Study the role of the jeep "roadrailer", the Liberty Ship and the DUKW in the distribution of troops and supplies throughout the world. Take time to listen to the story of the Red Ball Express, one of the earliest success stories of the newly formed Transportation Corps.
The Red Ball Express diorama at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum depicts this critical effort by the new Transportation Corps in France during World War II.
A 1942 era U.S. Army Harley Davidson motorcycle in the U.S. Army Transportation Museum Collection.
African-American Soldiers work on a truck engine while another works on .50 caliber machinegun as part of the famed Red Ball Express. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A Transportation Corps, Motor Transport Service insignia worn by members of the “Red Ball Express”. This version, likely made in Europe was worn by MAJ Cornelius Rinker. It was donated to the U.S. Army Transportation Museum collection by his family.
329th Harbor Craft Co Soldiers, entrain at Pier 8 Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation heading for Camp Patrick Henry upon their return to the United States in 1945
Col Frank Hosak, U.S. Army Transportation Corps christens the first train to leave Paris for Germany at Care De L'est Station in 1945. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
DUKW's conducting Invasion training under the direction of 5th Army in Arzew Algeria. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A Transportation Corps Brassard worn by Ray Stevens as a member of the 723rd Railway Operating Battalion during World War II IN Europe. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
Heavily damaged port of Naples with U.S. Liberty ship and two smaller vessels docked beside burned out building. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
View of the Willys version of the jeep taken at the Engineering Standards Vehicle Laboratory in Detroit, MI. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
The Mediterranean and European theaters would challenge the new Transportation Corps with the diversity of terrain and complexity of the various infrastructure. Learning to operate in Deserts, across Mountains and eventually returning to many of the same places as the Corps saw in World War I, the network would grow to be the largest and most complex transportation network the world had seen until that point. The Army would field the iconic Jeep for general purpose Transportation use, while the Transportation Corps would field unique specialty vehicles the DUKW to better enable offloading transport ships directly to undeveloped shorelines. Transportation Railroaders would have to works to restore and operate the long-standing but highly damaged European rail networks. Finally the famed “Red Ball Express” demonstrated the WWII tagline of the Transportation Corp “Always there with the Supply Lines of Battle”.
China-Burma-India Gallery at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A U.S. Army Truck pulling Type A-1 600 gallon Fuel Servicing Trailer on ferry with jeep and trailer waiting to board Ferry at Nihyang China during World War II.
Boatswain Mate Chevrons used by the Army Transport Service during World War II. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
The iconic jeep of World War II, but outfitted to operate on rail lines. This vehicle in on display at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A U.S. Army truck convoy makes it way on muddy roads to ration dump in New Georgia Islands during World War II in the Pacific. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A naval chart, of the South coast of New Britain used by the 3rd Engineer Special Brigade in the Pacific during World War II. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
U.S. Army African American troops of the Amphibious Truck Companies supporting the 4th Marine Division at Iwo Jima landings return to the LST. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
The iconic “Higgins” boat or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP).
Allied Troops loading a passenger train in Kurming, China during World War II. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
Filipino workers reconstructing the bombed and shelled tracks bridges and rail right of ways of the Manila Railroad to facilitate it use by the US Army. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
Modern meets ancient – a CH46 prepares to land over a Ox drawn wagon in China during World War II. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
Soldiers of the 748th Railway Operating Battalion pose outside of tent holding a Ledo road sign while celebrating Victory over Japan Day in the Pacific during World War II. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A fully loaded Landing Ship Tank, sails to support the invasion of Philippines in October 1944 during World War II.
Landing craft crowd the beach at Leyte during the initial stages to recapture the Philippines during World War II.
Crowded harbor in Lae, New Guinea with various cargo ships and DUKWs coming to shore in 1944.
The geography of the Pacific region, brought different challenges for Army Transportation. Vast distances, many, small undeveloped islands with jungles and mountains made the Transportation requirements much different. All the major modes - vehicle, rail, watercraft and even aircraft would be tailored to meet the demands of the Pacific Campaign. The Army would bear the brunt of the in-theater logistics, creating an Army Small Ships fleet in the early days, building and maintaining rail lines in places like Burma and even providing Amphibious Truck Companies to the USMC for their famed Iwo Jima invasion. The Army was the largest force in the Pacific and developed the Transportation system to support it. Come see an iconic “Higgins” boat or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) on our outdoor Pavilion that made the amphibious operations in the Pacific possible.
The Army Transport Service flag which flew over New York Port of Embarkation during World War II. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A World War II colorized photos showing two Women’s Army Corps (WAC) Transportation Corps Soldiers wearing the Port of Embarkation Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.
Employee Badge for Higgins Industries in New Orleans, LA which built the famed “Higgins” Boats that enable all the major amphibious landings of World War II. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
Copy of article from Army life in March 1944 that highlights the role of Women’s Army Corps at the Ports of Embarkation.
U.S. Army trucks along the newly completed section of Alaskan Highway during World War II. Part of the research collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum
A two piece enlisted Transportation Corp Lapel disc, which was worn by David Greenfield as a member of the 744th Rail Operating Battalion during World War II. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
A World War II Transportation Corps poster, highlighting the Corps support to various campaigns. Part of the collection of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
The scope and scale of World War II would impact the role of U.S. Army Transportation in innumerable ways. The most significant is the 1942 determination to formally re-establish the Transportation Corps as a branch within the U.S. Army. Due to the scope and scale of the role of Transportation in this global war, we look at it through the two major theaters of war – The Mediterranean-European and the Pacific. The story of Transportation is also a story of the homefront with the major Ports of Embarkation for both areas being a main focal point for the new Transportation Corps.
By Laurence Lader, Army Life
March 11, 1944
"Things are moving fast at the great Atlantic seaboard ports. Hulking liners and crusted freighters wait impatiently at their piers for the materials of war to be lashed to their decks and crammed into their holds. Typical of these ports is one bustling PE...
"Getting men, ford, and equipment on board ship and overseas in record time, members of the Transportation Corps here handle confidential facts and figures...so confidential that the details of their work can be described by only one word--secret. But it has just been revealed for the first time that for over a year many of the key positions at this giant PE have been entrusted to women in khaki working around the clock on a 24-hour basis...
"Working side by side with officers and men of the Transportation Corps, Wacs are sharing the responsibility of running the greatest world-circling network of supply in the history of war. Where there was one principal sea route across the Atlantic in the last war, today there are dozens of routes crisscrossing the seven seas. Where there were only 14 main ports in 1918, that number has been multiplied many times today by the global struggle which continues to open up new fronts against the enemy. Along with former railroad and shipping executives, shop foremen, freight chiefs, and trucking specialists, Wacs help to Keep 'em Moving!...
"TC Wacs are scattered throughout the PE in any one of many branches which prepare men, ships, and supplies for sailing. They work with the Corps of Engineers, teh Chemical Warfare Service, the Ordnance Department, hospitals and laboratories.
"Closest to the nerve center of operations at the PE is Cpl. Florence Parrott, orderly to the commanding general, Maj. Gen. Homer M. Groninger. I've got the best job at the base, she likes to say. Majors and colonels must come to her to make their appointments. Every detail of the general's schedule is in her hands. Summing up her job, she calls it: lemonade to the general's aid. Cpl. Parrott, who comes from Dever, Colo., entered the WAC last June and took her basic training at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa. They were just beginning rehearsal of a three-act musical, The Sergeant Is a Lady, written by Pfc Jean Krenzer. She jumped right into one off the lead parts. When it closed, she was assigned to the Transportation Corps, and for the past four months she has been at the PE> She loves her job and wouldn't change if for anything...
"Although their assignment has been kept a secret for over a year, the spotlight is on them now. With every American victory, from the landing in North Africa to the latest thrust towards Rome, the Transportation Corps is keeping supplies moving, and the TC Wacs are playing a big part in it. Strategy and tactics today are dependent upon our ability to deliver the right supplies to the right place at the right time, say Maj. Gen. Styer, Chief of Staff of the Army Service Forces.
The TC Wacs are doing that, and they won't stop till the good have been delivered to Berlin and Tokyo."