JIMMY AND THE RED BALL EXPRESS

CHAPTER 7

Ground forces had pushed out from the beaches to form a pocket but still had not been able to break through German defenses further inland. On July 26, 1944, the 1st Army under command of General Omar Bradley broke through at St. Lo and on August 20, 1944 Allied Forces closed the Falaise Pocket forcing thousands of German soldiers to surrender. German forces were in retreat and the Allied troops were in fast pursuit which meant it was time for the 366th to relocate to a more forward position. The 2487th was on the move now and would no longer operate as part of the Red Ball Express. Like Al noted in his memoirs, whenever the Fighter Group moved, they moved with them.

As the war progressed, the 2487th in addition to their charged duties would be involved in the movement and relocation of field hospitals as well as other units needed by the advancing Allied Forces. Long hauls were the norm for the unit. As late as April 1945, trucks of the 2487th were still running back to the beaches at Normandy for supplies. Often they would be called upon to ferry medical supplies, ammunition, and other items to front line troops and once General Patton’s 3rd Army started to race across Europe, they would aid in re-supply of fuel dumps along his route. On occasion, their drivers would be asked to bring dead and wounded from the front to the back to the field hospitals or the burial grounds established for interment of Allied troops. On rare occasions, drivers would bring prisoners with their escorts back to field headquarters for interrogation.

By the war’s end, the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) would receive participation credit for four battle zones, several letters of commendation, and a Meritorious Unit Award. One member of their company would receive a Purple Heart. As a unit they were the first Trucking Company to log 100,000 on the continent of Europe. By the war’s end, with the two units combined, Team A and Team B, they had logged just under a 1,000,000 miles.