Train Whistles

When did you last hear the doleful wail of a steam train’s whistle? I’m talking about the steam whistle of an old-fashioned steam locomotive, the kind the engineer sounded to send his message to all within earshot. It was the punctuation he added to the sound of incessant hissing, chugging and huffing and puffing. To the pervasive smell of coal smoke and cinders. He had scores of stirring compositions. Their meaning, only he and perhaps the brakeman knew.

As a young boy, I was captivated by these sounds. I never tired of hearing them. They told me that my small town was part of a much larger world which I longed to see. There are few sounds on earth that will bring forth visions of adventure in romantic, faraway places, like the insistent call of a steam locomotive’s whistle. It tugged at me like the Pied Piper’s flute. It brought visions of snow-covered mountains, of barns and silos, of castles and minarets, of camels and deserts, of canals, windmills and shimmering rivers, of narrow cobble-stoned streets and houses with steep, gabled, red tile roofs.

And when I grew older, I saw all these things along with enough adventure to last me a lifetime. I saw camels and deserts while crossing the Sahara in “40 & 8's.†I saw Mt. Vesuvius and the ancient ruins of Pompeii on my way to the Anzio Beachhead. I saw the Coliseum silhouetted against the first pink streaks of dawn while leading one of the first patrols into Rome. And I saw the sandy beaches of Southern France from the ramp of my LCVP. I was welcomed by cheering French crowds and the ringing of church bells in the Rhone Valley. I trudged through the snow covered Vosges mountains on Christmas Day and saw the Austrian Alps from Hitler’s Berghof at Berchtesgaden on the last day of the War. The shimmering rivers were the Moselle, the Rhine and the Danube all of which I crossed under enemy fire. The cobble stoned streets and window boxes bursting with red geraniums were in those small German towns which had not been bombed into oblivion. Barns gave us shelter and a place to sleep. I saw the famous cities of Casablanca, Oran, Rome, Paris and Salzburg, all mostly untouched. And Nurnberg and Munich in ruins. To be sure, it wasn’t all pleasant. In fact, it was mostly hell! But it’s nice to remember the “good stuff†and having “been there.â€

But when the War was over I still heard the melancholy call of the steam train’s whistle. The tug was even stronger now, but the whistle was sending a different message. The faraway place, which it now extolled, was the one I had left three years earlier. That wonderful place called home. That place where your friends and loved ones await you. The whistles were calling me home.

But now, in my retirement years, the whistle no longer calls. I listen, but I hear no plaintive wail. The engineer is gone, as is his whistle and locomotive. They are dinosaurs out of the past and perhaps I am too. But I haven’t forgotten the romantic songs that the whistle used to play, nor the dreams and visions which it inspired. Nor the adventures and the faraway places that the whistle implored me to see.

And yet, I know that the day will come when I will hear the wail of the whistle one last time. Its tone will be soft and serene but it will not be denied. It’s call will be insistent and its message will be clear. The time has come to make that final journey, the one to join my buddies, my friends and loved ones who were given less time than I. The engineer will be there, as will his train and whistle. They assure me that I will be welcomed with smiles to a place of peace, love and harmony. A place where we will all be together again. A place from which there will no longer be any need to journey afar.

Russ Cloer - 3_7_I_Recon

just woundering what combat engineer battalions were in Italy? anyone have a list?

picked up a Ph named to a local vet that was kia and family is gone Saved it from

Ebay paid too much for it but he was from my county in PA and felt It hade to stay in this area! I know he was killed in Italy on sept. 25 1944 and was suppose to be an engineer thats all I have he was awarded ETO medal w/1 battle star if that helps! may be I have wrong info but maybe you guys know!!!

his name was Alexander G Rose us army #33 337 595

kia 9-25-1944 italy !!!!

The picture above was taken in Southern France. That's my jeep and my driver, PFC Norman Steele. Jeeps carried only one spare wheel and tire.

Razor sharp shell fragments, particularly at road junctions, were plentiful and unavoidable. They cut the tires up and if you didn't have a second spare, you were in trouble. There was no room for another inside the jeep. Some drivers hung a spare wheel & tire over the angle iron wire cutter welded to the front bumper.

Notice the French flag wired to the wire cutter and my carbine lying on the hood.

Russ Cloer

Yeah, I'm so excited. I talked with Bill Vander Wall, one of the 540th members who lives on the west coast of Michigan, and we set a date to meet at his house on August 18th & 19th. I know this will be a memorable time for both of us.

Bill has over 100 photos from the war and lots of memorabilia. I am bringing all my documents, pics, etc. and 2 days probably won't be enough for us.

Bill's page is almost done too. Should have it completed this week.

Well off I go... We are going tubing down the Rifle River right now with my hubby, his brother and brothers wife, my nephew who is home on leave from the Air Force and his aunt. Weeee! Yup we are bringing some beers along too. Ah, a day of no thinking. It's been a while.

See ya.

Many of you know that I have struck up a friendship with Gilbert Stevenot who served as an interpreter for Gen Bradley 12th Army Group during WWII and the Battle of the Bulge. Gilbert hails from Belgium. I was introduced to him by John McAuliffe of the 87th Infantry Div. John has met Gilbert several times in Europe when he's attended various WWII commemorations.

This morning I received a very fascinating email from Gilbert regarding Major Baum. You might recognize the name if you know the history of Patton's 3rd Army and the attempted liberation of a POW camp that contained Americans including the son-in-law of Gen Patton. Anyway...

Gilbert shared the letter below and is going to meet Major Baum this fall if all goes as planned.

--------------------

I was very happy to speak with you by telephone today.

Col. Lyons and Gen. Irzyk have spoken very highly of you,

your historical research, and your kindness to US veterans.

I am attaching a tentative schedule of the visit to Europe

Oct. 19 through 28 which will include Maj. Baum, his wife,

2 sons, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, and myself (7 persons,

though possibly one or two more may join us as plans develop).

There is a re-tracing of the Hammelburg raid on Oct. 22

and 23 which is organized by our good friend and co-author

German Lt. Col. Peter Domes (pdomes@aol.com), he also

has a nice website http://www.taskforcebaum.de

There will be 9 or 10 restored US jeeps, some US uniforms,

following the original route with details given along the way

and some receptions in the towns and villages.

Then Major Baum wanted to revisit Bastogne, where he

has not returned for 60 years. I am a screenwriter who has just

finished the screenplay about the raid called "Patton's Secret Raid."

We are now looking for a producer of this as a feature film.

Abe asked me to plan the trip and make hotel reservations.

Attached is the schedule as we have arranged it so far.

I have been to the Bastogne area 3 or 4 times, but I don't know

any of the hotels there. Perhaps you can recommend a 2 star

hotel in the Bastogne area?

We have obtained permission to get a tour of Patton's

HQ at the Fondation Pescatore in Luxembourg City. Then

we would like to follow the route of the 10th Armored Infantry

Battalion. It will be interesting to see if any of the landscape

is familiar to Abe. I have attached the diary of this unit during the period

Dec. 19, 1944 through Jan. 16, 1945.

Perhaps we can follow some of the route Anlier-Louftemont-

Fauvillers-Hotte-Menufontaine-Burnon-Chaumont (perhaps a detour

to Remoiville-Nives-Vaux sur Sure) Grandru-Hompre-Clochimont-

Assenois. I suppose the troops were out in the surrounding hills and

woods, not often in the villages.

Would you be able to accompany us on this part of the trip?

It would be a great honor for us if you could share from your

wealth of local knowledge.

Looking forward to meeting you, I am

Sincerely,

Jim Sudmeier