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8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
1/26
\ \
~ / T ' . v f - 4 , X d ~
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1 1 F
C·t.
t
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I I
C
XOS
PublishG
d
By The Publ i c
R cla t i : n Socti-::•n
2 Y
o2
r s
Over:Jee_s
Tii
J f \ \ r ~ T ~ : \ : J
DOUBLS
ANIVERS
ARY
EDITION
July 29,1945
Maas t r i ch t ,
HJllEnd
1 Ye2r On Tho n t i n s n t
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OVERSEAS CHJ.ONOLOGICAL
IUSTOH.Y
Throu g
hout th
e 7th day
of Ju ly EJii3,
menbers of
a.
SOXO
des t ined uni t
we
re bus i ly
e ngaged
novinG
fror1 Car:Ji)
Shanks,
Nevi
York
to
a ~ I u d s o n Ri
·.r
e r Pi e r , a l l
loca t
ed in the
HYPOE. The SOXO'G, as
th
c;y have
ca l l
ed
th
emse
l ves
froyn, time
to
t i r le ,
wi l l nover for -
t;·J t
t ha t
hike wi t h f u l l
equil)m
e
n t
plus ex t ras (
r : l p r r ~ g n . te
clo th ing ,
over shoos,
e t c . )
froJ11. canp to the wai
t ine:
New
York
Centru.l
l3oat Train ,
tho fe r ry ri lc
days
tl
t
sea
f o l l onecl
:Yo
wore on
our
O \m v;i thout
..
s ~ c r t b c in t; a f a s t sh ip . Tho Railvmy Operating
D
u t t a l i on composed of r-·,cn
fror:L
'12 di f fe ren t U.S.
r a i l r uuds ,
nad
c
t h i s ~ . 1 a
n
voyago
under
orders
of th o
NY
POE
1
,-,·or kinG on th e boat D.s cooks, K. Ps.
WAC
bu r;gago carry ing
o
xpert :s ,
mess of f i cu r s , pu l i c o dvto . i l s , modic _dr;tails an l _;_n gonc,r a l wo rk horses of
th
e
boa t .
This
vms
on
ly
an
in
d
i c a t ion
of
our
fu ture ass icrp e
n ts .
The
bri( ,htor
s ide
of tho t r i p
includffid
the W i ~ . C s
(1s t
group
to
~ ~ o ~ - v e r s e o . s - ) n.r1-l niGhtly ent e r ta i rment.
fl.
round
the mess hours , a t;oodly crowd
could
always bo f ound f ~ r o the s ta i rvmys.
This
spor t
was el iminated
whe n
orders
W8re
i ssu od
t o
the
WACs t o
appr:a
r in fa t iguos
o
n ly .
Mc.ny
budding romanced were
s t a r t
ed on
t h i s t r i p
culminat ing
clu rinc; o
u t s t ay il1
the
ETO. A
cer ta in Lieutenant
was knovm
to
llavo vion
·:t
f ew
no
r a e; r
oy
hc'.irs
be cause of
f r a t e rn i za t ion
d i f f i c u l t i
0s
on
his tour of
duty nspec in l ly upon
discovery of
notes
b
c:
inc lo we red from rt
por t
hole on deck 5
to
une on de cJ.: 3. Upon arrivcLl in th e Fi r th
·)f
Clyde 15
Ju ly
1943
we
proceeded to
Greenock,
Scot land to
d i s ,"n
bark .
The
inovi t ab l
baggage de t a i l s and
f ina l pol ice of the shiJ?
was a l locuted
t o
the 729th .
He ar r ived
a t
Shirohanpton
StaGinz ArGu on
17
July
1943, and
there
fol lovmd an
or i en t a t ion
t a l k
by
Major
General Ross, Chief
of
Transpor t a t ion , th
e
breaking up
of
th
e b n t t a l h m in to
bttlanc
ed t a c h r n ~ : m t dest ined for eve ry USA Depot
in
a l l UK Das(::
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
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SEC 'riONS.
Bat ta l ion
Headquarters mov(; d to Lonllon
with
t le persorms:l sect ion c;oir.
·co Sudbury.
Durinc
th is in i ir.tl
t..>•.;riod
vre
f i eked UIJ anJ
vrero assignod
some 350
(:;;.Acellent railrc ·ad
off icors
and
enl i s t
ed
men
frcm n::wvly f o
rmed
Previs ional
Rctilwn
:
Detc·.chr.1ents. Thes;:: men
wore
s c;c
ured from
th ,e S uni ts in th e UK pr io r t o uur
ar r i \
Durinc th e succ
oe
din .;
months
of expandin g llcpot
rcdlvm.y
otJTat ions
of
tho bat ta l ion ,
I'JG
had
approxil"latcly 42 offic'::lrs and
1200
en.g
li
s tod r.1en in 34 de t ac h
nen
t s in 4 Dase
Sect ions.
lJe i:n e; in so "lany depo t s ,
pr:hor
to
th e a r r i v · ~ l of the 72 8
th
Ha i1way Op e r a t in g
pa
tta li
on
in th o l a t e Fal l o:: 1943, r:lE:ant gn.r1t r e sv o
ns ib i l i
t i e s f or th e 729};h
'.:turing
th
8
lr1rg
e
SOS depot
opera t ions pr ior tu
D-Day. Com
pany A
was
a t
one t im
e
r
espons
ib l
e f or
th
e ma
in ten
ance
of
upproxime.tely
600
miles
of
t r r
lck8.ge . Comrnmy
D's
r e
sp ons
i b i l i t i
es
·we r G tha t of serv ic ing and nain ta in ing l occmoti
ve
cquipT:lon t and
cc.r
"'rec
ti
on
. Company C vra s r e sponsib le f or a ll shuntinG opera t ions which involved a
dai ly depo t ave ra ge
of
600 wagons
_mo
ved into
la r
ge r
d e ~ o t s .
Spacia l
work done by the
batto.}ion was un loadin r;; and stc;ra be opera t ions of T.C.
'cnockdown r a i lwe.y ca
r s .
Cvmpm:ty D
and
a l l exc
es
s men of Headquarters Company were
s t ar t c=Jd on
t h i s
wo rk
in
July
43. I t
wasn t
very lon
r:;
un t i l
th e men of
th
e
t r a in
.
novene,nt
Sect ion becrune
good
r i ge;e rs and cr&n e ope r a t ors and
found
a t Sudbury tha t
they
d i dn
t
brinr.; their
overshoes along
f or any
purpose,
The re a r e still rumurs
~ c r o u n
tha t
s t a r s wil l
be given f o r the ba t t l e
of
Suubury, Newberry, Mo r t on on Lugrs ,
':: t c .
Simultaneously,
a t I1ainaul D Compa::::y embark od
on i t s
pioneer a
ss
emb
ly vm
rk
of re efe rs , box, cab
oose
,
0omlo
l a , war
f l a t s
and
tank
cars expa.ndin s ...,p;:;;ra
ti
ons
by
se
t t i n
g;
up
assemb
ly
l i n
e s
n t
Sudbury, Morton
on
Lut;g,
and
Doncaster ,
Er
ec
ti
on r
eccrd
se t up by th e
SOXOs were as
f oll ow s: gon do l a
s , 5B nan
hours , Box cars ,
80
nc.n h
ou
rs
mel r ef r ie;erator
cars 175
Til .n h ours per
car . Other sp nunber,
gcr1e r a l what
i s
your j 0b ,
e tc
•••
A
l.Jc;W
days
af t e r
D-Do.y
WG
vmr e ,;r
:'
:a r
ed
t o Sj)l i t
in t
o 7 s.::1lf
s u f f i c i ~ m t
b a l
anced
:letach.-rner.ts . The reason vms obvious. The ba t ta l ion Wfi S to
m.::cke th
e Channel t r i p by
severc.l :chips o..nd thereby not
have [1.11
your
C[
:;g s
in
one baskets • On
th
e
ll
h of
June
the 1s t and
2nd de t
aclw
.ents w0re o
rd
Gr ed t o
Southhampton
t o be att
ached
t o a
u. s.
En
z
; ineor J:(eg
i
.nent
w
i t h
a
mission
ru
n
work
tr
a i ns for
th
eri,
O
th er
do
t
aclment s
f o llowe d to co
nc
ent r a t i
on
e.nd marshallinG
o.ror.s.
On 2 July '±4 th e l s t and 2nd cle
t achuen
t s
reached Cherbour:j. The l
as
t
de
t o.chnent a r r ived on
25th
Gf ;ere
p i t ched and
af t e r
an a
i r
ra id sone SCJXOs
·we re soon di[;t;in[;; foxholas . '1'1·ucks vrere
us ed
for t r anspo r ta t ion to Che
rb
ou r
r;
. Tho
~ e r r i e we r e
still
arcund S
t.
Lo a t th is
t i n
e .
Rehabi l i tu t ion wo
rk on Ch
e
rbc.urg Peninsula s ta r ted inrneJiat
e ly
in wake
of
major
const ruct ion by the u.s. Engineers. A boneyard exp r e ss
was
s t a r t ed
to
co l l ec t wreck
s.J, dD..l"lat;ed
e.nd abandoned e
quipm
en
t.
Locul yowe r wns
us
ed a t f i r s t . Our
i n i t i
a l
r espons i b i l i t y o. t f i r s t inc luded th o running of th e Port Yards and th e main
l in
o to
Carentan, l a t e r cxt e71cl in ;; t o Lis
on
up on
cor.1pletion
of the Vire IUver Bridge.
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
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1
Gome J:J.o r e
f i r s t s
oe cur r
'3 Lc
dur in _;
ou
r tour of du ty on
th i s
l i v i
r" iu
n . Fi r s t pas s o n ge r
t r a in was run on 11 July L A ( D ] lus 35 ) f r cr.1 Cllerbourc to Cr..r c'ln t
an
. Car cutan a t
th i
s
ti
rw wa s l
os
s th an 5 'lih:s fro 'l th e
f r ont
l ines a
nd
su-ojBc;t
l;c
• c a s i o n . a l 88
f i r e
On 20
July
1
A
tho f i r r t t r a i l
was
fro:t: . Cherbour g hau l i nl_; Niss en
· [
uts
for Gene r a l Leo s Con
Zon
t:J Headqua
r t
e
rs
t o ' : n 0 On 25 July t he
i i r s t t r
oop
t r n. i n
~ : - ;
a t Che·rbourc u l i n
tll
e 29Bth LTfml; r a l }Iospita l to Carun t
an
.
On
29
July ·14 USA oqui{lno
n t
b,. lran t •J o.r
r iv
u and ··vr.s raost ~ i l · r w
:o
l c ,J
r.18d
b •r a ll conc e r
n0d
On 17 Ju ly the
f i r s t
h c s ~
t r
a in ca? tu r E::d
Fr
er,ch
, Y t s e ~ l f , G r
cunclws"
anJ box ca
rs)
·;
·).S
run
to
Lison
c m t l Y ~ and r e tu rn in ;
viith
vroundw.l t
.llt.:n
1
s Si cno. l Section Wl)rk
i.
ng
s o
uth .
A
ll
of
C
umi.l
Hny A t r
::c
cl:: ard
n
r i
ct;v
and
1
Adl<
li
n :
Se
c t
i
ons
w
e.
r o p
u l l
scl
from
:;he Cherbu
ur
r._; Peninsu l
1.
Di v i s i on anu Br anch
l i n
e s v.ri th th l
m:co11
ti cn ,-.f two trn:nk
n s s l of t t o pat ro l o.nrl. :-:1a i nhdn t he Cho ri.J ourg Divis i un .
Thes
e ::;tm;>;s
1tJ\:J
r e di ve rt
ed
b
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
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Bi l l e t in t; an d
n
e . ;
p r
obl or•w we r e s
ir
:trl i f i tJd by u s i n::; cap t u r ed. box and ba r_;e;a;e
ca r s for bunk ancl
r.:te
s s ca
rs
ut va
r i
oi1c
4- ::J
t ael
mdn
t s a l c:-nb t h e· l i n e .
I t
was a l so
he
r o
t ha t th e
f i r
s t ll . O. D. I(
o l l i
nl: Ch a:>
e l ,
Don t a l o..ncl Jl edi
ca
l Ca rs we r
e: bu
il
b y
t
ho
75
7th
l{D.ilway Sho
:J
Battalion
fo
r th e 729th . At ont.> t i mn J..t our
nax
i nu.lCl ex , an s i
on on
t he
Ch 0
rb
o'Llr G
~ : ~ .
Di v i s io n t hC:; lmttalion ·was m i
n t ;
14 nesse s i'ood i ng
1'/00
USA
pe
r s onn e l ( f
t'.i'
O, A?O, li'i
nhnc
e , fd:L's ,
F e
Fi ;ht e r
UE
it s ,
~ . i l l S uni ts ,
t r a i n
gu
a r
ds
,
o t c . ) .
On 21 J
r.:
ce l"lbor
we
r e c e iv e d our or
de
rs t o l eo..ve Ch or l10ur g
fo
r d
uty
i n
th
e An.twe r :r:
'o
rt
Ar e
o.. . L
ov
or:tent
c f co
ur se wa s m,:t(le by r ail i n 3 1u
nk
c u. r
t r o.
ins (
60
ca rs
each)
md on e:: TDA
tr
o.. i n . The SOX0 s r e f e r r e d t o ab ove
A. S
c i r cus
t r ains
pa
r t l
y du e to
the
ir appGar ance wh
il
e r o ll i
mg
a lo n.; ( sn oko
co
:r_ ns f r
oT l
eve
r y bunk c a r ) . Ho s t of
t he c a r s vrero ·w
i r
e d fo r o l oct r i c
li
gh t s and.
var
i ou s snn.
ll
powc;r t> l au t s c ou ld be
QLe r o..tinr; t
hro
ushlmt t h e
t r
f'.in .
~ ? . a d i o por
col a i n
wu
.s'h bcts i
ns
, ru g s , unu
sua
l be d s ,
~ n d s t
ov
e s we r e ano ·l.G t h e
it
er.1s t o b o f oun
.J
i n one of t h es e
COX
O c
a r
s . '
fo
had he a r d n:_1.ny s t or i e s
co n
cBrn i n c e n euy uc t i
v i
ty a r ound t h\;1 A
n"tv
ie r p Ar ea dnd
.1_t.>on ou r a
r r i
va l we we r e a b l e
-t
o ve
r i f
y s arae .
r.a t t a
li
on IIo aclqu u
rt
e
r s
wn.s l oc n.t e d i n Cun tr a l St a t i on . He
adq
u f'..
rt
e
r s
Company
:r1.e
n
;;
e r e
r.
m i nl y billot ed a t th o Ol d Fo
lk
s
ITom
e
_,
B Corctpar:.y in u. s
ch
oo
lh
ou s o noa r t he
·.n t
werp
Dan li.oundhou
sE:
; whi l e t h e r
es
t of t he bn. t t a it:i
cm
s to.ye(
l
i n th oi r b ull.k car s a t
,-o
rt
h Ya r ds . Our r \ ;
spon
s i b j_ liti es a t
Antw
e r p v-ve r e . r d . n : t h e No
rt
h Cl ass i f i
:;u.
ti
on
Yn
r
Js
~ m e l
the
r.w
.i
n
l i
ne t o
Ma
li
ne
s , l3o
l
r:;
i
UI'l.
. Yar d
1.h,
rk
i n' iv l v-::d
th
o
feed
i n
:;
:J:f
empt y wa
c; ons
t o th e 7,1
3rd
:l . 0 . ]3. ( i n c
haq;e
of
?u
rt r m
n - : ~ .
CjJ e r
a t
i om: ) Ccnd ·
.mkin t; up
lc
n.dod
t r
ains des tined f or t he f r o21t .
T
he
battali
on
Tra i n v e w
t
Sec t:i.\m
haJ.
t h H r
C:
StJOnsibi l
i t of :C:LCc
:i.nta i n in
:_; c
S 'loot h
flow
of r ail t r a f f i c wo
rk
i nc s i
de
by s i de vri t h
the
I3\) l ;;i a n \l i sp
(t
tcl1.e
r s o.n
d op era t ors •
.ie pu t ov
er
t he Ar my
way
t r. t
ho ~ : ; i n o s nnd
soon r,n ~ : ~ . r ; G of' 27 l octdc d ·crains
Je r
24
h o
ur
s J?arte e d t v o
days
o.f t c r
t[tk
i nG
o v ~
r ,
n.s
conpn. r ·- d
with th
f·, a:vora .,;r:· of t e n
d ;
th
e t ime of ou r .a r r i va
l .
The SCXU f> W- r e undor
eons
t o.nt er1.•:1my V-1 r·_n,t; V 2
a t
t acks
l
ur in
r; ou r t h r t. e r:tont
hs
s t ay h oru
a ~ l d 1 _ ; o t ~ 1 ·.·
:
fio
or s
D.
l d
en
li s t e d ucm .r,lo th r ou Gh
•l i t h f l y i nr;
co
l ors und
-e
r t h i s :n e utn.1 " ' - ~ l d •J
ilG
l'ctt i on::.t1
pr
r:ss u n ; . Gn 13 Peb r u n.
ry
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(
Bil let int ; and
:m.eRsin
t; j)
robl
onw were sir:1plifi0d by usinG captured box and
bar_;ga;e
cars for
bunk
and moss cars a t variou
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
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An i nt or e s t in · i t om in eon.nect i on
with
t ho t r a in novenent
r a t i
ac r oss the
>;:o s e r I
Uv
0r ~ l r ;
was
t
he Je s i c:
;nati on
of
t
he
b
lock s ta
t i on s 'on
th
e end s
of
th e
br i dt;e
as
Tacoma and Maybr ook. Taco r:J
f.l
i s a Te r m
inus
of the Northern ~ a c i f i c of
w
hich
t he Cor:mlandinb Off ic e r was f o
rm
e r l y assoc i a t e d be f oru ent e r i n . the Se rvice
a
nd
Illaybrook i s th e
la r g;o c l
a s s i f i ca t i o:J.
yard
of th e TJew
1Iaven
RR wh:J
SiJonsor
ud
th
e
Of f i c e r Pers o
nnel
of t h i s ou t f i t , ~ . C e t h o d of ope ra t io n wus
abs
olu te b lo ck. Trains
J roce
ed
in t_; UJ.JO n r ece ii:;t of Hil.S Clearance Form
11
A
11
f r
on ope r a t or a t th e :
Ua
ybrook or
Tacomn. when u l
oc
k
i s
known
t o
be c lea r ,
I n i t i
a l
tr
oop novoment s on
th i s
d iv i s i on cxt ondin; f r l)ffi Di e l e f
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
7/26
L
r:
essar ;e .from the
Commandi?1g O f f i ce r
As an
added
fon t note
f r
o11 th e un de r s i gned t o ell the Off i ce rs
and
~ 1 l i s t e d
Me
n
o f
th
e 7
29
th
Rai l
way
O p
t i n
B a t t a l i o n .
It has
be
e n
my
v e ry r,o od f o r t t
m6
to hnvo l.Jeon g
iv
e n the
command of such o.
v
1o 11 k n i t O Lltfi t . As i s wi t h o v
one,
who
cones a lon
e;
ns ~ : : ~ [ l tranc;o r ::md t ako ::-. over an
orgo.n izr. ti
rm wh i c h
has b em
i
f fu n c t i o n i n g f
;)
r snuo time , I cun on ly
say th f1
t no one
cnuld h n vo been
ru
c o i
ved bo t t c r
or mor>e c0r:1plc
te coo
p c r o. t i•)n
th a n wo.s acco r ded ~ o
Th
e 729tih .h o. llway Uper o. t in g bat to . l lnn
is
noted f a r
and
I s h a l l
say wic:lo as
em A -1
un it.
Nev
e r v
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
8/26
1943
HEADQUARTERS
COMPANY REPORTS 1945
On this double anni vorsary ( 2 years 0vers oas of v,rhich one
year
has been spent on tho continent ) personnel of this company can fool
r ightful ly proud of t h ~ i r par t in he
lping th
o bat ta l ion
to
accomplish
i t s mission. A
soctions
(Company Hoadquo.r to rs ,
Administrative,
2crsonnol, Bat ta l ion Supply, Trainmo
vomont
and Bat ta l ion Moss) of tho
j ompany wo
rked
as
a
tcam
.
as tho
rocod
of
service
indicatoseTho
d m i n i s t r a t i v o and Personnel Sections working under tho Adjutant and
5orgeant Ma jor
hav
e always como off with f lying colors. Officers of
the
·
Inspector
General 's
Department on thoir
periodic inspections
have alwa:')
~ i v a n these
sect ions
a rat ing
of
Excellent. Ba t t a l ion Supply personnel
:1a ve performed tho i r work under diff icul t t'Ondi t io 1:s o .g. changing
3Upply ,
si tuat ions as tho war progressed.
A
di f f icu l t ,
h e
c t ic job
was
::;hat
of running
down
our cratod
TBh
coming
across
tho
Normandy
beaches.
Jopo
ts moving constantly about and rod tapo didn t
help
the i r
j o
b.Thesc
Jo
ys can also boast about
being
well - t ravel led vetera
ns
of
France,
)
elgium
and Ge
rm
a
ny upon
their
re turn to tha t foreign
co
untry
(Tho
J ta tes) .
Tho
Trainmovomont
Section has cer ta in ly
come
through with
f lying
colors. Prior
to
working on J
tbe
Cherbourg Peninsula
Division, i t
was
m
untr ied
group without much c iv i l i an experience. They got the i r fee t
on
tho ground f ~ o m
the
s ta r t apd af te r
several personnel changes,
de veloped into a sn1ooth uni t . Our gradual
expansion
in Normandy put a
tremendous burden on thou. a t tho peak of expansion, 3
sep
a ra te
i ispa
tching
setups were
being
run jiilain l ine from Chorbour•g to Lis on
.)t
Vaasr
and Barflour,
Sottev
a
s t to Coutc.nces
Branch.
rrhis ·i -
nvolved
nnintaining
18 block s ta t ions . nn
0porator 's
work
is a par t icular ly
lonely
one in out of way s ta t ions. l s igny
Junction
is an example with
tno
S0X0s
l iv ing
on
10 in 1 rat ions with no
rocreationo.l
fac i l i t ies .
f or
miles.
Ma
npower pr
oblems
prevented
~
l t e r n a t i n g and shi f ing man,
l t h o u g h
a
f l
o
at ing
ope
ra tor enabled
a
ra
an
to get
t o Chorbourg
;ccas
ional ly .
'l'ho
rl
'rainr.10yment
Section
1
s
job
was
ospocio.lly
rugged
due
the
ba t t
a
l ion or iginat ing a l l l1Jaded t ra ins
with 6 l o
ading points
l o n g the l inu . Everyone worked
under constant high pressure. h
t hn
twer
r
hon
the
chips were
down,
th is section continued to maintain i t s f ine
r
iork
besides being under
a
severe mental s t ra in caused by constant Vl
~ n d V2 .at tacks .
h few
~ u r p l e hear ts were collected
hero.
Being well
3Xperienced
now, the boys tofJk operations
in
Gerno.ny in
s t r ide . wihen
Ne turned
the
herford-Lehrte hai l road over to
the
br
i t i ch
0001 hours
·15 Ju_11e 1'.145, the
chief
manner Calling E:.ll operaturs- ca l l ing a l l
.
Jperators;
hO.tJurt by
s ta t ion;
•iuo
to ued, 'l 'hat is a l l •
~ h e
bat ta l ion
mess
sect iou
has ana
is
u u ~ n g i t s f ine work
of
· c e d i n g the
ba t ta l ion . r
~ 4 huur
h
0,B. sutup p r u ~ n t s
a dif f icu l t
JroblelJl
of
messing,
with
men
being
on·
the
ruas,Train
I.J Ua
ra.s, d l ~ Luruign
t ra in
cr
o.vv-s,luilitary
Government,
~ n g i n e t 1 r s and t rans ients . ~ l w n the
queques
dovEJluped
t ; ; o ~ n g
in to Lis on,
the mess scctiun
sent
out i t s
11
J:·lying
r::wss'
1
1·
or
the t ra in crows.
J.. he
cooks
have always
some
good
f r iends
in
the-ra t ion
dumps
which has alway
helped
matt
ers considerably. 'l'hey
also
have been
good
procurers
of
1.dded no_
eded
cooking
equipment, by
often
hi t t ing tho
bunny t r a i l s •
. ~ . t th i s
time,
the Company Commandor
wishes to take
th i s
lpportunity
of
thanking a l l off icers and enl i s ted men
for
the i r
past
p e r a t i Q n f i n e
work
and
service . You
have
given
th is
service
~ n d e r
l i f f i cu l ,hazardous and high pressure conditions. 'l'he Company Officers
;rganize ana. s u p E : J r v ~ s e lmt
your
bo)'s uu the
wurk.'l'ho
other cumpany
Jfficers
anu
myself'
have
been
ana
are proud to lldau you
anu
vve
jarnestly
hove
th
a t
yuur re turn to
the utates is not rar
off.You
have
Jontributea your part and are ent i t led
to re turn to th
e
lungea.-for
J i v i l ~ a n s ta tus . vnce again l e t me s ay, yuu ha ve
Ill"J
deep a p p r e c ~ a t i o n
:
or yuur
lo;yal:ty ana. a.evotion
to
u.uty. luu have tho
r ight
to be- proud o:
che accompl:1.sb.ruen
ts
of
the
company.
~ ~ ~ • • • • • • • • • • •
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
9/26
1943
C O M P A r r ~ r
A REPOHTS
1
9,±
5
VJith only s ix months
of
miL'Lts.ry
and
t echnic e. l t ro. lnin g ,
i n c l :J.cl in g
mo
ve
r:1e n t H s t ae,:; in g tir .
1e
, behinc1 l
t ,
the 7 29 th Ha i lway
Opara t ins Bat t a l i o n b egan the f u l f i l l n 0 n t
of
i t ~
miss ion
in
B i d - J ~ l y ,
1S43,
when it l a nc',eu in E;l
,f:
; land . \ ~
As
an in t
oc r a l pGr t
of
the p ioneer r
a i lway
ope r a t in c b n t t ~ l i o n ~ 1
the E.T.O. ,
Co
npany
A
·
v:;as s t a r t
r;
d
0n
i t s
p
rLna:r'
y m
i::>sio
n
o ~ ~
mai
n t a i ning ov or 600 n il
os
of
t r
a ck ln 34 dep ots
s c a t t
o rad th r0ugh- \
out th e U.K.
w l t ~ i n
l oss
th
an a · woo k. Duo to
th
o
dep lo rab le
n d i t i ~ n
of ox i s tine t r a ck o.nc'l. th0 n e cos s i
ty
f' or cnns t rue ti on of n e:w ~ : . t c k in
v a r i ous dcp':l t s ,
it wecs
noc
o
sso.ry
to
p l a c o every r1an of Crn.1pany A,
r ogo. r C. l oss 0f r :.nk rJ r
rr
.o. a ss ign :r:1o
n t
on
tr
ack
vwrk
. Aft e r
th
o
a ssicnmc
m t
of I 'Ginf o
rc
m 1c n t s f r om n theJ' uni to tr1 u i d
in tho
p r i n a ry
mi s s i rm nf r \_J:tJ..:::,bilita
t in
g and cons t ruc t ing now t r aek , a p 0 r t i1m of
th o b.& . b Soct i0n
was ass
i g n ed th o ~ s k of
ere
c t i n g bu i l d ings nnd
o.ss i s t i n
g b C:ompany in tho progrG:'1 nf s e tting -up and
oncrc
, t i n c car
a s s o u b l i n r
:s
, n r, t a bl-y n. t suc1.bury and r t rm LU
G•
Dul'i nr, thG and sp r ing of '4
'-
1, 1 l ~ 1 p a n y
_'\. b u i l t many u n i t 1:;
·i f
no
w
t rac
k f'
r·r
th
e.
purp
ns c of s t t,
ri:o
r; TC
c·:-
,r s t
h(m
bo
in g s
eGb
l
od
in p r opr·.r a t i =m f ol'
D
duy .
Durin
g t :w v m t r ~ s uf ~ r n r e h n n e ~ J .p r i l , nvor
·
100
men ·• f
c n·
-,puny n·-,s t l y r f th o B
?e
r. n;:1c.1 S i c;no.l So
c t i
-m s ,
vn rlc od s ide b ~ , r s i de ..-: i t h B
c · 1 n p a n ~ r
n. t II
H"trm
on Luc i :n
n.
~ 3 s p o r o .
off0rt t
,-, asscnb
l e
9.3
"lo.ny 8a
r s
a s
pr.1ss5.llle
in ~ J r c p a
t i
f
r)
r tho
c ·Jn
in
s in v a s i ,·,n . 'i,hc S l ;:;n
o.
1 Soct:'L
1;l r1o.c:Lc
a n ·, t r
.b
l :.= c
rmt r i b u t i ·
,n tr1
tho
hur;o t as l: o. t
hand
b ~ r n r ; c
r ~ ' t j _ : : - 1
g c r un e:s
anr..:'_
C.;1i ··- o t l
Hn
· vn
rk
in
the
u n l
n a g
s t
n cldng nne. t o r 'l f r_;:'c c a r:::J r .mtor ia l u t Su
db
ury ,
M" rt '1n ·m
Lu
g and F n t .
It c m1 :J o t ol cl .s, t t Lis t : ~ r ~
thn.t
c
1.m:'Lt
••f th o
tr
.
t ck
s o c t i r, n 0f
C:,
mpa
n y
1'1
lcL
yod :mt c..nd
. buiJ.
t th
o
t r acl::s
r.. t ' T i C : ~ w , · , r t h ··,vo r ':Jh i ch
·wore r1••vc:d
o.J..
l c :,r.fb t' t t r w)ps c . n c . ~
a r
n.or tbc.t r t i c : i . I K t t c . c l
in t J - ~ e
i nvas i
,
•n
rrr.
1 D
(ay
.
J.
rrrnr:;
::
t
hor
s
ccro
t
c . 1
UJTd.Srtl :1sr:;l.rr,nncn
ts
::.n
p r c p a r a t i
--
m f
···
r D clny , Cr•t,_p uny . r:o n vvc r e co.l lcd tn a::>sls t £ C0npr.:·. ny
l ~ l
f:l
t i n Lib e r t y ~ h i p s th an being r
o8dicc'..
f nr t ho tr::t.nc rJr'rn ti '
·n
c f r:1on : : t n s u pp li er> et
c r rJ
ss th e c.lmnno l.
Ln
•1 t h c r do t n il t; f n O l l
vv:J.s
a s s i t3 no d t
·1
tho t :t
slr.
- 'f l ny
in
g t r a
ck
r u l l
in
en
th
o h n l J.s 0f
er
)nvertoC.
L ~ T
1
s ,
pu rn i
t t i n g tho l nc·.d
in
g of c -, n p l c tr:::C:. L
1
s a n c ~ r:Lil
'Ja
rs
'.l t
th
e p i or s
an
c
.
un l ::JRC.'..
in
g t n
ter'lp
'
r a ry
tr
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
10/26
I·
C 0 r ~ P A
H Y A HEPOR
TS
Follow:i.n
g
the
" b
re
a k - t h
rou
g h
,
th e
co
mp a ny
co
n t i nued
reh ab ili
a t ion w
ork on t r a
c
k , b r i dge s ,
wa
t e r -
s t a t
io ns loo
k in g
t owa r d
the t im
e wh en
th
e
r a i l r oad could be tu rn
ed o
ve
r t o ph
ase
t wo
a n d th r oe
op
e r a
ti
o
ns .
In
n e c e
mb
e l' 1 9
44,
c o
mp
a n y A w
i t h
a
lr
age pa
rt
of
th
o B
a t t a l i
on ,
made
it
s h eac.l
qu
a
r t
e r s in buzz··b omb a l l ey a t
Nor
th y a r ds , An t we r p ,
Be l g ium. In c on t r a
s t to our
n or mandy op e r a
ti
o
n , we
f oun d
th
e r a
ilr
oad
in Be
l g
iu
m
a l r ead
y a g o
ing
c o
nce rn .
Tho
ro wus
work t o b e d
on
o ,
of
c o
u rs
e , b u t
we
d i d
n t t b e l i
e v e
it
wn u l d b e t
on
h e
c t i c -
-
u n t i l
t
he
buzz-
b o
mbs
a
nd
v - t w
ots
b
ogan
t o f in
cl
t he i r t a rge t s . Th o
i n c r os
s
an
t b o
mb-
a r
dmen t in e
v i t
a
b l
y h i t
t r a c ~ ma in
l in e an d
ya
r d , wa t e r
sys
t
em s ,
b r
idge
s , a n d c
om
munic a
ti
on s l in es . In ov a r y c a s e
t -10
ma n h i t th o
t r
oub l e s p r) t p r =)mp t l y
anu
s t
aye
d u n t i l
it
wa s c l oa rod u p .
on Ma
rc h 21 s t wa mov ed t o th o
Rhin
o Riv e r wi t h th o 9
th
Ar 1
zy.
Wi t h
h oad
qu
o. r t c r s c.. t Kr of e l c l , wo s t a r
t ed
t hE.; n ow f e.m
il
a r
p r ()
g r mn of
r oh abili a ti rm 'Jf
t r
a
cl
c, b
riclgos
c or:ununic a ti ons a n
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
11/26
1943
COMPANY Bn REPORTS
1945
In
the two years tb.e
729th
Rwy Opn Bn
has
boen overs eo.s our
o..
ssignments
hav e t a ken us
through f ivo
d i f fo ran t
cn1.mtries,
the l a s t
bu t n o t l ea
s t
0f
these being Ge rma ny. In nrde r tn re a ch Germany, our
6
r i g i n a l goa l ,
the
prop
a
ra t inns
were many and v a r i ed an ofotn t imes
qu es ti oned a s to th
e i
r
necoss i
ty a nd i r1por tan c e . Only
no
w
s ince
Ge rm
a
ny
s
f i n a l def
ea
t
and unc
o
ndi
ti
r
mal
surrender
do
we
roa l izo the
la
rge
par t th o
Railway
t t l i ~ n s p l ay
ed
in
na
king our v ic t o
ry
p ossiblE
'
I'he
time spent
Ll.
nd the
w0rk produced
previous t'l our occupa t i rm of
Germany n 0w b eyond a ll d'l ubt has pa id th e div id en d ., we h av e b ee n
1o
' lki
ng f or wa rd to f or so long. Tho sna l l bu t ve ry import an t pa r t of
·; ur own Cnr1pany B h a s played in br inging our c orn.no n enemy to her
knees
~ a n be
sumncd up in
a f ew pa ra g r a
phs
but the r es u l t s
of
rmr l abo r c an
;: ; e
see
n .in eve ry ho.mle t; v i l ~ a g e a nd town
f r
o:-:1
~ o
r n d y t o Be
r l i n .
0ur f i r s t ass igmwnt in Engl and to0k us t ' l l i a inaul t in Essex
Joun
ty . Al thnur:h
Haino
.u l t was the c onpany he a dqua r t ers
and
th e h ub of
1 1 c ompany a c t i v i t i e s our men wero
sca t t e red
ov e r a s Tia llY a s eighteen
,-·.
i f f or an t de t achr 1Emts a t one tir :e . rJocom'ltives a nd cars i n near ly
every
sup
p l y
depn
t i n
England had
t
be
se rv iced
and
r
epai
r e d . At
}To. i nau l
t
f r
om
August un ti
1
s e p t ember
of ·13
hundreds
of
car
l oads
of
car
b u i l
d
ing mater i a l
were unl
naded
and s t a ck
ed fo r
a c
a r bu i ld ing
p rogram
th
en und e rw
o.y.
our own
conpany
B na n
un de
r th e
d i r
e
c t
s
upervison of
c
apta
in p a
r l i c
h , c a r p orenan, I , to Hyet t a nd
a s s i s t a n t
o a r
porenan
T /s g
t.
J n
hn
canpbol l b
u i
lt the f i r s t r
ef
r i
gera t o r cars to
'be assemb l
ed in Eng
l a
nd.
f\ to t n l
of
f ive re e f o rs a t 175
man hnurs per
ca r
and 131
t a nk
co.rs
a t 2 tl
na
n h ':nU S
per
c
a rs
we r e a.sscn
b le
-d in
our
Jne
manth s t ay
a t t h i s l
oca
ti o
n. w ~ r k i n g c0ndi t ions were not always th
e
~ e s Black
u t
ho
urs had tn
be
na in ta inod ,
no
c
ossa ta
t i ng
the
.
use
of
e
ver
y ava i l ab le n i nu t e
of
the daylie;ht hours nnd t
ho
f r e quen t
a i r
ra ids
r v 0 r e in
n n
w y helpf1.1l
i n
r.taking 0ru
u11loa ding a
nd bu i ld ing prngrm'1
t ~ e
suc
ess
th
a t
it
wa
s .
Fr
on
Sopto r:1
b e r
43 m1ti l Novenber 43
n
ur
ca r
depnrtment
wa s engaged
11 ins t a l
l i ng
s team
un i t s
fo r
h
os
p i t a l
t r o. in
s r..nd r
onode
l i ng
a l l type
~ ~
r s a t
D o n c o . s t e r Y
r k s h ~ r e . Th e re th e non ga
ined
a
wor
ld of
expe
r i enc e
chat
l a t e r
proved
inva
lu
a
b l
e
in
cnndi t i
ons encountered
nn t ho
cnntin
E
n t
~ h o s e
l o c a
t i nns
·
mentinnod w e ~ e of
cnurse on l y
one nf
th e
many
where
ca r s
and
l o c
omo
t iv e me n wo r e en
gage d .
h t th i s s ame t ime the l arge
supp ly depot a t
Th
a tch11m,
Sudbury, \rv
e s tMoo r s ,
Lock
e ry Ha
ll lJnr
t on
Bitzwo.r r en a
nd
others we
re
b
e i
ng
supp l ied
by locon ot v i os and
cars
s
erv iced
an d r e
pa i red
b Y Comp any B P1Bn. Aga
in
a t
Sudbury
in Nov e
mber of
; 3 the
carmen stD.rted
anoth e r
phase in
th e
ir in
th e i r ca r b u i l c l i n ~
)rog r Rm . From NOVen
ber 22
un t i l De c emb e r 1 ~ seventy (70) gnndolas
roro
bu i l t
a t
a r
n.te
of
58
YYJan
hnurs
ner
car
and
e i(1'ht
bnx
cnrs a t a
~ t e of e i
ghty
( 80) na l hnurs per car-. From DE:J c
er.1
b
o r 23
un t i l p ob ru o. ry
of
44
161 box ca
rs were
bu i l t
a t an
avera ge of 80 man r ours p e r c a r
''l.nd a s many as
tw
e l
ve
(12) c a r s per day wore produced. Hon worke d f r om
h y
l i g h t
un t i l
dark in snow a nd r a in and un d e r advo r
so
cnndi ti o
ns
but
No
a r e s u r e
th
a t no t oth e r Rai lway Ba t t a l ion c a n c h ~ l l e n g e
our
car
bui ld in
g r
ecord .
Nr
Jr
t o
n-On-Lu
g
f r
or.1
Ma rch 14
un t i l Ap
ril 26 j n J.S4
4 ,
27
2
more
box ca rs wore built under s i mila r c nnd i t i on s and a t a of
30
man
hrJurs p ar c ·
-, r .
-
While th
o m
ain l:::, d y
of
tho
c
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COiviPi\NY .B REPORTS
(Cnntinued)
Arr iv ing
in
Cherbcurg on D plus
00
tho
pow
e r
s i t ua t i on and
the
c ond i t inns a t tho
er tgine
house lonkod
a lmost hope les s . ~ r o c k a g o
was
s t rPwn f rnm nne end
nf
tho yard to tho
o ther
nnd 21 Of tho
22
locomotives in
the engin e bouse had
been
sabnt nged
as vvell
as the
tu rn
t ab l e .
In
a l l there were
appr
o
xamet ly
fn r ty lncomntives in
tho a r ea
inc luding those
in
the h r
mse b u t
within a w e l ~ s tiPlO
abnu
t e igh teen
of
t
hose
had
been
made
roady
fo r se rv i c e .
The rn
en
wnrkud
in three
s h i f t s
,
H hours a day in
r;rctor
to
supply
the pnv:er noedod f or
th
o
shn1•t
runs
i.n
ge t t i ng tho
mato r a i l
to the
advancing
a rmies .
Sovornl
American
hndo locomtoives
w : r e
fnnnd and
put
in tn se rv ice tl l ·, t had be en b r ought
bo Franc
e dur ing
tho
lRs t
war
and nns t
of tho
ntho: p ower
wa s
j u s t ~ B
·
1ld
or oldor
than
t h o s c ~ I t
was nr)t u n t i l about
a mn11th l n
t o r
th a t the ...
1ow U.S.h. . l0cnnwtiv
e s
wer·eunlo8
.ded e.t the Cherboui'g p o
r t md
put i n to
·.mmedio. te s e rv ic e re le ving the s i tua t ion . Pri ' l r
to
t h i s
timo t
wo
and
;h
ree
engines would have to be s t r i p p e d of
par t s to
ge t one engine
•oady fn r
th
o ro a d
and
th on
usua l ly
0n ly
to break
down
u f t
or a sh 0 r t
'
un
d'.le to b e
ing
j u s t plo.in
worn
out .
1'he b a t t o l i n n
spont s i x
months
Cherbr:urg
o p o r o . ~ i n g dotachrnents
out
of St Vaas t , C
8.
rent8.n,
Va10gnes,
Ls igny, Barf lour , a t t i v i l l e , S o t t e
vas t
and severa l o t h l oca t ions
h a t wore a t t ha t t im r l we l l pub l i s i zed or knnvm a s tho f: ,JJFms b a t t l e
: i e lds
of
other d a ys .
n . U e c e f ~ b e r
4 .J,
1
we moved ~ n t o i:..ntwerp,b o
lghun ,
the t a rge t fo r
nj_net
y
J
ercen t of Verm
a
ny
s fmn 0us \i
- l s
a_n d
V-?,s_ an d wo went
to
work
in
the
ty
proper
and th e famous ): 11 r cls. 'I'ho fol_lowing
informat ion
i s
;aken from our recor d s of vvork
o . c c o m p l h ~ h e d
ln .Delgiwn f rom January
m til the
middle
of Ma rch •15"
LOC
OMO'I
1
IVE
. E P I 1 E J \ f T
r.,
oc
omotlvos serv iced
Tons
of coa l
nsod
LOCOmotive
ROller
washod
r o n
t h l y
r .ocomnt i VC; rnspec ti )
J: S
CJ R
DEPARTMENT
car s
rnspoc te d
car s nepa i red
rpads r r 2 - 1 s f e r e d
Ca rs Rorr:'li1 od
3398
lo990
170
95
52917
2 0 J4
;0
. . . . ,
78
The
above rocbrd shnws only
the
~ a j o r jobs dons whiJ
.e s t u t i on od in
l g i u r n . In
a d
dt inn
to
tho
above a f e w o f
the
m1
7
d.ot
a i.l s
co-rr,:p
l e
t ed
·o re
l: i
.
gh t s
ins
t a l
l ed
nnd
ahop
off i ce
b u i l t a t
Nortl1
Y
n '
d ,
Brown
-hr; is
t
nd
AMerican
Diese l cranes
were
asseMb l e d n t Antwe
rp
n om, wrecks we re
l o a r e d and l ocomotives r o r r . d l o d ~ H
undreds of
c a rs
wore cl
:1
c.
nod beforo
.bey could be us
ed
f or s e rv i c e .
ov
e r
000
skates
used
to s l nw tho
spe
e d
1f
cars
c0n :i.ng ov or t ho hunp wer e pa i n t e d a nd a shnw or s y ster. i n s t a l l e d
,Jy hooking a
steo.
m l i ne -
from
an 0-6-0 lncomntive to a wr e
cked to.nk
car
~ h a t had b
ee
n p r : ~ a nd
c
) O t up
fo r use as
a
s h
w e r ~ b&th. Al l these
h i n g s a nd o th e r s t oo r n u s to mention arc
only
a pa r t
of
the work
l one in
Antw
e rp ,
Late in March
wo n Gvod i n to nur f i r s t
l o c a t i
on a nd assignment in
}ermany a t Krefe ld
jus t
west
of
the
V
veser Hiver .
He r e as in Cherb o
urg
jho
yards
and
engine
house had been
damaged
by
boot ing
bu t
not
to such
1.
l a rge
sca le anc .. so wl th in se v e ra l cln ys tho l o c r : w t i v o dep a r tment ·
:
as
able to ne e t the demand
fo r
locomotiveo, In
tho
th r e o months t ime
;h e b a t t a l i o n has been
Germany,
Company headqu a r t e rs ha s been loc a t ed
.n three d i f f e r a n t r a i l r o a d c i t i e s namely Kref e l d , Leinhausen and
1
0hr to . It was
dur ing
the r1onth of May
with
E :;G.dqtw.F
t;
e rs
in
Lehr t
c h ~ : t
oth the ca r and
locomotive
dep a r tments have t u rned
in
t h e i r bes t
work
ocoPds to da te b r i o f ou t l ine
of
the produc ;inn
roc
t) rd i s
as
fo l lows
nd covers the work turned out
a t
Lchr t e , VJ'i th
de
c ~ : t m c n t . s a t Le lnha us en
or fo rd , Oobisfolde and Mindeno ·
Locomotives ~ e r v i c o d
Boi le rs ~ ~ a s h e d
Locomotives Stenc i l ed
Tons
of
Cnal
Used
1706
116
500
8530
• • • • • ' • • 0 • • • • • •
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:.
C 1vPANY B HEPuhT i J
(Con t inned)
~ o n t h l y Locomotive
~ n s p e c t i o n s
ca rs
s t enc i l ed
ca r Repah•ed
r .
oads
Transfered
r .o comoti vos Roro.iled
Trains
inspected
each t ra in having
and
nverago of 45
cars .
93
1t1:80
389
16
1286
In a ll
of
our time spcmt in Ger:rnaby from 22 r c h un t i l
15
June
the
fn l lowins work record
~ s
been turn ed nut by
th
e
Lncomotivo
departmonte
Loc omo t ives worked on
T n
ns
of coal used
Locomotives s t enc i l ed
Boi lers
washed
Monthly Inspect ions
3475
17375
563
168
152
The
f n l l awing r e cord has
been turned
in
by
the c a r
nopar tnent
fo r
the samo per in d
in
GermRny.
cars
Repaired
ca rs s t enc i l ed
Trains Inspec t
ed
and Air Tes ted
Cars
Rorai led
Locomotives Rorai led
Loads
Transfero d
604
13220
2736
29
7
20
Personal message from
Capt
a in Fa r l i ch to the mon of Company B
I wish, thrnugh
th i s
anniversary
edi t rm
o f
11
rrwn
in One to
express . my thanks and approcia t i rm to
every
mo.n in Cnnpn.ny B
for a
jab well dol1e.
In
the pas t t
vn years ynu
havo,
through your
un t i r i ng
e f fo r t s
c
rJ
mpiled a recnrd t ha t I am sure
can
not be oqualod by any nther Railwo
i3 a ttalir:Jn in
any
thea t o r of operat i rms . Wi th ,•ut th e f u l l coopora ti,.,n of
every man in
the
crn:npany th i s record wnuld n
,;
t have boon possib le and
s to a l l of you fnr ynur
l oya l t y
anG
devotion
t o d
uty
~ l l say
thanks
'\.ga in
W
F .
\RLICH
Cc,p t •
l C
C
)m;.:J.
c .ncling.
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1943
COMPANY C REPORIJ'S
1945
Janua ry 11,19 43 was the day of i
c t iva t ion
for ?29th R.O . B . in
camp Har
a
han, La.
Th e C
:
J.dre h a d
be
en
chos
en
from
th
e
?59th R.O.B. and
a
few of our off ' ic8rs wor
e
of the ne
w Yo
rk ,
Nen
Hav
en a
nd
Ha
r t f o rd
which
wa s
to
s ponsor
our
b a t t a l i o n .
The asse
m
b l ing
of
thos
e man in
t h e i r ass ignud
a
re
a took only a f ow
days . Tho
r o
ut ine
of
d r i l l
a
nd
night
pr ob l m
n:;:J,
w
hich
w
i t h
co l d
n i
g
hts
a
nd
ho t
da ys
in
th
e
mud,
s o
on
pr
o
ved us
wo
r th
y a
nd
we
11 qu
a
lifi
e d
for
such
so
l d i OI'
in
g a s we
wo
r e t o
.
enc
oun t e
r .
Tho l a
s t g r
a nd a
vant of pa r t i c ip
a
t ion
w
as
a p a r a de r o
v i
ow
fo
r Gon or a l
nunter in which
o
ver 5000
mon
an
d
of f i ce r s to
ok pa
r t .
With
o
ne ch
a
p t e r of
0
u r his tory c l ~ s o d
we mnvod in Ma
rch
t o F t .
wa
yne, In
d i a n a , c a
mp Sco t t . Hero
we enc oun t e r e d th o
work
mo
s t
of
us
had
aqua in t
od
nurs o
lvos with
in
c i v i l i
an l i f e . Wo wo
rke
d w
i t h th
e
Pennsy ~ . R .
and f u l l G.I . crows
opera ted
with
tho
regu l
a r help . Th e
nearness
of h omes
fo r
many
and
th
e
hospi t
a l i t y of t h e
c i t i zens
of
Ft .
Wa
yne
vvill ma
ke
a
i nde l ib l e
ma rk
in the
memorL :s of Co
mp
a ny C
for
c amp Sc ott Upon
Jun
e l L
th VITO
headed ou t f o r
th
e p .o . E.
which br
rmght
us a l on g
the Hudso
n
River
t '' c a mp Shanks N.Y.
Boardin
g
the
Aquit a
nia lying in
New Yo
rk
h a
rbor
we
s t
a y ed
till th
o
mn
rh ing
of
th
e
8 th
Ju ly ,
when
anchor
was
lift
e d
an
d we movocl o
u t
of
the ·h a rb or b i dd i ng f o r we
11
to
th
o U.S
.A. We
had a j ob t rJ do
even
a
boar
d t
he
b c)a t s o C C:
Jmp
a ny r u
l l od up
t h e i r
s le
e
ve s
a n
c l
f o
ught the
b a t t l
e of K.P. a l l
the
wa y a
c r
o
ss
. •It wa s a j o
urney of
s ~ v
day
s
an
d
seven
nights
an
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-
..
·
·
-
'}913
COMPANY C REPORTS
(Cnntinuect)
19 4n
Ili
vis
inn cnns i s tin;:':
of
125 Mi l e s nf dnuble t r ack exclus ive of
the
h
ran·ches
nur j01> of 1 1 . n v i n : t r o n : r s D . P s P . V v ~ an r1 frie:o;ht over th1.s div is inn
caMe tn
alMost
a new
r ecord
·which was cnns i s ten t with '
nnr
han0lino-
of
~ e r M a n PWs rmt 0f tho R.uhr PncTte t a t
the r a t e
of
10:,000
Jf.lr cta;r
rr;;er
~ t ·
en
day ~ e r i n r l .• v i n _ : : : 92,900 t ron r s ~ 9 5
DPs,
124
1
000
PWs
a nd
n dni ly avera;::e of
26,540 tnns
had ke.rt the uOXOs on the b a l l .
}ITan:r
~ t e r n s cnns t i t u t e a ~ o n d
job and
a l l records s h ~ w compa ny C with a job
we drmo. Thrnu hrmt a l l
the foreto1c1.
on ora t inns we were fnr tuna te
tha t only 3 Men ~ a i d th i supre
Me
s a c r i f i ~ o .
• • • •
• •
•
• •
•
•
• •
• • •
•
• •
•
V T
AL
ST
A
rrsrtCS
The follrwrin '" fj_C'"UrEJs renres en t 011r 'Nnrk under th e 42nc1 Her. .Grrmn
< ts
ind ica ted :
·· "
.. · ·
4
i To. En:;ines
us ec'i
. 22 Apr t 6 9
June
T
n t a l Mil
e s T r v e l
22 Apr
to 9
June
\ vera ,.e
~ 1 i l e s
Pe r Lnc orJn t ive
22
Anr to 9 June
Gross"Tons Handl
e d 22 Anr to
9
J u ~ o
Avera .ae Tonna"'e Per En
n-'i
n e i l 22 An r
to
9 June
Dai ly A
v r a ; : : e ' ~ T o n n a , e : o u
l c e d 22
A_:Jr t0
9 J"une
Tr
non Tr a
ins
Moved
Krefelc1. and
Hannnver
Cars.Troops
Moved
Kr
e
f e l
d
a n ~
H ~ n n n v e r
~ v e r a P : e
Cars
In
Trno n T "fd n s
Kr
cf ol
cl
n.nd Hannove r
·
ro ta l
VTroors Haul
en Krefelc-1
and Ha
nnov
e r
DP
Trains
M n v a ~ Krefe ld a m ~ Hnnnover
·
o t a l Cnrs nPs
¥0vect, K r
f e l ~ and
~
n h o v e r
\ve rase c a
rs
In DP
Tra ins Krofeld and H
n n o v e r
n t J a l D'T')s moved,· Krefelo e.nd Hamiover
, owTra ins mnv ed , Kr of e l d a n ~ Hnnnnver
~ n
POWs
~ n v ~ d
Krefeld and
Hannnvar
}
.vera_:e cars In
p w
Tra ins
K
re f
e l
cl and Hannover
'T'0 t a l pnws H r . u l r ~ c l Yr e fr :; lc't and
Hannover
-rrain ~ , . i J . e s : · '
Easthmm( L
A
lr11
1 1 . 9 8 ~ 6
Ha:i
~ t e s tb 01L'1 d
Apri l 2'7,661.5
Mav
1'rains
Or:er
a te d
Jl.:rril 4 to
June
9
Eact
9'79
i.
Je s t 1009
•
•
• •
•
• •
• • •
• • • • • • • • • •
1 t1· 1334.1
33,867.5
2180
99,002.8
42 .·66.
1 300
482
13.9'72
26,540.45
128
3716
29
92,900
1'76
'7'71'7
4:4
2'70,095
6'7'
2756
41
12 t,
,020
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16/26
T h ~ _ M e d c _ l _ . ) G § ' . ~ ~ ~ ~ - n
t
Th e
Me
d ic
a l DetachGent b ega n Jpe r a ti Jns i m m i t u n
~ ~ i n
c
e s h ~ r e a t c ~ a h a
Beach, t ak ing
c or a
f pa
ti e
nt
s f r Jrn
pup
t en
t s , end
during th e f i r s t
n igh t
ev
acue
ted pa t i en t s t J th A n
ea
r es t
b
eech
Ev a
cu
o
ti
Jn.
HJs
p i t e l
.
.6
r r i
v i n c:, in C h e r b ~ u r g the Bc. t ta lLm Di
ep
c n::J8 ry end Den tE' l
Office
were
se
t up-
th
: r
c ,
and m
d i c
were
pleced
with
the
r
c e s t
a c h ~ e n c l J ng th 2 l i n e end
in
th e i s J l a t c d
p loces .
Th 2cc me n h ~ th e ir n i ~ s t a ti
Jns
se t up in ve r i :
us
p la c
es
, EOm = in
, ,
t
, II • II •
bu1l d1ngs
wh
e n
r J :m l d
b e f J und , end
J nc
r s 1 11 c r u
~ m c s
, 1n
11
f )r ty :'no e i gh t s
11
,
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17/26
Bat ta l ion
Tribute
VJe
aro
humbly
tbankfu l
t ha t
det lp i te our dangerous
job
of hau l in
g
;sas o l i ne , ammunlt ion t r a in s coupled with enemy a c t i v i t y ex.porionced in
f r ance ,
Belgium and
Germany, tr.te
ba t t a l ion as
a
who
l o
has bo
on
f or t una t e in
ouff
e
r in
g
only
f iv e
f a t a l
ca
s ua l t i e s .
wo
wish to
take
t h i s
lppo r tun i ty
to
paus o and p a y s i l e n t t r i h u t
c; to
thes o
f in
e
m n
who
made
t
ho supr
ene
s a c r i f i c
e a n d
w i l l not nu
.tk e th e t ~ r L p
hon
o vli th us .
we
dedic a te th iu Annivorsar ) Edi t ion in h o n ~ r
nf
th oso mon
whoso
1oa
t h s hav e b c,o n
tho
only cloud in
tho
Ba t t a l io n s P.luo
Sky
of
o
morios
11
-; ·
- ; ~
l
I
t Bf.l. t t l o
s t a r s
----:-·-:
:
·
For a ll those who
uro
swo [t t in g 011t poin t
tJcor cw
a roum
i.
th p pr osont
0r i t i c a l .
scoro ,
r c
H.:
o ivod o f f i c i a l
ETO orderD
g
i.v os
us
ano tho
·r s t a r
1aking four b a t t l
e
s tu r s in &11. Tho
s t a r s w
ill
r upros o
n t th
o
pa t t l u s
Jf Normandy,
North e
rn
Franco, Rhineland a
nd
c
an t r
u l
Europe.
Ba t t l e pa r t i c ip n t i on s t r onr;
lOrs
H. r o avm r doLL t o
uni t s
en t i t l e d t0
b c1. t t l e
c red i t s
a
nd
a r o
flown
w
i t h
m l tion a l
u n i t
f l
ag
::;.
1Nh
on
-':.l.ttallon
supply
g G
t s
on
th
o b a
ll
vw
t ch
f or
th
cfJG
st roamors
wo.ving
i th our colors u t our
B :L
t n l:L rm Hol.lCl
ql t::: r t crs
.
11
OCS
Nevw
11
Tho fo l lowing
o n l i s t
od ~ e n of t h i s b a t t a l i o n s ucces s f u l l y p as
sed
t ~ e I n f an t r y OCS
c o
urso
n
nd arc
nnw
2 ~ Lieutenant s .
-
our cnngru tu ln t io -
rw to
thom,
T/Sr , t .
Willio.m
p .
G
;
i s l or a
nd
T/5 .
George
w.
p u rson s
fror
a
;]oo.
dquar tors Compa
ny,
T/5 .
Donald R.
nc t r l ch . ,T /5 .
Allen G. Hulv
c r
son , , P f c a r r ~ M· Ch
e ll
L
11tl
pfc .
Er ic F.
Kgrlson from compuny A.
T /4 . Go argo
Yarberry
and
pvt .
c r
o.
i .:i Glad::.; on f l O U C
uq
p any B.
l s t / s g t ..
way
ne F'· Th om sen , , s / s g
t ,
uuc E· noe;ors.
, I /
1
1 US.
X\'io
ll
Jh
e
rn
o
f f and T/5 .
Williar.1 C.
L i g h t c
p
fro:r:1 cor
1p a
ny C.
• t • t t t t t t
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
18/26
t
1 - ~ ~ - - ~ - - -
r
I ; f :
HEDALS AND DECOR
\
.T
I ONS
IT
. ll
I
Off ice r s
a
nc
:
.
Enl i s t ed
Men
s s i n e : : l . t r
t h i s
B a t t
l i ~ n
as
of
t h i s
date have been awarded t h ~ f o l l o w i ~ g me da
l s
an d d e c o r ~ t i n n s . I11 sone
cases ,
personne l have been awa rded
[10mo while
assi£;nod
to o ther
un i t s
in
the
pas t .
Award
of Le: inn
of
Meri t Lt . Cnl . Wn
r th ing ton
c. SMith
Award
n f
Si lv or S t
Capt . Ch D. r l e s
A
Francis
Awal'd
of Sol
d i e r s
1
l1odal
Pfc .
E s t i l l L. Pee l
USSR De c n
r a t i
rm - Or
clo
r n f th o Fa the r l a n d 2n d Class
Award
of
Purple
Honrt
Award
of
r r ; n z e s ta r
Lt .
Cnl.
Worthington
C.
Smith
Capt .
Char les A. Fr a nciG
Capt.AWill iam
F.
Fa r l i ch
lst.
Lt . Car l L. Ha
r t sh
nrn
lst.
L t Wi l f r ed
H.
Ho l l and
2d . L t Hu:vmrm
d
J • . Kib le r
M / S ~ t
Paui
F. Barin ge r
T/Sg t .
I l l ey H. Mc0ar
T t1 Haynonc l.
H.
G a t < ~
k o
5/G;.:;t.
H:
wn1.
r d vv.
Roel
T/5 F l oyd. NMI Ja c nby
T /t1
~ c 1
m
H s l · l -
Jr·1
C·
)
s
L • . ..
c..
l. • . ' l ,
·
··
T/S
g
t.
Lloyd
'l
1
•
Maxwell
T/5 Cny C. ·
bmi th
Pre. ~ ~ l f r e d liJIVII
H
a c h l ~ o f s k : l
T/5 lJ r
mald Lis le
ifc
·viillinm
F . Gim:wJ.in
Pre. Jess e
E.
Har r i s
Tfbc t . G e
~ e
H. Dyer
/ 5
R ~ m n C ~ ~ ~ l v a s
l: 'fc.
H b ~ J Lukens
pfc .
Aleck
NHI
Novick
T/1
Jacob A· Bla umer
T/'1
Will iam
c.
Ble cls oe
T/4
\
rJ
i l l iar.1
R•
yrmng
T/5
Charles
E•
Morrison
pfc .
Gleni1 r-r.
Smithe rman
Sg
t .
Russ oll A. Buchan
rr 7L 011
vor A.
A n C : ~ o rs on
T/5 Thomas R. Burkoy
T/'± .Tim NHI Peavy
r f c Cly
c:.c
R. Hacon .
Cpl .
S tash
M. Tytanic
r f c . Warren
A.
Isenujann
r v t ~
Horr i s D.
Mil l a r
Cpl . A
nthony
Gaimb o
ne
r v t . J olL1 ~ . 1 c Lovich
Pfc .
G
co
r t; H.
Er
c w. mn
rrc.
Viil l iam
F.
Giammo
Cpl.
Stash M. Tytanic
l ' fc . Vla
r ren A.
Isernrnmm
Dis t ingu i shed Unj_
t Badge
T / S g t ~ George
H. Dyol'
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8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
19/26
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This i s wha t we had to
put
u p
with
vvhil
c::
Bat t a l ion
was
s t a t i on
ed a t Antwe rp , pe lg inm from December 25 ,1
9<
}4
to
March 2·4,1945.
BUZZ
B
OMBS
ON
ANTWEHP
S t a t i s t i c s
fu r nished
by
Br i t i sh
Provos t Marshal
From
per iod 23
Oct
19
44
to 28 r c ~ 1945
1-248 v 1
171
2 - - -V-2
Ho
a v ie s t
Day
8
M
a r
ch 1 945
111 - - - V-1
9
- - -
V-2
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age k i l l e d po
r bo
mb - - -13 .9
Avorago
i n j u r ed
por
bonb - -
3 5.33
Rex Cin
ema
- - -
on e
bomb
(
V-2
)
567 - - - L:
illecl
226 - - -
i n ju red
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y S
tr
a s s e -
- -
one
bOElb (V- 2 )
15 ·1
- - -
k
ill
e d
307
- - - in
ju r ocl
. . . . .
II 00XIJ
S:bhVIC E
II
iJn a l l t
es
t a nd
in s pe
c t ion t r a ;i.n runs. ,
th
e 729th h
. 0 . b .
has i t s Road
~
o r e m a n
in
c
ha
r ge . Th o
fo l l 6
w
in
g s t o r y
i s
t yp i c a l and occured
in
~ a y
of
t h i s
year
.
noad pnr
eman
was r d o d to p ie
l ef o l
cl
u
po
n n o t i f i c a ti
on th
a t a
p r io r i t y t
es
t tra
in was
du o f rom the adja c en t o i v . rho C. O.
of
t ho
0.
r a n d
Di
v . v
m.
s
a t
th
e
s t a t
i 'Jn
up
rm
h i s
a
rri
s.
nd
prr1rnpt
l y s t a t
r;
cl
II
Am I c 1a d t o s 0 G
you II.
fTl h i s t r o.
in
v:ras 1 b"' ami 20
min
s 13 t e on
schedule . tt I lc1nvi t ha t th o 7 29
th
has p l en t y of
~ : ; o
a nd when t h i s t r a in
a
r r i v
es boro ,
tt L Ot s zo tt
\Tp
'J
n th e tr
u. i n t s
o.
rr:i.v::1
l a t n i o l cf o l
d ,
o. h i
gh
r
anldng
U.S • .Army
of f i ce r
vns s o on
~ h t l n o ;
f ro n
tho
c oa ch
and
wa l king J . l roc t ly
to
th e
eng
in o.
HG uskod poc.1d p n ro '1a n
VJhethor
he
was r··
lin
g
t o r id o tho
engine .
rh o p0o..d r, n rc::tlt>.n r e p l l
od
" I o m gfl in g t o b an d l c t he tr: :dn
pors0na l ly as I h
avu
a l ways dono
in th
o pas t on t o s t t r a
in
s . he
of f i ce r
th en s to. t ed t b L " I 8. '1 1 h r and 20 mir.1s l e t e nn s ch c clu l o
which c a
l l s
f o r nrriv
::.
J. a t
nrunswick
at. 1 43 0
hrs .
I W'>uld very much
pleo.secl to a r r ive ah ead
of
t h l s
schednle a s T h qve an i npor t an t
r.J.ceting
a t
9 t
h
)\rny
}T
qs
a t
1500
hrs
mho
H_oa
c'
_ pnr or1an
rop l iod
tt
I h a
ve
been w a
i t i n
22
months f
'J
r s n n o ~ n e
of
yflur o.uth 8rity t0
ask
r.1e i
the
729th
was
f u l l
of
go.
~ h
rm1
wa s nade
with
the n nad p nreman a t
th
o c n t r o l s and gave
ldm·. b c.
ck
25 m
i nu t
es of
h i s
sch ed
ule
FLr rivi:or; a t prunswich 1 ( 05 hr s .
rnhe Rnad pnrer,
1o.n
fu r th e r s t a t
ed
aftorvvarcls to tho r:hiof n i spa tchor
t ha t
due
to
the f ine conporo. t i0n and cUspa t cher s o f h i s Train
Mnve
ment s e c t i
rm t h i s
typ e flf run
was
ve ,:y
ea
sily
accor.J.plished.
At th e
e
nd
of
th
o
run , the h i
gh r Rnkln g n.
f f i c
e r c ane t o th e e n g in eer
and
axten0ed h i s
appre c i a t
i nn t o th o 729th
t he i r
sp lend id
co
npera ti nn
a
nd ~ n n d se r v ic
e wh
i l u his tr
a
in mo
v
ed
nv e r th o t
e r
r i t o r y .
•
•
• • • • • •
•
• • • • •
• •
• • •
•
• •
•
• • •
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
20/26
The Chap la in s
Act i v i t i e s
One of the unique terns of
t h i s
Bat ta l ion fo r which t can always
boast i s i t s Chapel Ca.r . Otrwrs hnve
claimed
:i.t and use e'\. t because
of t h e i r admira t ion for
it
L u t the wor·k of your hands i s in it. So
f a r
as
we ·know it i s the on J.y Clmpo 1 Cur on whe e 1 in Ge rmany.
During
our
t rav
o l s of the p9.s t
fov.J
months tp n ro l l i n g
Church
has s orvod as
a
reminder
of
the
s o i r i u a l phas o of
our
l i f e in
t h i s
Ba t t a l i on •
11
01J
church
on wheel8
11
' is
s ign i f l can t in i t s e l f , l1
u t
the rea l
necrot
of
keeping
the
church moving i s by tho suppor t of each and every man.
Ju
Church :i.s as s
t r tmg
a::; are i t s mer;1box•s and i t s
vi[i 'i
to ,s •
.Liuring tho month
of
i
.io:y, .L
C()nductod.
o i t;htoen .t}ro tos t an t
\vorship
se rv i ces ,
f ivo rrnly
00r.1
'
TLmir)
ns ,
f D 8 V-E nay
pr
a y e r
and modita t i rm.
'l 'hroo hu
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
21/26
. . . . . . - - . - , . . . . - . - - . - - . - . - . - T - . - - . - - . - . - . . . . . . . . . . . - r T - m - . - - . . - T , - ~
7 9 U l
R v l y o p n B n P l i o w · L
. o ·
- - ~ _ _ _ _ . . . . _ . _ _ _ _ _ . . . _ . . . . _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . . . _ . . . . . _ _ . . . . . . . . . . _ _ .
0-0-0 0-0-0
- - - - - - - - - - - - ·- - - - - ·
729th
R o l l i n ~
Photo
Lnb
This
photo be l ieved to be
the only one of i t s
kind, i s
en t i r e ly c o n t
i n e d
in
one
p ~ s s e n ~ e r co nch,
yet
it i s
conplote
~ n o u ~ h
to
be
::::,
b le
to tu rn out
300
f in ich ed
p ic tu r
es
d 2y, i f the
occ ::::,c ion
c a
l l s fo r it Conci ::
tine;
of
th ree
roo no,
t1-ro
d.
c.1
.rl;;:
C1.nd
one
li c
bt , it
.), loo
inc lu
de c
l i v i ng
qu.,nd
n
pr i n t i ng
r o o ~ 1 . Tho
fil
'-1
dovolopinc;
r o o
~ h
two
z o ,
deep ~ ~ r o fo r tho
nc.co
dev e
lo
p i
ng
of
t
ho
hund.rodn
of
ro l lo
b r o u c ~ h t
in b y t ho
no
n
of
tho b n
tk
i.l i o n
,
J.
c
wel l : c four
t::.nl:c u cocl
fo r tho dovolopnont of L ~ r c o
4 _X 5 inch
cut
filn . F ;.,
c i l i t i oo for
tho dovolopnont
of
~ o s p l ~
t o
i l c o h2o
b oon
i n c k ~ l l o : : ' l .
'"'..G y Gorn:;.,n c r , ·1 o r .-·c · ~ r o n2clo for
th i
o
typo
of
f i l n .
Th
o p
r int inc;
r
oan
i f:
c:o
t u p fo r
two
n
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
22/26
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1\TrJ
W s ome c x
~ p t s a n d f
m:
1nus l R s t y i n ~ ) 3
b y th
o
b r
a s s
cn
b n ec t
ed
w
it
h t h i s un i t .
ne v nr l n t lc1.y nn Il
l '
.a r n
uJ1
u yn
u r
des k any c ;JJ"l'OU prm clenc u ·• r p
npc
r
u a cc.: rt a i n } : . r kn •JVJD by i n i t h t l E.D . S .
v l i l l
uro.w
on any a n d
['.11 c1m cl r y pap8 1'
h i s
f anv•
us
v e: r s i nn or ver[: i ons o.ur::
he h
ns w m :y-, tho
fo..nFm 8 •Jf t ho E o ~ m i l y n
ano
Zo l c h .
N ' W
wo {? .O rm t o tl c u r t a i n .) f f i ce r n rJ m tr .l (; , bu t ho i .s tJ·.Le
S-4 . fla
G
--
tn r o wo.ys uf
s:r
,r
in
g
n
o a n/hon h e r e
turns
in th o unc urt
D.
in f u t u r e .
Th
o o l e c t 1•:t c r ul ;b it
:.:
.s h e: i s kn r;w t n h i s om in on t
fp i
e n d:J , still
hem:Jans th e f u
c t h e
r t 'i.:1 t n ].J ·,y
:H l
~ u c h as 3n y
· l
n e e l se t n hn v o h i s
lm ir cu t . P .S . th u ':.t )
Hn'
~ : J . r . h a
ir
,??'???? _
WO
l'
8D.ll y
l
mny.; n
IW
t } , ; ; , ~ f n p W
h ic
h tb
f1 s t
a t e nf
'l '
OXrtC\ i s f a m')US ,
1
r.
ll
on e s a ml n o t o :t thc r ,
1
Jh e n
y 0 1..1
c
n.
n
ge
t
h i
m t
r1
,
have
h in
t e
ll
r;he rm o
o.
b nu t
11
"'
h i
t o c.lm•m f 00
l,
gnr)cl f op 2 0 y o a rs yu
t .
Th
o En rr,
l i s h
n a c o vms t i Mid in c nmpa r i s nn t n
1 l f e
in I r)\:v:l. ,
an c
t h e
1
ade it. Bu t , it
t •> 'k R8 l g
ium
t o Lr enk
th
e
b
:tek
.
Hn
w ab
nn t
it
Lt . ???'?
Whon
u t l a s t he c a n f in n l l y ma k o
it to
Rn
cky
P()
i n t ,
n.c.
he
s
wea
rs
.
11
h o
w
ill
wn:n t
i s
a l n r e:;o s h acl o tr
ee
, on e pr e f or nb l o t ha t wl
1
r e volve
rj_
th the
sun, n n c1 l a y
l d s
ti oc1 r; l d
L nlly d own
nev e r mr; r e t n p u t on
hr.1es a n d r oam.
All of you k n ow the K::ms a n Wit, or which n o qua rt e t i s Cr:1 r.1plo t o
:
i t h
ou t th i s
h i
Gh t en o r . Tun bnd a l s o th a t wo h ea r K
un
8ns i s d r y .
Cb
o
orf 'u l
o r lu :h
in
.1; h a t e r s , b e t t o r kn
rJ
w D. Ho r a t i o i s .s till
):
t t i n
g t hum ou t , Re ce iv e d f r 01:1 the
Port
ComLtet
nd
e r
in
i:.ntw or ' r a f ino
.o tt o r of r• r.: c om:1ClJc'b ti on foP h i:3 oxc o l l e n t worl{ \Vhil 'o. s ta ti nn
ocL
in t h a t
·
: t ty.
• •
• • •
• •
•
• • • • •
•
• • •
• •
•
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
23/26
l l 1 J < ~ h , h ~ ) ~
H
• k
II
u'l h l • 1 t
11
II
T h v i• l ] •
11
1 •
l s
n n
·'n
a s L
as _
1
rr ,
n r n r c . '
1 _ _
1
p, •
a s
J11
n r
o
n 1
s
C
.. rn
, •
than a r t o r and rnn. l lv
'"ives
thom rmt . -'-hat i s if vnn caro tn
irnhibe.
Sinco th8 J ~ . r t z w a ; , : o n o r
Yanlr.
Den was ru t i ' tr;
so:rvic0,
qu i t e
a
fow
nnw
pnnsess
v a n c a n l e ~
in
tho nr
e
nin;,:.
S o o ~ s
as
t ha t
new
L k ~ l i ~ h t
:roRlly
shn\"TS u:r tho }foJa:rs, ann
0ns
koTJt tho T C rr.:n1ly
T'n11in:":.
we
are
r n a l l ~ a n ~ t r u l y
h n p i n ~
t ha t
t h i s
i s thn l a s t tirne fn r
~ n s n i t R l i z a t i n n nn r . t . J l f : ' . A n : ~ n l n . T,ots hnre
rrrm:r
) ~ .
ren. l ly : :Gt a t
the·
uEAT
nf
>rnu:r
trn1::.ble
th:ts t i ne •
r .e t s
·· h
npo it
wns
nnt lift
5.n.:':
tnn
mnn :r to 1EJ:>honos thn t dj_s 1ncn.
tAd
the Si:":nal
n f f i c n r t s
shnulclor.
w1ncly C:hico.' ';n he i s . knnwn as , aDc1
the
o n l ~ r nne
J.n tho
n11tfit whn
can not
nccuGtnm
h i s s e l f tn rin;ht l:wml. rl l i lrnacl npora t inns . C0mes
frnm tho
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:, f h i s human
charac t e r i s t i c s
Signed ,
n y · : n : J u l
8/9/2019 729th Railway Operating Battalion: The Soxos double anniversary 1945 WilliamPoch - Copy
24/26
>J.
.The
Athlet ic
Proc;ram.
At
tho
time tha t th is r e ~ n r t was wri t ten
we
wer e s t ~ t i n n e d
a t
Hannover,
Germany
but we
thought tha t i t w0uld be
placed
in th is
bo ok to show whRt wa s avai lable for us.MRny
of the
things
have
gone
with our
movin
g but hero,things are about to
s t a r t
up again for us •
. A
Bo.
t ta l i rm Athlet ic Council w a ~ ~ recent ly appointed to arrange
and maintain
a
1,ocrea t:l .rm
prosr[:tm for the
0rgan iza t lon . I t is
cnmpos ec
of Ufficors ahd
Enlis ted
mon.ln
case you
wa
n t the namG
of
your
c o m p a n ~
~ e p r e s e n t ~ t i v o they a re as f o l l o w s : c h a ~ l a i n Charles A• ~ r n c i s , l s t . L t ,
r e c l e ~ i c l : A. Kroll , WuJG VVilliam G. L.u.hn,
u/Sgt . Harold
F. Skillman
(Cn.CJ,T/sgt.