interchanged with the 7l8th Railway Operating

Battalion.

Col. Budd and Maj. Mullen had the problem

of disposing of thousands of carloads of German

freight which had been left in all stations and

yards. Useless freight for the most part, freight

lhat had to be assembled, classified, and unload-

ed so that the cars could be used to haid military

supplies. Capt. Cary sent crews to stencil all

captured equipment in order that there could be

an ing with our allies.

Company "A" had its work cut out for it.

Allied air raids, which had helped the advance

of our own armies, proved to be headaches for

Company "A," in that bomb craters added to

the amount of reconstruction work it was neces-

sary to do in important yards. This company

was also reworking bridges built by Army engi-

neers who were not acquainted with the fine

points of railroad bridge construction. Thirty-

eight main line trains were rolling daily. Yard

crews were kept very busy at Mannheim, Heil-

bronn and Ludwigsburg.

Bombing and demolitions had also made the

work of our signal section difficult. Until lines

were laid and put in working operation, trains

were moved in fleets in a pattern that the 727th

had first tried in Sicily at a time which already

seemed long ago. Company "B" was working in

the large, modern but now bombed out shops


at Mannheim and Heilbronn, repairing engines

that had been strafed and were therefore in need

of heavy repairs and tests.

It gave the of the battalion much

amusement to learn that "back in the States"

some schools were teaching that it was almost

impossible to wreck a railroad by bombing be-

cause damage was so easily repaired. A few pic-

tures of some of our crews working on the

wrecked spans of railroad bridges might have

changed those professors' notions in a hurry.

If it was impossible to wreck a road, it was only

because we had "worked over" enough wrecked

roads from Tebessa to Darmstadt to get the

"know-how" to accomplish the job.

Since the Seventh Army's main supply bases

were established at Mannheim, the 727th found

itself in its usual hot spot of having to operate

a railroad center whose functioning might well

cause an army to succeed or fail on the strength

of its supplies. More yards and railheads had to

be opened up to serve dumps, and this meant

that more switch engines, crews and yardmasters

had to be provided. Fortunately, the 7l6th Rail-

way Operating Battalion arrived on the scene,

and handled operations from Bietigheim to

Stuttgart and eastward.

An interesting development of the period was

ihe work of reorganizing and rehabilitating for-

mer German railway employees, all of whom, of

course, stated that they were "nicht Nazi!" By

the 28th of June, we were able to place our en-

tire assigned territory under German operation.

The personnel figures were impressive: Me

in

87

{Top) A German locomotive showing

the swastika usually affixed to all their

locomotives . . . (Center) Tower con-

trols in . . . Wreckage at

Heilbronn.

(Right) A ve1j skillfully cam-

ouflaged German 4-6-0 loco-


motive.

88


Bridge at Sarregemeine on French border.

Highway bridge on an autobahn.

(Left) Gasoline tank car at Heilbronn ignited by spark from synthetic German coal . . . (Center) The Hook

. . . (Right) Some fine scenery at Heilbronn.

This Tiger won't strike again.

Railroad bridge at Karlsruhe, .

German prison and DP camps, very few of our

men blamed the Russians, Poles, Italians and

French who formed the main groups of German

slave labor for "putting on a show" with any

decent articles of clothing.

Nonfraternization policies came down

through the echelons of command, but it was

difficult, sometimes, to observe them to the

letter, particularly toward the children.

Company "A's" big job of this period was to

build a bridge near Bietigheim with the co-

operation of the 7l3th. A ll0-foot, stone arch

bridge, of which five spans and two piers had


been knocked out by the Germans during their


(/- to r) Winnie, Co. "C's" lap dog

. . . A railroad bridge repaired by the

Military Railway Service . . . Soldiers

rebuilding a bombed bridge in Ger-

many . . . First men of Co. "C" to go

home on points, Mannheim, July, l945

. . . 727th men with l38 points ready

to go home. Mannheim . . . Captain

Connerat at Mannheim . . . Chaplain


Addison, Mannheim.

in

9l

retreat, had to be reconstructed because the

bridge was on the main line from Mannheim,

Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Munich. When the

bridge was completed, traffic was again routed

over this road, and the ticklish Heilbronn route

became secondary.

In a period when "route order" discipline be-

came a little more common under the victorious

but tired Allied troops, it is worthy of note that

the 727th completed operations in

without a reportable operating accident. To

single out one company for outstanding achieve-

ment would be unfair to the three others. All

established creditable records.

The point system was announced, and when

the merit point system was adopted, it was dis-

covered that over 90 per cent of our battalion

had earned sufficient points to authorize a trip

"back home." These points had been well

earned by three years of overseas service with

seven battle stars pointing up the accomplish-

ment. We could call ourselves experienced,

hardened railroad soldiers who were sure—but

not cocksure—that we could take any section of

any railroad in any part of the world, and after a

brief period of orientation, run it as well or

better than it had ever been run before.

The first week of May brought news that had

seemed far away many times during the course

of our military careers. On May 7th, the Euro-

pean part of the Second World War ended with

The tortured dead of Dachau Concentration Camp

found when American troops overran the camp in the

final campaign of the war in the spring of l945.


Survivors of concentration and slave labor camps.

the defeat of the Nazi armies and the collapse

of Hitler's . The end came on a won-

derful spring day. Already, in Mannheim and

out on the road, practical Germans were plant-

ing gardens that would yield enough food to get

them through the hard winter that they sensed

lay ahead for a conquered people. Highways

and various cars of our trains were loaded with

the homeless, the dispossessed, and the or-

phaned. Our most natural reaction to all this

was to get home. After three years of war, it was

a justifiable enough wish.

Soon after V-E Day, good news arrived for the

battalion. Col. Budd announced that l25 of our

highest-point men were to start for the States

immediately, and l50 more would soon follow.

Because of the shortage of railroad men in the

States, it was decided to send us to the United

States by plane. Most of the of the

outfit were flown home by way of Casablanca,

Dakar, Natal and Miami. The first group of

men who flew home beat the first l00-point men

who traveled by ship. By September, almost all

of us who had made up the original 727th Rail-

way Operating Battalion were on our way home.

Lt. Perkins, the last CO of the 727th, and Lt.

Hickey stayed after all of the original 727th had

gone back home and until the battalion was de-

activated at Mannheim, by TSFET

under General Order ll2 of October 6, l945.

92


Homeward

Bound!

Dreaming the long dreams of peace

aboard the homeward bound "Santa

Paula".

Men of the 727th on a transport com-


ing home, July, l945.

fa Ketwspect

The greatest war in history, which consumed

more than three years of our lives as

of the 727th Railway Operating Battalion, made

an unforgetable impression on each of us. We

were molded by our experiences; mostly for the

better, we hope. If this book has focused the

more important experiences in clearer perspec-

tive it will have succeeded in its purpose.

It was not possible to record a great many of

the details of surroundings, events and situations

in which we found ourselves. Little things, such

as the latrine sign: "Deposit Old Razor Blades

Here" . . . the warm, flat taste of canteen water

on practice hikes at Shelby . . . the interminable,

monotonous stretches of North Africa . . . the

hot, teeming towns where Arab jostled GI and

the end of the war seemed ages away ... the deep

blue skies of Sicily . . . the cold, endless rain of

Italy . . . the hills of Rome . . . the bright, care-

fully scrubbed thresholds in French villages . . .

the pinched faces of hungry French youngsters

. . . the deep, mysterious pine forests that ran

along the Rhine above Mannheim—these are

some of the things we which could

not adequately be recorded in this book.

We were a good railroad battalion, working

for a good cause. We hope we left Europe better

than we found it, freer if not as well-off as in

prewar days. At any rate, we hope it will never

against be necessary for us to go back there for

the same reason.

We hope the peace we fought to obtain will

endure forever. It will take work, patience,

understanding, and sacrifices from us all. But

compared with the sacrifices we saw in the war


—sacrifices which cost the lives of many of our

best comrades—no self-denial is too great if war

can be averted, not only in our time, not only

in our children's time—but forever!

The only type of order we want to follow in

our future railroading days is not a special order,

not a general order, but one that has the peace-

ful reassuring ring of pounding drivers and sing-

ing rails and the men who control them both:

THE TRACK IS CLEAR!!!

The 727th

Wishes to express its deepest esteem to

its hard-hitting and bitter rival, one

of the finest RAILWAY OPERAT-

ING BATTALIONS ever organized—

The 7l3th

#

94


\\RHINELAND

lli-9-4* to ZI-3-4S.

Bronze Arrvrvhtad

July 10, 1945

CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION


127TH RAILWAY OPERATING BATTALION

Our Complete Koster

Headquarters Company

Okie, Fred W, Col, 700 Union Trust Bldg. Pittsburgh, Pa. Union

Budd, John M, Lt Col, 332 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, Ill. C.V

Mullen, Carroll C, Maj, Hq 7l4th Ry Opng Bn, Ft Eustis, Va. USA

Connerat, Edwin B, Capt, Hillcrest Apts, Court St, Lynch-

burg, Va. So

Wittekind, Harold H, Capt, 292I Altura Blvd. El Paso,

Tex. SP

Boles, James M, Capt, 324 S Mill St, Lexington, Ky. So

Hackman, August E, lst Lt, l8l8 W Charles St, Grand

Island, Neb. UP

Lambert, Donald L, l/Lt, 607 4th Ave. St Cloud, Minn. GN

Baker, Daniel F, CWO, l8l4 Jefferson Ave, Covington, Ky. C&O

Weaver, James E, WO (jg), Tallant Tfr Co, Hickory, N. C.

Anderson, Claude C, Pfc, Flat Ridge, Va.

Anderson, George E, T/5, East 8 Rockwood Blvd, Spokane,

Wash. GN

Asbell, Jesse, T/4, Shoals, Ind.

Austen, Wesley M, T/4, ll20 B St, Fairbury, Neb. UP

Azevedo, Myron J, S/Sgt, 2l3 Rose Ave, Pleasanton,

Cal. Pac Cst Agg Co.

Baird, Lyman R, T/4, 789 Holt Ave, Macon, Ga. GS&F

Baisden, Joseph A, Pvt, 4l0 3rd Ave, Watervliet, N. Y.

Bajada, William, Pfc, 209 Academy Ave, Sewickly, Pa.

Bartlett, Millard M, T/3, l60l St. Paul St, Baltimore, Md.

Clinchfld

Bates, Burton L, Pfc, RFD #l, Emporium, Pa.

Beaudry, Raymond A, T/4, Irasburg, Vt.

Beck, Richard B, T/5, 520 E Henderson St, Salisbury, N. C. So

Bennett, Charles C, T/5, I5l0 Spring Garden Ave, Pitts-

burgh, Pa. Penn

Bettes, Leo W, T/4, 584 E Main St, Box 27I, Walled Lake,

Mich. GTW

Black, Chester, l, Spenger, Ind.

Blackshear, James M, Pvt, PO Box 65l, Starke, Fla. Gulf Ref


Bolin, Donald E, T/5, RR #l, Owensville, Ind. CCC&StL

Boskat, Charles A, l, 26 Sanford St, Buffalo, N. Y.

Brady, William T, Pvt. 59-87 57th Drive, Maspeth, Queens, N. Y.

Brunner, Clair B, T/Sgt, 25 Taylor St, Waupun, Wis. CMStP&P

Burich, John, Pvt, 2 Clay Alley, McKees Rocks, Pa.

Byrnes, John J, T/4, Pawtucket, R. I.

Campbell, William H, Pvt, Elks, Nev. UP

Canzoneri, Joe A, T/5, 7l2 N Bunker Hill, Los Angeles.

Cal. SP

Carlin, John H, M/Sgt, Route 2. Tuscumbia, Ala. So

Carlson, Albert L, T/4, 425 Bridge St, Crookston. Minn. GN

Carrozza. Michael, T/5, 72l Segel St. Philadelphia, Pa.

Cary, Herbert R. l/5. Box 985, Alturas, Cal. SP

Casey, Leon P, T/5, l3736 Madison Ave, Cleveland, O.

Catullo, Daniel A, T/5, 456 Cedarville St, Pittsburgh 24,

Pa. Penn

Ciesco, Joseph S, S/Sgt, l737 Atchison Ave, Whiting, Ind.

. Consentino, John J. l'fc. Phillipsburg, N. J. NJC

Copperthite, Robert L, T/4, l90 Coe Ave, East Haven,

Conn.

Craggs, Gerald E, T/5, 2995 Tompkins St, Gary, Ind. C&IM

Crane, James V, Pvt, 34 Junior Ave, Buffalo, N. Y. Buj Crk

Cravey, Joseph G, S/Sgt, Gen'l Del, Auburn, Ala.

Cieighton, John C, l/4, 2ll6 llth St, Altoona, Pa. Penn

Crist, William E, Pvt, 2333 Florence St, Blue Island, Ill.

Crowder, Charles H, Pvt, Yuma Hotel, 36tt-6lh St, Yuma, Ariz.

Dahlkamp, Wesley R, T/Sgt, ll34 Patten Ave, Springfield, Ill.

Dalton, Perry L, Pvt, l374 Indiana Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah

Davis, Charles A, T/4, l050 N Main St, Anderson, S. C. So

Davis, Clarence E, T/3, 9l3 Lincoln Way, LaPorte, Ind. NYC

Davis, James R, T/4, I304 E Second St, Pine Bluif, Ark.

Derrig, Francis A, T/5, 2442 S Hicks St, Philadelphia, Pa.

Dill, Stephen A, T/4, Rt #3, Olathe, Kan.

Duncan, Robeit L. T/5, 637 Oak St, Johnstown. Pa. Penn

96


Magarelli, Saverio, Pfc, l3 Ford St, Reynoldsville, Pa.

Mahon, Robert, T/5, 63l6 4th Ave, Brooklyn, N. Y. BMT Transit

Major, Richard H, l/5. l623 E 82nd St, Cleveland, O. Penn

Mangns, Benjamin F, Pfc, 2l6 Barren Ave, Johnstown, Pa.

Beth Steel

Martine, Glenn A, Pfc, Box 528 Westwood, Cal.

McCall, Walter A, T/Sgt, 605 S 7th St, l.as Vegas, Nev. UP

McCaslin, Harold F, Pfc. Ralston, Pa. NYOnt&W

McGowen, Carl L, Box 74, Independence, La. IC

Miller, Clair J, Pvt, Box 236, RR#2, Connellsville, Pa. Penn

Minniear, Billie L, Pvt, 2I77 Belvidere, Detroit, Mich.

Mobley, Jesse W, I/5, l20 Lincoln St, Waycross, Ga. ACL

Morris. Julian C, I/I, 2l2l Highland Ave. Birmingham, Ala. So

Morris, Malcolm H, M/.-igt, l538 Jenkinson Ct, Waukegan,

Ill. CMStP&P

Mullin, Frank L, Pfc. l8l3 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Nan, Raymond V, Pfc, l27 N York, Dearborn, Mich. Wabash

Niehaus, Henry M, T/4. 230l Polk St. Apt 2. San Francisco,

Cal. . GrTH'

Nolan, William D, T/5, 705 Spruce St, Bristol. Pa. Penn

Oelrich, Harry G, T/4, Rt #l, Guthrie, Minn. NP

Owens, Marion H, T/Sgl, Route #2, Ellenboro, N. C.

Patterson. Hairy B, Pfc, 77 S Mt Vernon Ave, Uniontown,

Pa. Penn

Phillips, Kenneth W. M/Sgt, 83 Pleasant St. Marblehead,

Mass. B&M

Wiegart, Arnold A, I/l, lll2 lst Corso St, Nebraska City, Neb.

Wilhelm, Harvey G, Pvt, St Johns, Ariz.

Williams, Isaac C, l/4, St. James, La. T&P

Williams, Karl C, Pvt, l54l Cox St, Baltimore, Md.

Wisdom, Norman H, Pvt, Rt #l, Ozark, Ark. Mo Pac

Wolinski, l homas A, T/4, Gen Deliv, Uniontown, Pa.

Younger, Beverly R, S/Sgt, 4456 Willowbrook Ave, Los Angeles,

Cal.


Zeiders, Andrew W, Pvt, 33 Myrich Devencrest, Ayer, Mass.

Medical Section

Osburu, Robert P, Capt, l502 W Broadway, Louisville, Ky.

Jacobson, Emanuel E, Capt, 6l26 N Washtenaw Ave, Chicago, Ill.

Carbine, Louis F, Pvt, 33l Darby Terr, Darby, Pa. Penn

Harris, Dalton D, S/Sgt, 854 S Poplar, Wichita, Kan.

Kirby, Arnold C, Sgt, 85 Sheridane Ave, Laugdale, Ala.

Reynolds, John C, Pfc, 505l Orinoco St, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Monongahela Conn

Shulkcum, James L, Sgt, 4l6 Tazewell Ave, Roanoke, Va.

Small, Vincent, Sgt, 28l3 West End Ave, Nashville, Tenn.

Stewart, Robert L, S/Sgt, l32 N Willard. Ottumwa, la. CB&Q_

Uehling, Robert D, T/5, lll6 Carrington St, Janesville, Wis.

Company "A"

Phillips, Bennie O, T/5, 35ll S Jennings Ave, Ft. Worth, Tex. SP

Phirman, Clifford O, Pvt, 3l5 Williams Ave, Salt lake City, Utah

Plue, Harold T, Pvt, Glenmont, N. Y. NYC

Pontie, Robert J. Pfc, RFD#2. Irasburg, Vt.

Prisco, Anthony J, Pfc, 6l8 Hill Ave, Ashtabula. O. NYC

Reil, Willis A, T/Sgt, 4l E Taylor St, Reno, Nev.

Retiinger, Richard E, T/5, l59 I.ucknow Rd, Harrisburg,

Pa. Penn

Rodden, Earl, Pvt, 6l8 SF. 5th St. Oklahoma City, Okla.

Rodgers, Leo W, T/3, N George St, Charlestown, W. Va. B&O

Rondinelli, Carl G, T/5, 284l Stanton Ave, Cincinnati, O. Penn

Rosenlof, Eugene, T/5, 60l S 9th East. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ruggiero, Thomas, Pvt. Pittsburg, N. J. Penn

Russell, Francis M, Pfc, 55l7 W Congress St, Chicago, Ill.

Salo, Laurie J, Pfc, Box 32, Embarrass, Minn. DM&IR

Schoene, David A, Pvt, Milon, Mo. Cfid-Q

Scull, Paul A, T/5, 5726 Colorado Ave NW, Washington,

l). C. B&O

Shaffer, Ralph W, T/5, 200 Lafayette Road, Audubon, N. J.

Shetterly, Vernon L, Pvt. RR#2, Buchanan, Mich. NYC

Complete Roster

97

Casimir, Reynold J, Pfc, 808 Grand St, Dennison, O. Penn

Chandler, l.eon R, Sr, l/4, Gen Del, Fairland, Okla.

Chapman, Russell L, Pfc, c/o Chas Schenk, Rhine St, Naples, N. Y.

Cha/el, Frank A, Pfc, 244 Surrey St, San Francisco, Cal.

Christensen, Martin A, Pvt, ll Highland Ave, Beacon Falls, Conn.

Ciprian, Julius G, Sgt, l239 Manor Ave SW, Canton, O. W&LE

Collins, Luther R, Pfc, DeSoto, Kan. UP

Cookman, Neal O, Pfc, 9 Curkee St, Windsor, Vt. Ii&M

Cooper, Branson, Pfc, Poplarville, Miss. So

Cornwell, Andrew J, Pfc, c/o Edna Peel, Dumfries, Va. So

Cornwell, Iden, T/5, Burk, Va. So

Cowan, Wilbur, Pvt, 503 McNair St, Washington, N. C.

Ciomer, Alfred W, Pfc, 34l9 Sunlia Ct, Baltimore, Md. W Md

Crow, William A, Pfc, ll03 Mulberry St, Mt Carmel, Ill. So

Cruce, Francis C, Pfc, PO Box #322, Perry, Fla. So Ga

Culler, Louis R, l/4, l3ll N Arlington St, Torrance, Cal.

Cyphers, Harold L, Pfc, ll00 E 7th St, Concordia, Kan. AT&SF

Daily, Neil E, Pfc, Rt #3, Anoka, Minn. NP

Davis, Herbert R. l, 322 Randolph Ferguson Pk. Newport

News, Va. N&W

Davis, Raymond O, T/5, Augusta, Kan. AT&SF

Dellaquila, Carlo J, Pfc, ll7-4l l46 St, S Ozone Pk, N. Y.

DeLong, Charles F', Pvt, 829 S Prospect, Ravenna, O.

Denson, John L, T/4, Bx#2ll, Austell, Ga.

Diette, Ernest C, T/4, Glover St, Barton, Vt.

Dietzel, Earnest F, T/5, RFD #4, Union City, Pa. Erie

Dipillo, Amerigo V, Pvt, 705 St Clair St, Mingo Junction, O.

Dittmar, Kenneth W, Pfc, 6l0 Howard St, Niles, Mich. Mich Cen

Drake, Carl N, Pvt, 727 French St, Erie, Pa.

Dufloth, Arthur F, Pvt, Box l28, Poplarville, Miss.

Duncan, Aubrey B, Pfc, Rt #5, Newnan, Ga.

Einsiedel, Carl F, Pvt, 326 N 30th St, Milwaukee, Wis. Milxv

Ellis, George, T/5, Westville, Ind.

Erickson, Chester V, Pfc, Rt #2, Kimball, Minn. GN


Everdale, John A, Pfc, 23 Valley St, Port Carbon, Pa.

Fadale, Joseph C, T/5, 209 S Division St, Buffalo, N. Y. NYC

Felzer, Harold J, T/5, Delphos, O. Penn

Fields, Gordon V, T/5, 504 McCool Ave, E Syracuse, N. Y. CV

Finelli, Dominic N, T/5, Bx #94, Crivitz, Wise.

Flontek, Nicholas Jr, T/4, l033 W 22 St, Lorain, O. B&O

Ford, Charles H, T/5, l529 Pacific Ave, Alameda, Cal. SP

Foster, Joseph, T/5, Sandstone, W. Va. C&O

Fouts, Raymond W, Pfc, l07 Remsen St. Dunlap, la. C&NW

Fuzi, Jess A, Pfc, RFD #l, Cadillac, Mich. Ann Arbor

Gallant, Christopher, Pfc, 32 Parkway Ave, Providence, R. I.

Gastineau, Carl T, T/4, Baring, Mo. AT&SF

Gaulke, Orville J, Pfc, l939 Hillside Ave, Minneapolis, Minn. GN

Gillis, Norman H, Pfc, Philadelphia, Miss.

Gingerich, William E, Pfc. Millerstown, Pa. Penn

Goettsch, Charles J, Pfc, Algoma, Wise.

Gooch, Charlie, Pfc, RD #l, Erlanger, Ky. So

Goodwin, Mack. T/5, RD, Vossburg, Miss. So

Graham, Keith O, Pfc, Rt #2, Lowell, Mich. PM

Grahovac, John M, Pfc, 9622 Baltimore Ave, Chicago, Ill. CWP&S

Greco, Paul T, T/4, l360 Central Ave, St. Louis, Mo.

Greer, Jack C, Pvt, 3750 Moynier Lane, Los Angeles, Cal. UP

Gritton, J B, S/Sgt, 40l Woodford St, Lawrenceburg. Ky. So

Hall, Francis J, Pfc, RFD #l, Lexington, Ind. B&O

Hall, Luther, Pfc, Dwale, Ky.

Hampton, Thomas E, Pfc, l643 N Morgan St, Decatur, lll. IC

Harms, Stanley L, Pvt, Atwater, lll. CB&Q_

Hartman, Leo J, Sgt, Graettinger, la. R Is

Hatten, Bert, T/5, Pritchard, W. Va. N&W

Heider, Carl F, S/Sgt, Rt #3. Bx 32, Oregon City, Ore. NP

Hilliker. Kenneth L, T/5, l0 5th St, Clintonville, Wis.

Holdcroft, Asel L, Pfc, PO Box 243, Upland, Ind. Penn

Holliday, William F, Pfc, Carbondale, Ill. IC

Hoops, Claude E, Pfc, 433 Bramwell Rd, Bluefield, W. Va. N&W

98


North, Wilfred, l'vt, 62 Hedley St, Johnston, R. I.

Ortgiesen, William F, Pfc, Rt #3, Nelson, Ill. C&NW

Page, Lester E, Sgt, 4l Front St, Deposit, N. Y. Erie.

Paul, Charles C, T/5, Bx #82, Carpain, Mich. C&NW

Pelletier, William E, Pfc, 5l46 Hatchery Rd, Westwood

Acres. RFD 9, Pontiac. Mich. Can Nat

Pepper, Kenneth R, Pfc, Conesville, O. Penn

Peterson, Clifford M, T/4. Deer Park, Wis. C&NW

Petlansky, Andrew G, Pfc, 42l Main St, Conemaugh, Pa. Penn

Pilgreen, Eddie M, Pfc, Rt #3, Marion, La. Mo Pac

Wolford, Stanley J, Pvt, 2222 N Calvert St, Baltimore, Md.

Wolski, Francis B, Pfc, North Shore Drive, Menomonie,

Wis. CN&W

Woodruff, Grant D, T/5, Bx #23l, Veronia, Ore.

Yates, Lloyd E, T/4, 2l7 Avenue "G", Ft Dodge, la.

Young, Robert D, T/5, Rt #4, Bx #496, Olympia, Wash. NP

/.ink, Fred W, T/5, Bx #l93, Billings, Okla.

Company "B"

Proctor, Donald C, Jr, S/Sgt, 7ll S 7th St, Leavenworth,

Ran. CGW

Ramsborg, Andrew, T/5, Lakefield, Minn.

Randall, Paul W, Pfc. Rt #I, Warsaw, Ind. Penn

Ratio, Enrico, Pfc, 72 E ll7th St, New York, N. Y. NYC

Reeder, Everett J, Pfc, Nowata, Okla.

Relf, Abraham R, Pfc. Rt #5, Portland, Ind. NPl

Robouin, Russell R, l/4, l994 Main St, Hartford, Conn.

Rodriguez, Salvador P, Pfc. 5ll Ave "J", Dodge City, Kan.

Sandeis. Virgil L, Pfc. ll67 Englewood Ave, St Paul, Minn. DW&P

Sandmann, Harold W, Pvt, 301 Van Rensaelaer St, Merrill,

Wis. CMStP&P

Santangelo, Henry E, T/5, Rt #3, Wooster, O. Penn

Schau, Elwin, Pfc, 640 Joliet St. Dyer, Ind. EJ&E

Schliefer, Ralph N, Pfc, Kaneville, Ill.

Schnoover, Edward N. Pfc, Rt #l. Edwardsville, lll. /// Term


Schwesinger, Winfred W, l, M IS, Dafter, Mich. Soo Line

Scott, Myron C, T/5, 90 River St, Montpelier, Vt.

Seng. Christian. Pvt, l5l9 Cambridge Ave, Sheboygan. Wis.

C&NW

Seyinore, Alvin C, T/5, RFD #2, Box #90, Altoona, Pa. Penn

Shields, John l., Pfc. 6l2 Maple Ave, Lexington, Ky. So

Silsbee, Clarence G. T/5, Filer. Idaho

Simms, John F, T/4, Rt #l, Harrodsburg, Ky. So

Slaughter, Paul E, T/5, 482 S High St, Salem, Ore. CMStP&P

Small, Vincent. Sgt, 864 Monroe, Memphis, Tenn.

Sinallwood, Walter R, Pfc, Henryville, Ind.

Smith, Stanley, Pfc, 459 Seneca St, Louisville, Ky. L&N

Snodgrass, Darrell L, T/5, Oxford, Ind. NPl

Snodgrass. Donald E, Pfc. Oxford, Ind. NPl

Sobczyk, Edwin E, Pfc, 229 E l20th St. Chicago, III.

Souder, Clifford C, Pfc, RR #6, Mansfield. O. Erie

Southworth, John W, Pfc, Milford, Va. RF&P

Speer, Glenn E, Pfc, Acton, Ind. NYC

Spinell, George F, Pfc. 203|/> Center St, Dennison, O. Penn

Stilwell, Calvin W. Pfc. Oakland City, Ind. So

Spoon, Charles W, Pfc, ll9 F. Bucyrus St, Crestline, O. Penn

Templeton, Clair E, Pfc, 608 Railroad St, So Fork, Pa. Penn

Terrazas, Enrique, Pvt, 5052 Chet Menteur Hwy, New Orleans,

La.

Thompson, l.aken D, T/4, Vinita, Okla.

Tippie, Glennie H. Pfc, Converse St, Chauncey. O. NYC

Traeger. Lawrence C, III, Pfc, 7605 Kingston Ave, Chicago

l9, lll. Penn

Turner, Earl A, T/5, c/o AT&SF Office. Las Vegas, N. M. AT&SF

Turner, Owrin B, Pvt, Davis Creek, Cal.

Tyra, Ernest R, T/5, l68 Noble St, El Paso, Tex. SP

Inland. Orville L, Pfc. 833 Erie St, Delphos. O. Penn

Vanderlan, Lewis M. Pfc. 829 Kingsley Ave, Waterloo, la. R Is

Walker, Frank A, I/Sgt, 425 Bethel Ave. Muncie, Ind. NPl

Complete Roster

99

Fiedler, Orland E, T/4, Lucerne, Ind.

Finch, Elvy L, S/S, 68 Arch St, Johnson Cty, N. Y.

Firoved, Elvin G, T/5, 423 N I6th St, Kan Cty, Kan. His

Foss, Howard, l'fc, 3l3 26th St, Union Cty, N. J. NYC

Foster, Earl l', T/5, 229 Ridge Street, Port Chester, N. Y.

Frackiewiecz. Henry T, T/4, I224 Tabor Ct, Brooklyn, N. Y.

NYNH&H

Franklin, Leon L, T/l, lI27 N 28th St, Birmingham, Ala. L&N

Frick, Frank, T/5, RFD l, Finleyville, Pa. Penn

Gaines, Richard W, Pvt, 902 Montauge St, Covington, Ky. SP

Genesicki, Anthony R, T/5, Glenmont, N. Y. NYC

Gochnaur, Richard M, l/l. l352 VV 99 St, Los Angeles. Cal.

Goins, Paul J, T/4, 536 Haines St, Camden. N. J. Penn

Grabski, Anthony B, Pfc. 2235 W Montana St. Chicago, Ill.

Graves, Highland L, T/4. l2 Euclid Ave. Ludlow, Ky. So

Griebel, A J, Pfc, 5604 S Loomis Blvd. Chicago, Ill. Rwy Exp

Grivna, Joseph, T/l, 634 l9 Ave NE, Minneapolis, Minn. NP

Grove, George H, T/5, RFD #9, Box l72, Richmond, Va. So

Haines, Frederick M, T/4, 605 N Johnson St, Charles Citv, la.

Hall, George N, T/4, RFD 4 Mathiott St. Sciotoville, O. N&W

Harchalk, Michael J, T/4, RFD 4, South Ridge E, Ashtabula,

O. NYC

Harris, Homer, Pvt. 2604 Rouse St, Ft Worth, lex. AT&SF

Hassell. Jesse G, 34l6 Haverford Ave. Phila. Pa.

Helm, Robert E, T/5, 52 Church St, Birmingham, Ala. So

Hendrickson, Elmer W, Pvt, l6ll S Glyum St, Bessemer, Mich. SP

Henry, Chester O, T/5. Rte l, Princeton, Ind. So

Hicks, Harvey I?, T/4, 5l0 l3th St, Tuscaloosa, Ala. So

Hinkson. Hobart E, Pvt, 5l2 E Hubble St, Hastings. Mich.

Holt, Richard D, T/5, RR #2, Box 92-B, Amarillo, Tex.

Horning, Charles A, T/5, 2752 N Chester Ave. Indianapolis,

Ind. NYC

Hotaling. Harmon E, T/4, Maryland, X. Y. D&H

Huston, Floyd L, I/S, Montella, Nev. SP


Inseth, Alfred D, Pfc, 2709 N 4th St, LaGrande. Ore. UP

Jamison, Howard A. T/4, 4lll Euclid Ave, F. Chicago. Ind.

Inl Steel

Johnson, Carl B, S/S, 622 Central Ave, Cheyenne, Wyo. UP

|ustice, James B, T/5, Rte l. Hampstead, N. C.

Kafka, Victor V, Pfc, 639 Elm St. Antigo, Wis. C&NW

Kaiser, Eddie N, T/5. l965 Hiawatha St. Baton Rouge, La.

Kasper, Elwin L, T/5, 42l5 l2th Ave, Sacramento, Cal. IIP

Keba, John, T/4, l44 D. Watson Dr, Turtle Creek, Pa. Penn

Kennedy, Thomas J, Pfc, Galloway, O. Penn

King, Robert E, S/S, 63l9 S Campbell Ave, Chicago, Ill. Penn

Kohlbrand, Ervin A, Pfc, 308 E l4th St, Cincinnati. O. Penn

Kollmer, John C, T/5, 763 S l7th St, Columbus, O.

Komulainen, Alpa E, Pvt, Welchville, Me.

Kowski, Joseph J, Pfc, 2Il Prospect St, Brooklyn, N. Y. NYC

Krysiak, Matthew J, T/5, 28 Auburn Ave, Johnston. R. I.

LaRue, Rol>ert G, Pvt, 2l Marks Ave, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Lassere, Leonard, T/5, 2375 Laurel St, New Orleans, La.

Lawrence, Edgar H, T/5, 2l24 Baltic Ave, Long Beach, Cal.

Legan, Carl B, T/5, 44l N Main St, Franklin, Ind. Ind Pub Sen'

Leiter. Orville F, Pvt, l532 S Eastern Ave, Los Angeles, Cal. UP

Levandowsky, Boley S, T/5, 229 S Highland St, Shenandoah.

Pa. Penn

Levensalor, Frederick, T/4, Milo, Me. B&A

Lindeman, Harry L, Pfc, 208 E Woodland Ave. Connersville.

Pa. B&O

Lineberger. Boyce H, T/5, PO Box 698, Spencer, N. C. So

Little, Milton W, S/Sgt, l0 First St, Buckhannon, W. Va. B&O

Loftus. Clarence M, T/5, l2l2 S Clendale Ave, Sioux Falls.

S. D. GN

Long, Edgar H, T/5, ll03 Third St, Rensselaer, N. Y. NYC

Lookiebill, Raymond S, T/4, 24 W Date St, Hartford. III.

Low, Howard B, T/4, R l, Albion, Me. Me Cen

Lowery, Lawrence E, Pfc.

l00


Smith, Edgar, T/4, 3602 Brandon Rd, Huntington, W. Va. N&W

Smith, Gerald W, l'vt. l2l2 Garland St, Flint, Mich.

Smith, Raymuth D, T/4, RFD #I0, Box I7, Indianapolis,

Ind. Penn

Smith, R T, Pvt, RR 3, Miami, Okla.

Sossich, Gordon A, I/3, 2708 Salmon St, Philadelphia. Pa. Read

Speaker, William E, Pvt, 30l Spring St, Emporium. Pa. Penn

Stanley, John X, Jr, T/3. Rte 5, Box 306, High Point, N. (..

Stanch, David H, T/4, 84 National Dr, Newark, O. lii-O

Steinbugl, Frank X, Pvt, l4l4 S l2 St, Altoona, Pa. Penn

Suding, Edward G, T/5, Rte I, Box l4l. Batesville, Ind. NYC

Sullivan. Joseph R, T/5, 406 N Fairview Ave, Pittsburg,

Kan. AC So

Sundberg, Harry A, T/5, 740 Sornmers Ave, White Fish, Mont. GiV

Taylor, Archie W, Pfc, l998 N 27th St, Decatur. Ill. Wab

Taylor, Joseph L, Pvt, l97 W Weber Rd. Columbus, O. Penn

Theis, Joseph P, T/5, 522 Terr Ave, Marinette, Wis.

Toth, Alexander F, Pfc. 2l23 80th St, Jackson Heights, N. Y.

Tyler, John F, Pfc. 338 Jackson St, Phila, Pa.

Vega, Martin, Pfc, 3594 Penn Ave. E Chicago, Ind.

Vileta, James. Pfc. l407 S Kedvale Ave, Chicago, III.

Walker. Charles R, T/5, RID #2, Box l3. Hamilton, Tex.

Warner, Carl W, T/5, 8l2 E Arthur St, Warsaw, Ind.

Kingsbury Old

Wegrzynek. Stanley I, T/4, 409 Patlon St, Wilmerding, Pa.

Wilkerson, Robert L, Pvt. RFD 4, Box l04. Memphis, Tenn. IC

Wiseman. Shii lev A, l/4. l233 N l5th St, Clarksbury. W. Va. Ii&O

Wrigley, Wesley R, Pfc, l227 W Sargent St, Philadelphia, Pa.

Wundeiler, William F, T/l. IK) Ritner St, Philadelphia. Pa.

Company "C"

Mauney, Harold C, Capt. Southern Ry Sys, Birmingham, Ala. So

Perkins, David M, lst l.t, 200l 35th Ave No, B'gham, Ala. So

Hickey, Ralph G, lst Lt. 90l Centenary Ave, Cleveland, Tenn. So

Mills, Lyman R, Ist Lt, 872 W Mich Ave, Battle Creek,


Mich. G/ll

Luscaleet, Willard, 2nd Lt. c/o Crew Disp, Cleveland Un

Term, NYC, Cleveland, O. NYC

Alexander, Walter J, T/4, 3l28 So 3rd St, Louisville, Ky. L&N

Allen, William A, 8201/2 Clarence St, Lake Charles, La.

Anderson, Arthur W, T/4, F. 9th St, Box 82l, Proctor,

Minn. DM&IR

Anderson, Charles E, l, 832 Crest Haven Dr, Los Angeles,

Cal. AT&SF

Anderson, Edwin C, Pvt, 49 Pinehurst Rd, Farmingdale, N. Y. LI

Armor, Robert H, Pvt. Lane Street. Freeport, Pa. Penn

Arnold. Richard H, T/4, Scott County, Bluffs, Ill. Wab

Ashe, Purser C. Sgt, l57l David St. Memphis, Tenn. /(.'

Axley, Julian B, Sgt. 527 S Elm St. Centralia, Ill. IC

Bagby. James W, Pvt, l007 Race St. Princeton, Ind.

Baker. William F, Set, 22l High St, Roseville. Cal. SP

Bandt, Elmer H, T/5, 2928 I.illie St. Ft Wayne. Ind. Penn

Beck, Vernon E, Pfc, 5l9 Center St, Van Wert, O. Penn

Benton. Winfred, Pfc. RFD 2, Kings Mountain. N. C.

Berg, Philbert F, T/5, 629 E Swayzee St. Marion. Ind. B&O

Berry, Lewis W, Pfc, l3 West St, Hornell, N. Y. Erie

Bervig, Ordean M, Sgt, 28 So Terrace, Fargo, N. D. Indust Rd

Bevan. William F. Pvt. 5429 57th So. Seattle, Wash. NP

Blackburn. James J, S/Set. llll W 32nd St, Chevenne, Wyo. UP

Boyd, Forest S, Pfc. RR l0, Box 582. Ferguson. Mo. NYC

Bra/eau, Delmas J. T/5. 'ill Eastern Ave, Toledo. O. PM

Briirht. Jr, John A. T/4, l3l4 Norvenwood Rd, Jacksonville,

Fla. ACL

Brodie, Thomas P. Pvt. 30l E 23rd St, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Brown, James A. T/4, Beechbank Rd, Forest Glen, Md. B&O

Brown, Linsev H, T/5, 5ll9 Badger Rd. Santa Rosa, Cal. NWP

Brown, W L, Sgt, Box l83, McCormick, S. C. Ch&WCar

Buchhol?, Walter O, Sgt. Huntington, Ind. Erie

Buffmgton, William F, Sgt, 3234 Campbell, Kan Cty, Mo. StLi-SF

Complete Roster

l0l

Glore, John A, Pfc, 725 S 24th St, Louisville, Ky. IC

Goerndt, Ervin H, Sgt, 307 Oak, Breckenridge, Minn. GN

Gordon, Warren, T/5, 3004 E 83rd PI, S Chicago, Ill. Indust Rd

Goulet, Edmond O, T/4, 27 Washington Ave, Portland, Me. CN

Granrud, Arthur P, Pfc, 8l6 N 6th St, Grand Forks. N. D. G;V

Grantham, Felix A, T/5, 302 W Roosevelt St, Harlingen,

Tex. NPl

Grass, Frank V, T/5, 635 Harrison Ave, Lima, O. Erie

Grigware, Edward D, Sgt, 409 Park St. Port Huron, Mich. PM

Grinnan, Kenneth A, T/5, 342 Warder Ave, Grafton, W. Va. B&O

Grosboll, Kenneth S, Sgt. 304 Adelia, Springfield, Ill. C&EI

Grosskopf, William F, Pfc, l206 Main St, McCook, Neb. B&O

Groves, John E, Pfc, 829 W 3rd St, Gary, Ind. EJ&E

Guard, Leslie E, Pvt, 804 N Center St, Joliet, Ill. EJ&E

Hagerty, Daniel J, Pvt. 57l5 King Hill Ave, St Joseph, Mo.

Hairston, Samuel O, Pfc, Rt 3, Clinton, S. C. Pied No

Haley, Paul D, T/4, l39 Second St, Catawissa, Pa. Read

Hall, William G, T/4, PO Box l23, Brewton, Ala. L&N

Halpin, John A, Pfc, 85 Bostwick Ave, Jersey City, N. J. LV

Hanks, Robert L, Pfc, 4l6 Butler St (W), Ft Wayne, Ind. Penn

Hanning. Harry H, Pfc, 7228 W Vernon Hy. Detroit, Mich. NYC

Hansen, Raymond H, Pvt, c/o Omaha Rwy, Mankato. Minn.

CMStPM&O

Harper, Walter E, Sgt, 2437 Jefferson Ave, Knoxville, Tenn. So

Harrity, John M, Sgt, l08 Broadway. Mauch Chunk, Pa. NJC

Harrison, Thomas A, T/5, 30 Earl, Girard, O. Erie

Hart, Lawrence J, Pfc. 8 Newton Ave. Saratoga Springs,

N. Y. P&H

Hartman, George C, T/5, 97l5 l23rd St, Richmond Hill,

LI, N. Y. LI

Havden, Frank, T/4. North Platte, Neb. UP

Heilebrand, George E, T/4, 383l Flatlands Ave, Brooklyn,

N. Y. NJC

Helvey. James C, T/5, 326 S Willow St. Erwin, Tenn. Clinchfiald


Hens, James L, Pvt, 203 London St, Buffalo, N. Y. NYC

Herkalo, Joseph F, Pfc, lI59 Jackson St, F.aston, Pa. IV

Herr, Henry, T/5, RD l, Quarryville, Pa.

Heward, Charles W, T/5, l348 Sage St, Evanston, Wyo. UP

Hibbard, James E, Sgt. l07 Carneal St, Ludlow, Ky. So

Hillgrove, Harry R, T/4. 3l6 Kamback St, Pittsburgh, Pa. B&O

Hodapp, Donald E, T/4, 3l7 East 2nd St, Seymour, Ind. P&LE

Holland, John H, Pfc, Hurst. III. NP

Holle, Erwin T, T/4, 622 N 32nd St, E St Louis, Ill. Indust Rd

Hollister, Robert T, Pvt, Staples, Minn. NP

Holsinger, Louis A, Pfc. 2l0 Oak St, Baden. Pa. Penn

Horn, Frank Jr, Pfc, 88 Towpath, Ontario St. Buffalo, N. Y. NYC

Hosier, Vernon F, M/Sgt, 2432 No Boston Ave, Tulsa. Okla.

AT&SF

Hotchkiss, Harold, Pvt, ll5 25th St, Oregon, Utah.

Howell. Morgan O, Pvt, Box 584, Elko. Nev. WP

Hoyt, Edgar C, Pfc, 455 S 30th, Lincoln, Neb. CB&Q

Hudak, Stephen A, T/4, 3ll 3rd St, Woodvale, Johnstown,

Pa. Penn

Hughes, Cyril E, Pfc, l325 Grand Ave, St. Paul. Minn. CMStP&P

Hull, Gordon S, T/5, 67 Moeller St. Binghampton, N. Y. D&H

Humphrey, Robert L, Pfc, l343 Madison Ave, Toronto. O. Penn

Hungerford, James H, T/4, 920 Big Horn, Alliance. Neb. CB&Q

Jackson, James W, Pvt, c/o Chas Gardner, Union Springs,

Ala. CofG

Jackson, William L, l655 Federal St, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Jansto, John, T/4, 5258 S Whipple St, Chicago, Ill. Penn

Januseski, Francis E, T/5, ll305 Ave "N", Chicago, III. B&O

Jefferson, Ernest O, Pvt, 609 Gilmore St, Waycross. Ga. ACL

Jensen, Herman C, Pfc, Kalama, Wash. Indust Rd

Jester, Charles W, Pvt, 22 Dewev St. Dravosburg, Pa.

Jones, Robert B, Sgt, Elihu, Ky. So

Jordan, John W P, Pfc, l020 Phoenix St, Greenwood, S. C. ACL

Junterman, William C, Sgt, Turtle Lake, Rt 3, St. Paul,

l02


Morrison, Glen E, T/5, 2002 E State c/o Mobile Stu, Long Beach,

Cal.

Morrison, John H, l/5, RFD l, Easton, Pa. Lehigh Val

Moxley, Alvia J, Pvt, 5026a Tholozan, St Louis, Mo.

Murphey, Daniel J, Pfc, RFD l, Marion Station, Mil.

Musgrove, James A, T/5, 232l NW 26th St, Miami, Fla. N&W

Nettles, William R, Sgt. 6l1 S Hall St, Princeton. Ind. So

Newburg, Francis W, Pfc, 25l W Washington Ave, Clifton

Place, Pa. Penn

Newmister, James G, Pfc, 427 N State St, N Vernon, Ind. B&O

Noll, Raymond F, Pfc, Box 93, N Ridgeville, O. NYC

Nordstrom. Hans R, Pfc, Box l38, Star Rt 3, Hibbing, Minn. OIM

Norling. Gene A, Pfc. 5300 29th Ave S. Minneap. Minn. CN

Nostrome, John. Pvt. 789 Glen Rd, Cliffside Park, N. J.

O'Brien, Earl, Pfc, 2826 Panama St, Bakersfield, Cal. SP

O'Brien, R J, Pvt, 508 Fourth St, Spencer, N. C. So

Owen, loin H, Pfc, Rt l, Leeds, Ala.

Parker, James H, T/4, Box 342, Harlingen, Tex. Mo Pac

Parkham, John J. Pfc, 62IS Adam St, Alpena, Mich. Trans Kelly Is

Patrisso, Nicholas J, T/5, ll8 Hammond Ave, aic, N. J. Erie

Paul, Francis C, T/4, 6 Cagwin Ave, Joliet. lll. EJ&E

Payne, Lowry, Pvt, 865 lth St, Mansfield, O.

Peisert, Paul L, Il67 Rice St. St Paul, Minn.

Petrone. Albert A, Pvt. 539 Barbey St, Brooklyn, N. Y. Penn

Phares, Dee T, Pfc, Rt 2, Box 20, Elkins, W. Va. W&M

Piersall, N L, T/5, 24 Seneca Ave, White Plains, N. Y. NYC

Piper, Jos A, Pvt, Burnside Ave. Congers, N. Y. NYC

Porcaro, Victor E, Pfc, 93l Pavonia Ave. Jersey City, N. J. NJC

Porter, L L, Sgt, 34271/^ Walnut St, Progress (Hbg) Pa. Read

Potter, K H, S/Sgt. 7 E lst St, Box l72, Wellston, O. B&O

Poulos, Charles J, Pfc, 2l Waller PI, Bridgeport, Conn. XYXH&H

Pretty, Zigmond J, Pvt, 672 N 5th St. Kankakee, lll. NYC

Price, Leon F, Sgt, Peach Creek, W. Va. C&O

Pridgen, Maurice L, T/4, Chapel Hill, N. C. So


Queen. Willie W, Sgt, 30l No Main St, Ceclai town, Ga. Co/G

Quillin. Willard M, T/4. 437 N 7th St, Steubenville. O. Penn

Quinn, John I, Pfc, Box ll, Cecil, Pa. Penn

Rader, Guy S, T/4, Whitesburg. Tenn. So

Randall, Harry C, Pfc, 20l4 Mosser Ave. Williamsport, Pa. Read

Rauscher, Ernest K. Pvt, 6l5 Acorn St. Phila, Pa. Penn

Ream, Kenneth J, T/5, Box l32, So Whitley. Ind. Penn

Reed, Robert W, Sgt, ll05 l6th St. Racine, Wis.

Reese, John L, Sgt. ll9 Lookout St. Chattanooga, Tenn. So

Reid. Richard C, T/4, l662 Langston Ave SW, Atlanta, Ga. So

Richey, Robert L, Sgt. 247 Robb St, Cincinnati. O. Penn

Riseley, Charles R, Pfc, Summitville, N. Y. NYNri&H

Robertson, Edward E, Pfc, l53 S 6th St. Easton, Pa. Penn

Robinson, Edward C, Sgt, Atlanta, Mo. Mo Pae

Roddie. Billie W, Pvt, 3822 7th St, Meridian, Miss. So

Roush, Harry F, Pvt, 93l Reagan St. Sunbury, Pa. Penn

Rudy, Marlin C, T/5. l69 E Derry Rd, Hershey. Pa. Read

Ryan, Stewart C, T/5, l63 W Earl Ave. Youngstown, O. Erie

Santandrea, Antonio. Pfc, 24-32 33rd St, Astoria. LI, N. Y.

Schank, William A, Pfc, 3324 Brandvwine St, Phila, Pa. Penn

Schantz, John J, Pfc, 222 7th Ave SW, Mandan. N. D. NP

Schneider, Orval E, Pfc, l35 Garfield St, Green Bay, Wis. GBW

Seaman, Kenneth A. Sgt. Box 372, RD 2. Shamokin, Pa. Penn

Sears, Waller J, T/5. YMCA, Sharonville, O. NYC

Sechrist, Robert H, T/5, 3522 6th Ave, Beaver Falls, Pa. P&I.E

Setter, Ambrose J, Pfc, R 2, Colony, Kan. C&NW

Shelton. Winston B, Pfc. Russell. Kv. C&O

Shock, Robert H, Pfc. 535 Waugh St, Alliance, O. Penn

ShofF, Warren E, Pfc, 5l7 S l0th St, Wymore, Neb. CB&Q_

Showkeir, James R, T/5, ll64 E l25th St, Cleveland, O. Penn

Simmons, Gerald W, T/5, Pope, Miss. So

Smith. Floyd A, Pfc, Box 72. Gladstone, N. J. Penn

Smith, John W, Pfc, 204 McCarthy Ave, Dennison, O. Penn

Smith, R D, R 9, Box 60, Indianapolis, Ind.

/

«

I

\

PCO^TOTTTTTTTT1!! HJ ]}]' '/I?

-

feiy}Ji//y/;/;/;
EUROPEAN OPERATIONS

of the

727th RAILWAY BATTALION

Africa 350 Miles December 27, 1942 to July 12, 1943

Sicily 360 Miles July 12, 1943 to November 20, 1943

Italy 450 Miles November 20, 1943 to September 25, 1944

900 Miles September 25, 1944 to April 18, 1945

225 Miles April 18, 1945 to October 6, 1945

SPAIN

Gibroltfli

' •»* CHRISTMAS

I942

Ouled Rohmoi

MOROCCO

ALGERIA


Metlo


Khenchela /


727th Railway Operating Battalion In World War Ii Unit History 1r5a5n

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