Double headed J's

[NW Mailing List]

*I've noted this before and here will be brief.   When the double-J with 
Ike got to Bedford, east of Roanoke, it just flew through town, with Ike 
on the speeding train waving from  the rear platform, all right, but 
unaware, surely, that this was the little town, home to A Company, 116th 
Regiment, 29th Infantry Division,  that lost nineteen of its sons in 
D-Day's  first invasion wave, in the wake of which  the Army acted to 
revoke the policy permitting combat units substantially to be composed 
of soldiers hailing from a single locality.  On that September day 
Company A survivors and hundreds from around the county had gathered at 
the station fully anticipating that Ike would stop to honor Bedford's 
sacrifice.  A bittersweet moment, although Bedford, to be sure, should 
have alerted Ike's campaign of the signal opportunity for words from the 
former European Theater commander, now candidate for the White House.

At the time I was away at college, but would hear accounts of the "red 
streak" story for years to follow.

Frank Gibson*

On 2/8/2012 12:49 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:

> For a picture of double headed J's handling Gen. Eisenhower's campaign 

> train on September 26, 1952, please see RAILS REMEMBERED, Volume 3, p. 

> 664.  The 600 and 604 handled the train from Winston-Salem to Roanoke, 

> and the 612 and 613 from Roanoke to Petersburg.

>

> A few days earlier, the 611 and 613 had handled the train from 

> Columbus to Kenova (p. 666).

>

> Louis Newton


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