Comments on: Russell C. Eustice Recalls the Troop Train 2980 Tragedy at St. Valery-en-Caux During World War II http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii From the World's Largest History Magazine Publisher Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:00:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Judith Richards Shubert http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-787767 Judith Richards Shubert Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:50:22 +0000 #comment-787767 Does anyone have any pictures of the patches worn by Company A, 782nd Tank Battalion? Does anyone have any pictures of the patches worn by Company A, 782nd Tank Battalion?

]]> By: Judith Richards Shubert http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-787683 Judith Richards Shubert Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:08:56 +0000 #comment-787683 The direct link to my uncle's story is http://genealogytraces.blogspot.com/2009/04/as-i-remember-it-by-raymond-r-stone.html I would love to have you read it and leave a comment. My email is bscrooge@charter.net The direct link to my uncle's story is http://genealogytraces.blogspot.com/2009/04/as-i-remember-it-by-raymond-r-stone.html

I would love to have you read it and leave a comment.
My email is bscrooge@charter.net

]]> By: Judith Richards Shubert http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-787682 Judith Richards Shubert Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:04:20 +0000 #comment-787682 This is an invaluable description of the tragedy at St. Valery-en-Caux. Thank you so much for writing it. My uncle, Raymond R. Stone, was also on the train with Co. A., 782nd Tank Battalion. He was a SSgt. He wrote in a short memoir the following: “D” Company suffered the most. Their cars were next to the engine, the “C” Company, “A” Company (my Company), “B” Company and then Headquarters. I came out fine, just got a small cut on my head and was pretty shook up. My Company, “A”, only had four men killed -- one officer and my Company Clerk. I don’t remember the others. The entire battalion had a bunch of men injured. They were sent all over to different hospitals, some were even sent back to the USA. As First Sergeant I had a difficult time learning where all of “A” Company’s men were. This took our battalion out of action and we didn’t go to the Belgium Bulge where we were headed. They had to replace about 200 men in our battalion, so they sent us infantry soldiers. We trained them on the tanks for about a month, and finally we were ready to go again. Our Army had already pushed the Germans back across the Rhine River. They sent our battalion up. “A” Company was sent up by train. All the other companies “roaded” their tanks and equipment. We stopped at the Rhine River where combat was still happening. We crossed the river at Cologne on a pontoon bridge that the engineers had built. Since we were a small battalion of tanks, we were mostly assigned to Infantry divisions. It was hard to know who we were assigned to. It seemed like we spent most of our time chasing after Patton’s Third Army. He was going through Germany like a storm. But sometimes we would be assigned to the Ninth Army which was in the northern part of Germany. When the war ended in 1945, we were assigned to the Second Infantry which was a part of Patton’s Third Army. We ended up in Checozlavakia in Sudaten Land which was the first place Germany invaded when the war began. We were there doing occupation duties for about a month or two. We would send a tank and crew to the little villages. These people in the villages were glad to see us and treated us all real nice. Soon we were on a train on our way back to France and from there, on our way home. We crossed the Danube River on our way to Frankfurt, Germany, and then we went on to LaHarve, France. If you would like to read the rest of Raymonds "Memories" you can find them on my blog: http://genealogytraces.blogspot.com If anyone remembers him, I would love to hear from you. He was born in Hastings, Oklahoma, and died in 2002 in Mineral Wells, Texas. Judy Richards Shubert Fort Worth, Texas This is an invaluable description of the tragedy at St. Valery-en-Caux. Thank you so much for writing it.

My uncle, Raymond R. Stone, was also on the train with Co. A., 782nd Tank Battalion. He was a SSgt. He wrote in a short memoir the following:

“D” Company suffered the most. Their cars were next to the engine, the “C” Company, “A” Company (my Company), “B” Company and then Headquarters. I came out fine, just got a small cut on my head and was pretty shook up. My Company, “A”, only had four men killed — one officer and my Company Clerk. I don’t remember the others. The entire battalion had a bunch of men injured. They were sent all over to different hospitals, some were even sent back to the USA. As First Sergeant I had a difficult time learning where all of “A” Company’s men were. This took our battalion out of action and we didn’t go to the Belgium Bulge where we were headed.

They had to replace about 200 men in our battalion, so they sent us infantry soldiers. We trained them on the tanks for about a month, and finally we were ready to go again. Our Army had already pushed the Germans back across the Rhine River. They sent our battalion up. “A” Company was sent up by train. All the other companies “roaded” their tanks and equipment. We stopped at the Rhine River where combat was still happening. We crossed the river at Cologne on a pontoon bridge that the engineers had built. Since we were a small battalion of tanks, we were mostly assigned to Infantry divisions. It was hard to know who we were assigned to. It seemed like we spent most of our time chasing after Patton’s Third Army. He was going through Germany like a storm. But sometimes we would be assigned to the Ninth Army which was in the northern part of Germany. When the war ended in 1945, we were assigned to the Second Infantry which was a part of Patton’s Third Army. We ended up in Checozlavakia in Sudaten Land which was the first place Germany invaded when the war began. We were there doing occupation duties for about a month or two. We would send a tank and crew to the little villages. These people in the villages were glad to see us and treated us all real nice. Soon we were on a train on our way back to France and from there, on our way home. We crossed the Danube River on our way to Frankfurt, Germany, and then we went on to LaHarve, France.

If you would like to read the rest of Raymonds "Memories" you can find them on my blog: http://genealogytraces.blogspot.com

If anyone remembers him, I would love to hear from you. He was born in Hastings, Oklahoma, and died in 2002 in Mineral Wells, Texas.
Judy Richards Shubert
Fort Worth, Texas

]]> By: VICKI SANCHEZ http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-786468 VICKI SANCHEZ Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:08:23 +0000 #comment-786468 My name is Vicki D Sanchez and my father Lawrence "Larry" Sanchez was also in this wreck. I would love to get any copies of the pics you have. I also have some pics from wreck that I could email to you. I know of a couple of tankers still alive that may remember your father in law. I will forward info on to them. My name is Vicki D Sanchez and my father Lawrence "Larry" Sanchez was also in this wreck. I would love to get any copies of the pics you have. I also have some pics from wreck that I could email to you. I know of a couple of tankers still alive that may remember your father in law. I will forward info on to them.

]]> By: Pat Christensen http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-786426 Pat Christensen Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:05:57 +0000 #comment-786426 Yes, my uncle Ralph Elmore does remember Ray Byram "Smilin Jack' - he was glad to hear that he was also remembered. Yes, he was the big guy that drove the command tank for Woodard. So good of you to reply, it made my uncle happy. Yes, my uncle Ralph Elmore does remember Ray Byram "Smilin Jack' – he was glad to hear that he was also remembered. Yes, he was the big guy that drove the command tank for Woodard.

So good of you to reply, it made my uncle happy.

]]> By: Tim Purviance http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-786401 Tim Purviance Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:04:27 +0000 #comment-786401 My father in law survived the wreck. The pictures he has are after a lot of clean up had already been done. He had talked about this wreck to my wife several years ago. We were sitting with him today again and I decided to look it up and see if there was any info. I was actually surprised to find so much material. His name is Ray Byram, but he said most people called him "Smilin Jack." He was a private and drove jeeps for the officers. My father in law survived the wreck. The pictures he has are after a lot of clean up had already been done. He had talked about this wreck to my wife several years ago. We were sitting with him today again and I decided to look it up and see if there was any info. I was actually surprised to find so much material.
His name is Ray Byram, but he said most people called him "Smilin Jack." He was a private and drove jeeps for the officers.

]]> By: Tim Purviance http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-786400 Tim Purviance Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:00:22 +0000 #comment-786400 Hi Pat. We were sitting here with my father in law looking at a few pictures taken after the wreck. All he could remember was that it happened in '45. He thought maybe Jan or Feb. I decided to google it and found this article. Going through the names of people responding I was reading them out seeing if any were familiar. He remembered Woodard because he actually drove him around in his jeep. He also remembers your uncle, he thinks. He said he was a big guy? You might ask if he remembers him. His name is Ray Byram. He said many people called him "Smilin' Jack." You can respond to my wife's e-mail because she knows more than I do! Her name is Marcie ad mossy066@sbcglobal.net. Hi Pat. We were sitting here with my father in law looking at a few pictures taken after the wreck. All he could remember was that it happened in '45. He thought maybe Jan or Feb. I decided to google it and found this article. Going through the names of people responding I was reading them out seeing if any were familiar. He remembered Woodard because he actually drove him around in his jeep. He also remembers your uncle, he thinks. He said he was a big guy? You might ask if he remembers him. His name is Ray Byram. He said many people called him "Smilin' Jack." You can respond to my wife's e-mail because she knows more than I do! Her name is Marcie ad mossy066@sbcglobal.net.

]]> By: Bruce Yetman http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-785399 Bruce Yetman Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:01:47 +0000 #comment-785399 Anyone can contact me at annhyet@comcast.net Anyone can contact me at annhyet@comcast.net

]]> By: Bruce Yetman http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-785398 Bruce Yetman Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:58:14 +0000 #comment-785398 My father was in the 782 tank battalion also and survived the train wreck at St. Valery. I believe that he has a few photos of the wreck. I'm going to go talk to him today and see if we can find them. One of the weird things he told me about the accident was that his best friend was in another car and also survived and when they found each other, the only real injuries that they each had was a small cut on their cheek. He also told me that his buddy visited St. Valery after the war and saw a picture of the wreck hanging on a wall in a restaurant and asked the owner if he could buy the picture or make a copy of it but the owner refused! I'd love to get copies of any photos that you have. Thanks. My father was in the 782 tank battalion also and survived the train wreck at St. Valery. I believe that he has a few photos of the wreck. I'm going to go talk to him today and see if we can find them. One of the weird things he told me about the accident was that his best friend was in another car and also survived and when they found each other, the only real injuries that they each had was a small cut on their cheek. He also told me that his buddy visited St. Valery after the war and saw a picture of the wreck hanging on a wall in a restaurant and asked the owner if he could buy the picture or make a copy of it but the owner refused! I'd love to get copies of any photos that you have. Thanks.

]]> By: Philippe http://www.historynet.com/russell-c-eustice-recalls-the-troop-train-2980-tragedy-at-st-valery-en-caux-during-world-war-ii.htm#comment-781643 Philippe Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:19:13 +0000 #comment-781643 Hi Stephanie, You will find a photo of the plaque here: http://www.xn--armes-dsa.com/ossian-seipel-en-07.htm (You will have to scroll down to find the photo) You will also find a photo of the rebuilt railway station Philippe Hi Stephanie,

You will find a photo of the plaque here:

http://www.xn--armes-dsa.com/ossian-seipel-en-07.htm

(You will have to scroll down to find the photo)

You will also find a photo of the rebuilt railway station

Philippe

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