The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-11-11

the cars out of action, think of a in Burma-during the past few weel life" edition of such attacks.
 The attackers on the warpath were remnants of the Japanese forces which were driven out of Hyitkyina. The railroad was the "Myitkyina and Mogaung Line" operated by a tough bunch of CTS under the leadership of an equally tough group of officers, who were former railroad men before enter ing the Army.
 These men were machine -gunned and bombed every day during the early part of their assumption of ownership. They were ordered to put the line in operation-and pro- ceeded to do so. While Chinese and American combat troops fought for possession of the tracks, they mounted railroad wheels on jeeps and salvaged enough boxcarS to make the first 40-mile run between Myitkyina and Mogaung.
 Jeep in the Lead
 Capt. James M. Bannon, Her ington, Kan, a former trainmaster on the Rock Island Railroad and presently commander of the M and M Line" told about the initial trip: We mounted machine gun on the jeep and filled up two rid- dled cars with armed soldiers and supplies. Japanese mortar posi- tions were on one side of us and the Chinese were hammering away at them from the other side of the tracks.
 "The only fellow that was not on the lookout for Snipers and ambushes was the driver of the jeep. All the rest of us were armed with rifles, automatics and tom- my-guns. As we rolled down the track we would hear snipers' bull lets whiz over our heads-then from the cars our boys would cut loose.
 Occasionally the jeep would have to Screech to stop to remove dead Japs from the tracks. We made the trip up without losing a man. Returning-we called in to see if we still held the railhead.
 Tt was that way during the early days. We never knew until we drove into the station whether we would be greeted by our own troops or the Japanese" Bannon added.
 Today the I'M and M Line" has set up offices on the site of 6 bat tleground that determined the ownership of the railroad. The camp is pocked with shell holes and the trees in the area are all shattered from shellfire.
 Pass Wrecked Jeeps
 Sitting at a field telephone is the "company's" dispatcher, Cpl. Donald Whitten, Stajles. Tex. He is contact with the three stations between here and Mogaung.
 His conversation amounts to something like this: Anything coming this way in the last half hour?-No?-OK., we're sending one out now. It shoudl be there in about 2 minutes. No, We haven't got this months ration of beer yet"
 The jeep train chugs out of the terminal, pulling several dinky lit- tie cars loaded down with troops and supplies. As it goes whizzing around the curves along the way, it will pass several demolished jeepS that meet head on, before the telephone installation.
 Track maintenance is under the supervision of It. John Egan, White Plains, N. Y, who is assisted by the outfits First Sgt. William J. Pendergast, New Rochelle, N. Y.
 It may appear that the Irish are in charge of this little railroad and they are. When Bannon, Egan and Pendergast start their tempers in first gear, it would put a vet eran section "straw boss to shame. But these fellows are accomplish ing the impoSsible-and in record time.
 When the system starts operat- ing 8 tourist passenger service, the job of agent will probably fall on the shoulders of Staff Sgt. Thomp- son Jones, Clayton, Mo. Whenever anyone has troubles, they come to Jones. He obtains anything from cigarette lighter Hints to railroad cars for the gang. This Six-foot former automobile dealer handles every situation with tact and die plomacy, keeping peace in the com- pany's family. His title is supply supervisor.
 Japanese Buried Engines
 When the Japanese finally aban- doned the railroad, they wrecked all of the old steam engines that were in the town of Myitkyina. Others they actually took into the jungles and buried. Chinese soldiers are still searching the undergrowth for these hidden locomotives.
 From the towns wrecked yards. two CTS have managed to salvage