To Friends of the MRS;

A small but vibrant group of Military Railway Service (MRS) Veterans were
in attendance at the 67th Annual Transportation Corps Conference (TC Week) at Fort
Eustis from July 29th through August 1st. A total of six WWII and Korean MRS
veterans and about the same number of post Korean veterans were in attendance.
MRS units represented included the 714th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion
(TROB), the 715th Railway Operating Battalion ROB), the 3rd Transportation Military
Railway Service (TMRS), the 724th TROB, and the 765th Transportation Railway Shop
Battalion (TRSB). The MRS Veterans took part in TC Week events starting with the
Wednesday evening social icebreaker held at the Transportation Museum and ending
with Friday evening Transportation Ball.

The organized MRS program, which was used as part of the Army Transportation
Museum Federation's (ATMF) annual meeting, was well received. American Short Line
and Regional Railroad Association president LTG (R) Richard Timmons provided
an overall view of today's short line and regional railroad landscape. COL (R) Thomas
Sweeney presentation on the History of the MRS covering the Army's involvement in rail
activities from West Point engineers surveying of the earliest rail lines onward was of
PBS documentary quality. Insight on the pre Fort Eustis home of Army Rail, Camp
Clareborne, LA, was provided by LT Melinda West with her thesis on the building,
operation, and demise of the Clareborne and Polk Military Railway.

Elements of several Army History Detachments were on hand to conduct individual

MRS Veteran interviews to insure that their knowledge, experiences, and contributions
were captured for future generations. History is not merely a collection of individual
experiences, they are lessons learned for those involved in solving the logistical
problems of today and the future. The Transportation Museum proved a major
attraction for not only the MRS Veterans but the general public as well. For this
years TC Week, the Transportation Museum was able to complete several new rail
exhibits as part of it's ongoing efforts to capture and display the accomplishments of all
modes of Army Transportation over the years.

TC Week represented a Fort Eustis homecoming for the MRS Veterans in attendance
who explored the installation refreshing their knowledge of the rail network and facilities,
location of their long gone WWII wooden barracks, and other facilities. A surprise find
for one veteran was the Museum's hospital car (awaiting restoration) stored behind the
MG Carl Gray Rail Shop. His last assignment at Fort Eustis in the early 1950s was as
a member of the team conducting operational tests on this class of car. Friday morning
the group participated in a "staff ride" to Portsmouth to tour Maersk's ocean and
Commonwealth Railway served on dock intermodal terminals complex. This state of
the art complex not only handles standard containers but has also been configured to
be able to handle oversized cargo and vehicles to include military.

In addition to the Fort Eustis Conference, five MRS units continue to hold individually
sponsored reunions. The 749th ROB held it's reunion in Columbus, OH, in mid August
and the 712th TROB will be meeting from August 30th through September 3th in Green
Bay, WI. In September the 729th ROB will be meeting in Washington, DC, from the
10th through the 12th while the 765th TRSB will be meeting in Salt Lake City, UT, from
the 16th through the 18th. From October 3rd through the 7th the 732nd ROB will be
meeting in Jacksonville, FL.
If you plan to be in any of these areas when these units are meeting, seriously consider
stopping in and thanking these "greatest generation" Army railroaders for their service
to our country.

Overall, both participants and organizers were satisfied with the conference results
to the point they want to do some rail oriented event in 2010. Their does seem to be
some increase in carrier / military activities. The BNSF operated a military appreciation
passenger train for several Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota Air Force bases last
year and plans to repeat again this Fall. CSX has scheduled a military appreciation day
at Jacksonville in November which will include involvement of Fort Eustis Transportation
Corps personnel. I would personally like to thank the MRS veterans, both those who
were able as well as those who were unable to attend, for their interest in this
undertaking and their many contributions to include donation of memorabilia
and helping identify additional veterans. As you can imagine the ability to travel is
becoming a major issue for this generation of veterans. The ATMF is continuing its
efforts to identify additional MRS Veterans and desires to establish a communication
link via newsletter advising of museum activities and future events. And finally, a
sincere thank you to all, both military and civilian, who contributed to the formal
program, related activities, and administrative support that made this conference
possible.

Mark Metz
(717) 597-2636