KOREAN WAR

765th Railway Operating Battalion

The mission of the 765th is to provide command and control, administration and logistic support, discipline, and training to soldiers assigned/attached to the U.S. Army Aviation Logistics School, Transportation School, Provost Marshal's Office, Installation Staff, and International Military Students, administer the Security Assistance Training Program at Ft. Eustis, and on order establish and operate Emergency Evacuation Center.

The battalion's rich history spans three wars and its heritage in both transportation and aviation has produced a distinguished lineage and honors. In World War II, the 765th was born on 12 March 1943, as the 765th Railway Shop Battalion, TC. Following its activation at Camp Plauche, Louisiana, on 4 May 1944, the battalion was shipped to Europe, where it participated in the Rhineland Campaign. After the war, the 765thRailway Shop Battalion was transferred to Ft. Eustis, in March 1946. .

With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, the 765th was alerted for movement overseas. The battalion distinguished itself by providing rail support during every campaign of the conflict and received the Meritorious Unit Commendation twice and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. Deactivation on 20 December 1954, in Korea, brought to a close a major chapter in the battalion's history.

In the 1960's, as the Vietnam Conflict began to intensify, the 765th was once again called upon to serve its country and on 1 March 1963, was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 765th Transportation Battalion, and was reactivated on 26March 1964, at Fort Benning, Georgia as an aircraft maintenance unit. In Vietnam, the765th participated in 17 campaigns and distinguished itself by earning six Meritorious Unit Citations, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal Unit Citation. In 1972, the battalion was again deactivated.

The 765th Transportation Battalion was reactivated 30 July 1988, at Fort Eustis, Virginia. With 28 campaign credits, 8 Meritorious Unit Citations and 3 Foreign decorations, the765th Transportation Battalion is the most decorated unit on Fort Eustis. The battalion's diverse history, reflected in its companies (Headquarters and Headquarters Company (USATCFE), 1st Staff & Faculty Company, 3rd Staff & Faculty Company, F Company (International Military Students Company), and Military Police Company (USATCFE)), carries on the 765th's proud tradition of transportation and aviation support to the nation.

 The Battalion's motto of "STRAIGHT ARROW", a legacy of its Vietnam service.

 

Lineage and Honors 765th

 

 

 

This is the famous U.S Army Pershing No. 101

                    According to an email I received from Les Jacoby who operated this locomotive in Korea from 1947-1948 the photo at the top of this page of my father  is in front of this locomotive in 1952  .                    

According to Les "The picture you forwarded of No. 965 IS the same locomotive. It has had a variety of numbers during its past; 8341 (in WWII), 6779 (upon arrival in Korea), then changed to 101, to 765 when restored/rebuilt by the 765th Transportation Shop Battalion, and finally back to its present No. 101, when turned over to the Korean National Railroad in the 1950's. In 1959 she was donated by the Korean Government as a gift to the American people for assisting in the Korean War, and now resides at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. One of the past directors of the Museum told me in 1994 that No. 101 is "one of their treasures". It served in three wars, and is the only surviving steam locomotive of its type in the world.

I went into quite a lengthy discussion of No. 765, etc., because I suspect your Dad was with the 765th when it was salvaged from the scrap heap, after being "badly wounded" in the Korean War. In fact, I wonder if he is the gentleman in the center of the picture. Like myself, he would have been a little older then the usual 18 and 19-year old GI's.

In your research, and being a librarian, also wonder if you are familiar with a book first published in 1992 by The Boston Mills Press entitled; "United States Military Railway Service, America's Soldier-Railroaders in WWII". The authors are Don DeNevi and Bob Hall. It was brought to my attention by the then Director of the National Railroad Museum during my 1994 visit. The old Pershing mentioned above, then No. 8341, is pictured on pages 25 through 28, when it was being used to train members of the 502nd Parachute Battalion at Ft. Benning, Georgia. As one of the captions says, "In order to be ready for the possibility of commandeering a train behind enemy lines".

If you are not already aware, the National Railroad Museum has a website at

http://www.nationalrrmusuem.org/

Included in the site are descriptions of the locomotives and rolling stock at the Museum, including No. 101. "

Thanks Les!  (Sgt T4 Les Jacoby)

National Railroad Museum says ...

U. S. ARMY #101, "GENERAL PERSHING", 2-8-0 Consolidation type
No. 101 is the sole survivor of 150 2-8-0 locomotives built by Baldwin for the War Dept. during W.W.I. They originally had French-style cabs and couplers for use in that country. The other 149 went to France and are lost to history. This engine remained in the States switching cars around Army depots until 1947. At that time, it was sent to Korea as part of our effort to help rebuild that country after W.W.II. It was donated to The National Railroad Museum by Sygman Rhee, President of South Korea in 1959.

 

Pershing Steam Locomotive No. 765 (ex-6779).
Message: 65080 - Charles Schuetz wrote on 2002-06-25 17:17:15,
 
 
Comments: The National Railroad Museum, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has in its collection of rolling stock a Pershing-class steam locomotive currently numbered 101, but was numbered in the past 765 and 6779. Some of you may be familiar with this particular locomotive as it was outshopped in Pusan by members of the 765th Railway Shop Battalion and renumbered to honor their unit. Our museum plans to honor members of the Military Railway Service who served in Korea with an exhibit detailing the experiences of soldiers serving in the MRS as well as a complete history of this particular Pershing locomotive. If anybody has knowledge of this locomotive or served with the 765th and helped restore the locomotive, I'd be very interested in hearing from you. Any type of information relating to its history or the history of the unit and members is welcome as well as any photographs and documents. Please feel free to contact me either by telephone or via e-mail. Thank you to all of you who served, and know that you are not forgotten.

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