713th Santa Fe Mcghee

7/29/2019 713th Santa Fe Mcghee

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A Railroad to Rome: Company A, 713th Railway

Operating Battalion (Santa Fe) in Italy, 1943-1944.

By James T. McGhee

St. Louis, Missouri

15 June 2001


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Standing on the deck and leaning on the side rails of the U.S.S. Lyon, the Soldier-

railroaders of the 713th

Railway Operating Battalion (Santa Fe) looked out upon the

Italian Port City of Naples. On this 6th

day of October 1943, the city and its port facilities

appeared completely destroyed. Technical Sergeant Louis Russell described Naples as a

Ghost City.1

For these men, their experiences in Italy would prove to be their most

challenging. During the next nine months, the men of Company A would overcome

every obstacle to accomplish their mission of building a railroad to Rome, and help

ensure the success of rail transportation operations in Italy. The men of the Sante Fe

Battalion would face this difficult challenge not as new recruits but as seasoned railroad

men backed by lifetimes of railroad experience and seven months of military railroad

operations in North Africa.

The experience of the officers and men assigned to Railway Operating Battalions

during World War II was the result of a successful cooperative agreement between the

United States Army and the civilian railroads. Following World War I and the passage of

the National Defense Act of 1920, the Army was able to maintain, on paper at least, a

force for the Military Railway Service (M.R.S.) troops on an affiliation basis with United

States civilian railroads. Reserve Officers would be drawn from these railroads and

assigned to battalions into positions comparable with their civilian positions on the

railroads.2

The reorganization of the M.R.S. in World War II was established on 1 February 1939

____________

1Russell, Louis, With the 713

thRy. Op. Bn. in Italy. Railway Age, June 3 1944.

2DeNevi, Don and Hall, Bob, United States Military Railway Service, (Toronto,

Canada: Stoddard Publishing Co. Limited, 1992), 14.


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when Carl R. Gray Jr., Executive Vice-President of the Chicago, St. Paul,

Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad, was commissioned as Manager, Military Railway

Service.3

A complete restructuring of the M.R.S. was completed and within a week after

the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States had one Railway Operating Battalion

(R.O.B.) ready for duty. Shortly after 1942, the American railroads began generously

cooperating and accepting sponsorship or affiliation of units.4

Among these was the Santa

Fe Railroad who sponsored the men of the 713th

R.O.B..

In January 1942, a contract was entered into and negotiated between the railroads,

represented by the Association of American Railroads, and the Government, represented

by the Chief of Engineers. This contract established that the units sponsored by

individual railroads would be trained on their respective rail lines.5

On 15 April 1942, the

713th

R.O.B. was called to service and sent to Clovis, New Mexico to train with the

employees of the Santa Fe Railroad. All of the men assigned to the 713th

were

experienced railroad men. They had come from practically every major railroad in the

country. However, more than 600 recruits arrived straight from induction centers and

without any formal military training. Establishing a training schedule to facilitate both

technical training and military training became a significant challenge. Working long

hours and weekends, the men of the 713th

were transformed into Soldier-railroaders. This

military training included but was not limited to drill and ceremony, field drill, manual____________

3DeNevi, 16.

4 Ibid., 17.

5Gray, Carl R., The Military Railway Service up to the Italian Campaign, Military

Review 28 No. 2 (May 1948): 9.


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and care of arms, guard duty, and weapons qualification.6

The Table of Organization and Equipment of the 713th

R.O.B. was similar to other

U.S. Railway Operating Battalions. It was divided into four companies. The

Headquarters and Service (H&S) Company provided for the overall command and

control of the organization including the administrative and logistical support

requirements. The H&S Company consisted of a company headquarters, an

administrative section, a technical section, a supply and transport section, a mess section,

a train movements section (dispatching unit), and a signal maintenance section. The A

Company was known as the Maintenance of Way and Structures Company. This

company was responsible for all track and signal maintenance to include bridges, tunnels,

and building structures. The company was composed of four officers and 190 enlisted

men divided into two platoons. One platoon was a Bridge-and-Building (B&B) Platoon

and the other was a Track Maintenance Platoon along with a Signal Repair Section.

Company B was the Maintenance of Equipment Company. This company consisted of

four officers and 182 enlisted men divided into two platoons. One platoon was a rail car-

repair platoon and the other a locomotive-repair platoon. Company C made up the

bulk of the battalion and was known as the Transportation Company. It consisted of four

officers and 425 enlisted men. These men made up two train-operating platoons each

containing 25 train crews. The battalion also contained a Medical Detachment.7

____________

6Russell, Louis, The Sante Fe Battalion in World War II, (Chicago: Neely Printing

Company, 1946), 13.

7DeNevi, 17. See also General Grays article in Railway Age, Dec 16 1944, 918.

General Gray raises the A company strength to 229 enlisted men and five officers.Russell, Louis, 1946, 121, also shows an additional officer in each company as an

Executive Officer raising the number in each line company to six.


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This battalion organization was designed to allow a single battalion to construct or repair

railroad facilities, repair and maintain locomotives and rail cars, and independently

operate a rail line over 150 miles.8

The 713

th

would receive their opportunity to prove the effectiveness of their

organization and training in the deserts of North Africa. In November 1942, British and

allied forces under the command of General Bernard Montgomery had been in a see-

saw battle for over 14 months with Axis forces including the famed German Afrika

Korps under the command of General Erwin Rommel. American forces landed on the

coast of Africa near Casablanca, Oran and Algeirs on 8 November 1942. Allied

commanders realized very quickly that they were having difficulty with local rail

operation and transportation. The Director of the Military Railway Service, General

Gray, along with 25 hand select men were dispatched to Algiers arriving on 7 February

1943.9

Once General Gray made his assessment, railroad units including the Sante Fe

Battalion under the command of LTC Charles D. Notgrass were immediately dispatched

to Africa. On this fair day of 7 February, the 713th

R.O.B. boarded two ships docked at

Staten Island. The H&S and C companies commanded by Captain William S. Steamer

and Captain Robert D. McGee respectively, boarded the former tourist passenger ship

Brazil. The A and B companies commanded by Captains Hal E. Smith and Hilburn

T. Ankerson boarded an old banana boat converted into a troop ship called theHawaiian

Shipper.10

____________

8Lourie, George E., Development of the Military Railway Service, Military Review

26, (Sep 1946) 29.

9Gray, Carl R., Military Railway Service in World War II, Brotherhood of

Locomotive Enginemens Magazine, June 1947, 4.

10Russell, 1946, 15.


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After an uneventful trip across the Atlantic Ocean, the 713th

R.O.B. disembarked onto

the wharves of Casablanca on 19 February 1943. Over the next seven months the men of

the Sante Fe Battalion would learn valuable experience in dealing with the numerous

obstacles and hazards associated with operating a foreign railroad under wartime

conditions. They controlled, operated, repaired, and built railroad facilities across North

African locations in Algeria including Setif, Tebessa, Constantine, and Phillipeville.

From Algeria they moved into Tunisia and ran operations in Tabarka, Sbeitla, Sousse and

Bizerte. In North Africa, they proved their value and validated their organization. The

713th

R.O.B. did not accomplish this task without loss. Three soldiers were reported

killed in derailment accidents and one died of illness. The battalion also saw its

commanding officer, LTC Notgrass and Sergeant Major W. T. Combs transferred back to

the states due to illness.11

The Battalion Executive Officer, Major E. E. Foulks took

command of the battalion and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. The commander of

the Company A, Captain Hal E. Wilson assumed the duties as the Battalion Executive

Officer and was promoted to Major. This gave the command of the A Company to

Captain Virgil I. Kessinger.

By September 4th

, 1943, the Sante Fe Battalion had ceased all operations in Africa

to await their next mission. They didnt have to wait long. On 9 September 1943, Allied

forces of the U.S. Fifth Army under the command of General Marty Clark landed in Italy

along the coast of the Bay of Salerno. The fighting in Italy proved to be some of the

toughest of the war. German forces conducted furious counterattacks on the beachhead____________

11Russell, 1946, 22.


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on September 13th

. The allied forces held and the crisis was over by the 16th

of

September when the American Fifth and the British Eigth Armies linked forces. The

City of Salerno was in allied hands and the push to take the vital port city of Naples was

underway. The Germans fought a skilled defense but did not contest the city of Naples.

The British and Americans entered Naples early on the morning of 1 October 1943. They

found that the German Military has destroyed the port and every other structure within

three hundred yards.12

The 713th

R.O.B. meanwhile was being assembled in Oran, Algeria. On the 27th

of

September, the men were taken by truck to the pier of Oran where they soon boarded the

U.S.S. Lyon. Despite the crowded conditions, the limited comforts of the ship were a

welcome reprieve from the past ten dreary days of sleeping on rocks in small pyramid

tents. The U.S.S. Lyon raised its anchor and departed Oran at 10:30 on the morning of 30

September 1943 to join its convoy destined for Italy. It was a seven-day sea movement

along the coast of Africa and across the Mediterranean to Naples. During this peaceful

time the men did their best to remain entertained. Below decks the men slept on the

available bunks and many participated in the usual dice and poker games which

inevitably became a point of interest. Above decks the men enjoyed good weather, blue

water and a few good boogie-woogie songs played by Soldiers including members

of the 713th

s very own orchestra.13

Upon arriving in the port of Naples and seeing Sergeant Russells Ghost City, the

____________

12Sulzberger, C. L., World War II, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970), 216.

13Russell, 1946, 23.


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men of 713th

quickly checked their weapons and equipment and began climbing down

large cargo nets over the side of the ship. They were loaded onto small boats called LCIs

(Landing Craft Infantry) to be taken to the piers. So many ships had been sunk in the

harbor that navigation by large vessels to the pier was impossible. The LCIs passed these

huge submerged ships some lying on their births and others sunk with only their tall

masts protruding above the water. The many warehouses and buildings around the piers

were severely damaged and the hazy smoke of battle still hung over them. The battle

lines were still very close, as the enemy was only 15 miles away. The men were unloaded

and anxiously assembled at the dock where they marched off to the rail yard to take up

quarters in a badly damaged warehouse.

Walking through the city the men saw many half-starved civilians and refugees. Food

and water sources were extremely scarce. All the water mains in the city had been

damaged and rendered non-operable. The German Army had meticulously destroyed

everything that had not already been damaged by the devastating effects of allied

bombing raids. It was impossible to find a building that was not damaged. The

warehouse occupied by the 713th

looked as if it would collapse at any minute.14

That

night the men nervously settled down for a rest under the continuous overtones of

explosions and bright flashes of artillery from the front. That same night they

experienced their first German air raid in Italy. There were no air raid shelters nearby to

seek cover in so the men sat and watched through open doors or holes in the ceiling as a

dazzling display of tracers and flak burst in the sky overhead.15____________

14The Yankee Boomer, Vol. 1 No. 5, 4 Nov 1943.

15Russell, 1944.


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The next morning a group of officers and sergeants toured the rail yards. Sergeant

Louis Russel accompanied them on this preliminary inspection. The demolition had

been terrific. Charred and twisted cars were strewn around haphazardly, with lengths of

rail cross ties still attached pointing toward the sky.

16

There were hardly any tracks that

had not been blow apart every hundred yards or so. Large bomb craters were

everywhere. Long rows of rail cars had been set afire by the Germans and sat charred

and burned with only their steel skeletons remaining. Steam locomotives had been

destroyed by explosive charges cleverly placed to immobilize and prevent cannibalization

by repair units. On electric rail lines, the cantenary lines along with the electric

locomotives were also methodically destroyed. One of the officers in the group

observing the destruction with Sergeant Russell was First Lieutenant R.H. Anderson.

According to Russell, Lt. Anderson said, I believe that we can get a train out this way by

Sunday. It was Wednesday and Sergeant Russell had his doubts about getting anything

through the mess for a month. He asked Lt. Anderson, You mean Sunday after next?.17

The Italians claimed it never could be done and the British said it would take weeks.18

Since no serviceable locomotives or track existed, a large majority of the battalion

began to clear the rubble to get things moving. Company A, the Maintenance of Way

forces pitched into the melee with even more fervor than that with which they had

distinguished themselves in North Africa.19

They received welcome help from members____________

16Russell, 1944.

17Russell, 1944.

18Railroadin Fifth Army Does Splendid Job in Naples, Italy, Locomotive Engineers

Journal, March 1944, 148.

19Russell, 1944.


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of C Company. Under the leadership of a Conductor, Sergeant Fred Tomer, assisted by

Private Alexander Parker as his right hand man who had track gang experience, Sergeant

Tomer put together a gang composed of engineers, firemen, brakemen, and yard clerks

who made quite a name for themselves. They became known as Sergeant Tomers

Reclamation Department. In two days, wielding picks and shovels, this gang cleared

track, filled bomb craters, and put 20 serviceable cars into operation. The next day they

found a German crane that had not been badly damaged. They repaired the crane, built 75

yards of track to get it into a place where it could be used, and began reclaiming

serviceable rail cars at a rate of up to 100 a day. It made no difference whether the

repairable cars were cross wire, sideways or upside down. They merely hooked the big

chain around a car, set the German gears to grinding and put the car back on good rail.20

Another gang under the supervision of Sergeant Ralph M. Whitton, cleared away miles of

mangled and tangled catenary wire which had been strung over and across the tracks.21

The men worked four long exhausting days clearing debris, repairing track and filling

craters. Company B quickly repaired three damaged Italian steam locomotives and on

Saturday, 11 October, a day ahead of the goal set by Lt. Anderson, a test train was run a

distance of four miles pushing a head of it five cars.

____________

20Gray, Carl R.,Railroading in Eighteen Countries: The Story of American Railroad

men serving in the Military Railway Service 1862-1953, (New York: Charles ScribnersSons, 1953, 125-126. See Also Russel, 1946, 29, and Yankee Boomer, Vol.1 No. 5.

21Russel, 1944.


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The first train run on a new rail line was often sent forward pushing cars in the front.

This was a valuable lesson learned in North Africa to overcome the problem of handling

the numerous land mines placed by the retreating German Army. Thousands of anti-

personnel and Teller mines had been placed along the railroad right of way, along the

track, on switches and bridges, and in tunnels. Before North Africa, railroaders had been

inadequately trained and equipped to remove these deadly mines. Following North

Africa, the company commanders of all A Companies in each R.O.B. were appointed

as the Officer of Mines for the battalion and received thorough training on the detection

and removal of mines. These officers then returned to their units and trained selected

men in their units in mine detection and removal. While mine detectors where often

available, they did not work around steel tracks or switches. Soldiers were often forced to

rely on individual probing methods to detect mines.22

Mines were not the only nuisances for the railway troops in Naples. Two days after

their arrival the 713th

moved their sleeping quarters from the demolished warehouse to

another building which appeared more hospitable. For two days they remained in the

building until an American Major rushed up to declare the place was loaded with time

bombs ready to go off at any moment. The building was quickly evacuated. Buildings in

the city of Naples were destroyed without warning for several days after the 713th arrived

as clockwork detonators set by the Germans did their work.23

____________

22Sherer, Ralph E., Acclaim for Soldier-Railroaders, Railway Age, 8 April 1944,675.

23Gray, 1955, 123.


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An article from the Stars and Stripes describes one of these explosions. NAPLES,

Oct. 8Hundreds of Italian civilians, including many women and children were blown to

pieces yesterday when a delayed action mine planted by the Germans before they

abandoned Naples exploded in the basement of the post office building. The explosion in

the massive modern building constructed under the fascist regime killed practically every

person on the ground floor of the post office as well as many civilians working in the

streets a block away. People were also killed in adjoining buildings. The mine, which

contained several hundred tons of high explosives, went off at one of the busiest times of

the day, when hundreds of Neapolitans were visiting the post office building. The post

office, with this gigantic booby trap in its basement was the only public building left

intact by the Germans when they quit the city. It was one of the landmarks of modern

Naples. The total number of dead is not yet known, but several allied correspondents in

Naples estimated that hundreds were killed in the blast. Some soldiers, nationality not

identified, were included in the dead. American and British Red Cross services were on

the scene immediately and worked at high pressure for several hours. The most

appalling aspect of the explosion was the number of children killed, reported Noel

Monks, London Daily Mail corespondent. One moment they were playing in the

streetthe next they were mere ribbons of flesh. I visited the scene within a few minutes

of the explosion and counted the torn bodies of 15 children. A woman walking around

the corner on the Via Roma, 150 yards from the post office had her head blown off.24

____________

24Russell, 1946, 77.


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It had been decided by General Gray on 7 October that railway operations in Italy

would be divided for reconstruction and operating purposes into two districts. Also, a

separate division was established under the Director General known as the

Reconstruction Division under the command of Colonel E. L. Parkes. This division was

charged with the responsibility of repairing the tracks and facilities of the 1st

and 2nd

districts utilizing all available American, British and Italian railroad maintenance troops

and equipment. The general program included the American units being assigned to the

west-coast ports and west-coast lines including the cross line from Salerno to Taranto.

The British units were assigned to the east-coast ports.25

With the first trains running from the port of Naples, the men of Company A (minus

one squad left to continue work in the Naples yard) were sent seven miles to the north of

Naples to set up camp near a station at Frattamaggiore-Grumo. This was an equal

distance behind the front lines of the Fifth Army. These men were assigned to work on

Line 89 and 90 north to Casserta. Along this rail line from Naples to Aversa was a large

rail yard consisting of up to 15 tracks each which could accommodate up to 75 to 100 rail

cars. At the time of the German withdrawal from the area, each of the tracks was full of

rail cars. The Germans blew out the center of every other rail then placed a time bomb in

each car, covered them all with gasoline and set the whole yard ablaze.26

A Company

cleared away tons of damaged equipment and reconstructed over 8,500 feet of damaged

____________

25 Gray, 1952, 112-113. Gray issued Field Memorandums No. 1 and No. 2 dated 7October 1943 to establish this division of responsibility.

26Ibid, 118.


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track during four days of miserable weather working in rain and mud and living in pup

tents.27

During this time, on 12 October 1943, the Italians who had surrendered to the

Allies unconditionally on 3 September 1943, declared war on Germany. Also during this

time on 13 October, the Fifth Army crossed the Volturno River.

On 21 October, Company A packed up their muddy equipment and moved ten miles

further north to Maddaloni. Here, the member of the track gangs called Gandy

Dancers28

encountered the same type of track destruction found on the Aversa line. The

Germans used two basic methods to destroy track. The first type, found at Aversa and

Maddaloni, was to place an explosive charge in the center of every other rail that blew

out approximately 16 inches of the rail. The rail lines along lines 89 and 90 consisted of a

double track system. In reconstructing a single-track system the railway track gangs were

able to utilize the undamaged rails from the other track to quickly repair the damage.

Technical Sergeant William V. Smith describes this method in his account. The job

here (Maddaloni) was the same as the Aversa line, cutting blown rails with cutting

torches, loosening and sliding them together and, when a 10 or 15 foot gap was open,

inserting a piece of rail from the other track.29

Company A restored 12,000 feet of

track in six days utilizing these methods. In the subsequent two weeks they placed

11,700 and 16,200 feet of track respectively. German resistance in Italy was ever present

____________

27Russell, 1946, 27.

28Gandy Dancers is railroad slang for the track gangs. The term is from the

rhythmic movements of the railroad laborer working with tools produced by the GandyManufacturing Company in Chicago.

29Russell, 1946, 28.


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with the nightly bombing of Naples by German bombers. According to Sergeant Smith,

The men had an excellent view of the raids on Naples from their positions at Maddaloni.

The German bombers were over Naples almost every night, bombing the rail yards, the

docks, and the shipping in the harbor.

30

While the job in Maddaloni was being completed by the Gandy Dancers of the

Track Maintenance Platoon, the Bridge and Buildings (B&B) Platoon left the company

on 28 October. They joined the Sante Fe Battalions sister battalion, the 727th

R.O.B. at

Capau to assist them in reconstructing the railroad-bridge over the Volturno River.

Because of the numerous mountain streams and valleys in Italy, there were many bridges

on the Italian State Railway. American bombers and the Germans in their retreat

destroyed virtually every one of them.31

The original bridge over the Volturno River at

Capau was a double track through girder structure of seven spans on masonry piers and

abutments with an overall length of 525 feet. The steel was entirely demolished and

blown to the riverbed. The abutments and all but three of the masonry piers were

completely destroyed. It was decided to restore the structure as a single-track bridge.32

The M.R.S. was fortunate enough to have in its possession 25,000 tons of captured

German Roth Waagner prefabricated truss bridging to accomplish this sizeable task.

Sergeant C. E. Quist discovered this vital equipment undamaged in Italy on the line

between Aversa and Caserta.33

This prefabricated bridging materiel went together like a____________

30Russell, 1946, 28.

31Gray, 1952, 129.

32Gray, Carl R., Rebuild Blasted Bridges in Italy, Part 1., Railway Age, 16 Dec

1944, 919.

33Gray, 1952, 127.


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childs erector set. It can be used for spans of any length up to 250 feet. Bridge

Engineers decided to use three 150-foot and one 80-foot span to restore the crossing.

Simultaneously, two 150-foot spans were erected from the south shore while the

remaining 150-foot span and the 80-foot span were erected from the north shore. The

525-foot bridge was completed in 22 days by the B&B Platoons of the 713th

and 727th

Railway Operating Battalions with the assistance of Italian Engineer Construction

Troops.34

Upon the completion of the bridge, the B&B Platoon of the 713th

was to rejoin their

company but the company was no longer at Maddaloni. They had been moved further up

the Italian Boot to Pignataro on 13 November. Company A set out to reconstruct

about 27,000 feet of shell holes and destroyed track. At Pignataro, Sergeant Smith

remembers the dangers of German air attacks, There was plenty of trouble from strafing

by Jerry planes and a few were shot down close to the Company area. The constant

strafing made it necessary to appoint airplane spotters and thus give the men time to take

cover.35

These types of German air attacks were a common problem for the men of the

M.R.S.. To help protect the soldiers and the many supply and troop trains from these

attacks, Allied trains were equipped with anti-aircraft guns. There is no complete record

available of enemy attacks on Allied trains, shops, or track reconstruction troops,

but as late as 24 April Nazi planes struck at railway facilities near and in Naples.36

____________

34Gray, Rebuilding Bridges Part 1, 920.

35Russell, 1946, 28.

36U.S. Army Transportation and the Italian Campaign, Monograph No. 17,

Historical Unit: Office of the Chief of Transportation Army Service Forces, Sep 1945,

199-200.


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The 713th

completed the track reconstruction at Pignataro and was moved to

Sparanise on 25 November where they found more of the same widespread destruction.

From Sparanise on 18 March 1944 the 713th

witnessed one of the most powerful events

of Mother Nature when the most violent volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred

since 1872. The great volcano poured fourth millions of tons of ash and lava for five

days. The succeeding days saw a reduction in the activity of the volcano until it finally

quit on 28 March. Through it all, Company A continued with the endless construction

following behind the Fifth Army on Line 90 through May 26th

.37

While the men of the 713th

worked at Sparanise, the Allies conducted an amphibious

attack at Anzio. The landing took place on 22 January 1944. Once again, allied forces

found themselves in a delicate defensive pocket facing determined German resistance

that threatened to force them back into the sea. The beachhead held but did not achieve

its goals of breaking the stalemate in Italy and capturing Rome. At the end of March the

Allied position was facing Field Marshal Albert Kesserling along the Gustav Line which

extended for 100 miles westward across Italy, from the Sangro River to Cassino and on to

the Tyrrhenian Sea near the mouth of the Garigliano River. The Allies spent the month of

April and the first half of May planning for another assault on the Gustav Line at

Cassino.38

The final assault on Cassino was one of the most controversial attacks of the

____________

37Gray, 1952, 132-133. See also the account in U.S. Army Transportation MonographNo. 17, 199.

38Logistical History of NATOUSA, MTOUSA, Naples: U.S. Army, North African

Theater of Operations, 1945, 3.


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war. To break the German defenses the Allies sent hundreds of bombers to destroy the

ancient Abbey of Monte Cassino. The attack commenced on 11 May but Allied forces

were unable to occupy the abbey until 18 May. On 23 May the Allied forces at the Anzio

beachhead took the offensive and joined troops of the Fifth Army advancing from the

south. The Germans began their retreat from the Gustav Line.

As goes the 5th

Army, so goes the 713th.39

On 26 May 1944 Company A moved to

Formia on Line 89. At Formia, the 713th

would find the track completely devastated by

the Germans utilizing their second method of track destruction. The Germans had

constructed an ingenious device know by them as the Trackwolf. Thispiece of

equipment known by the Americans as the track-ripper or Scarifier was a gigantic

adjustable hook attached to a rail car and pulled behind three or four locomotives. The

hook would be dropped onto the center or the track behind the advancing train where it

would break all the wood or concrete ties in half. Steel ties were bent into scrap. To

complete the destruction, explosive charges were once again dropped onto the rails. This

device could completely destroy several miles of track an hour.40

Company A went to work reconstructing the track, bridges and tunnels at Formia.

First Sergeant of Company A, Otis B. Schooley distinguished himself by supervising

the reconstruction of a bridge over the Savone River in 22 days. Since bridges have to be

maintained and often slow trains on account of speed restrictions,41

First Sergeant____________

39Rusell, 1946, 29.

40Zeil, Ron, Steel Rails to Victory, (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1970), 128.

41Ibid., 135.


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Schooley utilized the Sante Fe method of replacing the bridge with a multi-pipe culvert

and fill. Salvaged ventilating pipe from a destroyed steel mill was used for the culvert

opening.42

Additional assistance from British construction troops provided heavy earth-

moving equipment including three bulldozers. First Sergeant Schooley received a Legion

of Merit for his supervision of the Savone River Gorge crossing.43

Allied forces marched into Rome on 4 June 1944. However, this grand event was

overshadowed by Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of France on 6 June 1944.

New Rail lines were available for reconstruction with the capture of Rome. Company

A was moved from Formia to Campoleone on 11 June and even had men working on

Anzio Beach. June was a busy time for all the soldiers in Company A. The Signal

Repair Section was engaged in removing obstacles and cantenary wire from Anzio to

Campoleone and at Camp Di Carne. When they completed there, they went on to string a

five-mile wire communications line from Littoria to Cisterna. The Company moved from

Campoleone to Montalto De Castro on 27 June.

On 1 July, the first test-train entered Rome. The official opening of the line from

Naples to Rome was conducted with much fanfare on the 4th

of July 1944 when a train

carrying much needed coal arrived in Rome operated by men of C Company, 713th

R.O.B.

The completion of the railway to Rome did not end the work for Company A. They

continued to work but also began preparing equipment for shipment. From 1 August to

____________

42Gray, Carl R., Rebuilding Blasted Bridges in Italy, Part 2, Railway Age. 23 Dec

1944, fig.20, 954.

43Russell, 1946, 28.


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23 August all four units of the 713th

R.O.B. were occupied in crating and packing for

another boat ride. The men of Company A had made railroad history in Italy. For their

extraordinary work General Clark presented the soldiers of the M.R.S. with the Fifth

Army Plaque and Clasp for excellence in discipline, performance, and merit for the years

1943 and 1944, with the following citation:

ALLIED FORCE MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE is awarded the Fifth Army

Plaque and Clasp for meritorious service 1943-44. During the early days of the Fifth

Armys campaign in Italy, this organization reconstructed inoperative railroads which

were able to carry substantial tonnages. In subsequent stages of the Italian Campaign

they have enabled freight and hospital trains to come within close proximity of the front

lines. The services performed by the Allied Military Railway Service have contributed

materially to the military operations of the Fifth Army.44

The A Companies of the M.R.S. were presented a commendation for meritorious

service by General Gray for their outstanding performance of duty with the following

citation:

Following rapidly the advance of the Fifth Army these units successfully dealt

with the maximum demolition of track, bridges, and tunnels left behind by the retreating

enemy. Without the aid of specialist groups, these units swept mines and removed booby

traps and demolition charges in rehabilitating railway lines to a distance of approximately

200 Kilometers north of Rome. Such a record of duty and excellent performance as these

A companies have attained is one of which they may well be proud and one that is a____________

44Gray, 1952, 148.


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credit to the officers and enlisted men of their units as well as to the entire Military

Railway Service.45

World War II would continue for the men of the 713th

R.O.B.. They would leave Italy

on 24 August 1944 and land in Southern France on 30 August 1944 as part of the U.S. 7

th

Army. They reconstructed miles of track, built more bridges, strung more wire, and

enjoyed some of the pleasures of France until they entered Germany on 4 April1945.

The Lone Wolves of A Company set up camp at Landau, Germany in a Shoe

Factory.46

They continued working on the German rail lines through V-E Day and on

to August 1945. The first group ofA men left Germany to return home on 12 August

1945. Many of these soldier-railroaders had been with the 713th

since they arrived at

Camp Clovis, New Mexico in April of 1942. Some remained separated from their

families for 40 continuous months of service. During this great adventure, they would

railroad through six countries on two continents. The story of the men of A Company

and the rest of the 713th

Railway Operating Battalion (Sante Fe) is one of great success

and courage. In the great American Spirit, these men, these Soldier-Railroaders, working

as non-combatants under combat conditions, overcame every obstacle presented

to them to complete their mission and built a railroad to Rome.

____________

44The Yankee Boomer, Vol. 1 No. 29, 20 April 1944.

45Russell, 1946, 49.


22/23

Selected Bibliography

DeNevi, Don and Hall, Bob. United States Military Railway Service. Toronto, Canada:

Stoddard Publishing Co. Limited, 1992.

Gray, Carl R.. Rebuild Blasted Bridges in Italy, Part 1. Railway Age. Dec 16 1944.

____________. Rebuild Blasted Bridges in Italy, Part 2. Railway Age. Dec 23, 1944.

____________. Military Railway Service in World War II. Brotherhood of Locomotive

and Enginemens Magazine, June 1947.

____________. The Military Railway Service up to the Italian Campaign. Military

Review 28 No. 2 (May 1948): 3-11.

____________. The Military Railway Service in Italy and Northwest Europe.Military Review 28 No. 3 (June 1948): 20-26.

____________.Railroading in Eighteen Countries: The Story of American RailroadMen Serving in the Military Railway Service 1862-1953. New York: Charles

Scribners Sons, 1955.

Logistical History of NATOUSA, MTOUSA. Naples: U.S. Army, North African Theater

of Operations, 1945.

Lourie, George E.. Development of Military Railway Service. Military Review 26(Sep 1946): 26-33.

Myers, Jefferson H.. The Military Railway Service in World War II. Military Review

11 (Feb 1945): 1-12.

Russell, Louis. With the 713th

Ry. Op. Bn. in Italy.Railway Age. June 3 1944.

____________. The Sante Fe Battalion in World War II. Chicago: Neely Printing

Company, 1946.

Railroadin Fifth Army Does Splendid Job in Naples, Italy. Locomotive Engineers

Journal. March 1944, 148-149.

Schultz, Christopher F.,Dictionary of Railway Track Terms. Simmons-Boardman BooksInc., 1990.

Sherer, Ralph E.. Acclaim for Soldier-Railroaders.Railway Age. 8 April 1944.

Sulzberger, C. L.. World War II. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1970.

The Yankee Boomer. Vol. 1 NO. 4. 28 October 1943.


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The Yankee Boomer, Vol. 1 NO. 5. 4 November 1943.

The Yankee Boomer. Vol. 1 NO. 29. 20 April 1944.

U.S. Army Transportation and the Italian Campaign. Monograph No. 17, Historical

Unit: Office of the Chief of Transportation Army Service Forces. (Sep 1945).

Wardlow, Chester. The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization and

Operations in USAWWII Series. Washington D.C.: OCMH, 1951.

Zeil, Ron. Steel Rails to Victory. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1970.

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