A railman whose service to his country spanned two wars and four countries will be honored at 9 a.m. Friday with a flag raising ceremony in front of the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center.
Roland R. Anderson Sr. was born Sept. 24, 1898, in Monticello, Minn. He graduated from Monticello State in 1918 and spent a brief time in the Marines in WW I. He began working for the Great Northern Railroad in 1919 in Melrose, Minn. In 1927 he was transferred to Superior. In 1928 he was made general foreman of the store departments of the Great Northern in Superior.
Early in 1942, he became the storekeeper of the affiliated railway unit, officers pool, as Captain, U.S. Army. On Nov. 14, 1942, he reported for duty in St. Paul, Minn., where the 704 Railway Grand Division was activated on Nov. 30, 1942.
The 704 left for Camp Shanks, N.Y., on April 18, 1942, and embarked New York harbor April 28, 1943, on the USS Monticello. They crossed the Atlantic in the largest convoy of WWII, landing in Oran, Algeria on May 11, 1943.
The next day he traveled by motor convoy to camp Maison Cariee, which was six miles out of Algiers. He stayed there until moving to Algiers where his office was located in the St. George Hotel, which was the same building as Gen. Eisenhower's office. He met Eisenhower from time to time and was offered a ride by him more than once.
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On July 2, 1943, he was promoted to Major.
On July 8, 1944, the 704, under Col. Campbell, closed offices in Algiers and moved to Italy, locating temporarily in Naples.
On July 23rd he drove to Rome and moved into the Continental Hotel, which was across the street from the Rome Terminal. At this time the 704 was selected to support the invasion of southern France.
On Dec. 16, 1944, the 704 sailed from Naples on the Liberty Ship "Josiah Bartlett" for Marseille via Corsica. After arriving in Marseille Dec. 20, they traveled by train to Luneville and then to Strasbourg where they were exposed to German shelling. On Feb. 20, 1945, they moved to Nancy, France.
Victory in Europe was declared in May, and on the 11th the headquarters was moved across the Rhine to Esslingen (Stuttgart), Germany. His letters home trace his movements from Africa to Italy, France and finally to Germany.
On Aug. 28, 1945 he started his journey home and was finally officially separated on Dec. 23, 1945. He was awarded four Battle Stars: Rome, Arno, N. Africa, Rhineland and Central Europe. Foreign service time was two years, four months, 13 days.
He returned to his old job in Superior in Nov. 1945. He was issued the rank of Lt. Colonel on March 10, 1947. He was then appointed traveling storekeeper for the whole Great Northern system, created especially for him. He then became assistant general storekeeper and at the time of his death, Aug. 29, 1956, he was Great Northern's general storekeeper. His to children, Roland R. Anderson, Jr. of Superior, and Marianna Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., survive him.
