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1st
Signal Group |
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| Group History | ||||||||||
(Source: Email from Jack E. Strimbu) |
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I decided to browse through the Internet and see what I could find out about my old signal corps outfit in Verdun, France.
I enlisted in the Army in 1955. For some reason, when I was taking various tests during basic, the E, I, S, H of morse code intrigued me and I paid particular attention to getting as many of the letters during the test as I could. After basic at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, I was sent to radio school at Camp Gordon, Georgia. After six months, I was sent to Verdun, France. Unfortunately, after so many years, I don't remember the name of the company any longer. I do recall the words ADSEC and COMZ and our call letters of 9E7A through 9E7D. We had a fixed site in Verdun and three or four mobile units mounted on the back of 2½-ton trucks. We used morse code, primarily, operating the net at speeds up to 50/60 words per minute using a speed key. There was a teletype section down at the end of the hall from our location in the headquarters building and at the other end of the hall there was a crypto unit, but our radio unit was an entity unto itself and we never really socialized with those guys. From our fixed site we would communicate with other stations in our net of three other fixed sites south of Verdun. Our outfit was responsible for providing communications for a short TDY period at an MP location in Pirmasens, Germany in 1956. We were also sent to a small POL sub-depot outside of Rheims in 1956/57. The town close by was Mourmelon (?) Petit. Also, we were tagged to provide communications at the Epinal Military Cemetery in 1957 or 1958. We were there for a two week stint. I believe they were exhuming the body of a soldier for unknown soldier designation, but I no longer remember the exact details. We had two trucks at that location. My truck was at a small grass airstrip in Dogneville, where the brass arrived in small Cessnas, and Joe Flores had his truck at the cemetery on the other side of Epinal. I would like to find out what I could about the unit I was in, who it was attached to and other details that might be available. The only two members of the original company that I have been in touch with are Wickles Dupre, in Houma, Louisana, and Virgil Jurek, in St. Paul, Minnesota. They were members of my team. I vacationed in France a couple of years ago and took a side trip to Verdun to show my wife where I had been stationed. The caserne is now occupied by the French army. I had a heck of a time trying to make them understand why I wanted to go in and look around until a Captain who spoke English finally showed up at the gate. After I explained that I had been stationed there in the 50s and would like to look around, he was quite gracious. He gave me a guided tour of my building and even the room I had occupied. In the 50s, there were eight of us in one room on the third floor and we had one large common shower across the hall. Now, there are two soldiers to a room with their own private bath, television, internet connections, etc.. He said they had to have the ammenities in order to attract a better calibre of soldier. The overall location was the same, but the buildings were used for different purposes. We spent almost an hour back in his room just talking about the Army, his and my experiences, etc. When I was ready to leave he very graciously presented me with a shoulder patch of his outfit. The town of Verdun hasn't changed except for some newer buildings at the edge of town. The center of town was exactly as I remembered it, although the stores are different. Our favorite little restaurant beside the Meuse was now a disco joint for the younger generation. As we left the base, I explained to my wife that we had kept our mobile units about 5 clicks out of town at a location called Bevaux. There were several bombed out buildings that we had fixed up so we could keep spare parts there and work on our trucks. I told her that as you left the caserne, you would drive up a road with a slight upward grade. At the top you would turn left and go down the hill. Right at the turn there would be a small catholic church on the left with a statue of the Virgin Mary with a small concrete fence around it and, no matter what time of the day or night or time of the year, there were always fresh flowers at the base. (I had taken a picture of it when I was stationed there) As we got to the top of the hill and made the turn, there was the statue - with fresh flowers at its base, just as it had been forty some years ago. I am not embarrassed to say that it raised goose bumps on my arms an inch high. I took another picture of it and when I returned home, dug out the picture I had taken in the 50s. You would have thought they were taken at the same time. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on. I'll bring this to an end in hopes of receving some information in the future. Jack Strimbu ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The time I spent in Verdun, Rheims, Paris and other parts of France and Germany during my tour resulted in some of the best memories of my life. Most all of us had a wonderful tour of duty in France and I found the French people equally friendly and gracious during our visits in the last few years. I don't buy the propaganda about hostile feelings against Americans by the French people. Their government maybe, but the not the common folk. Of course, their will always be that segment of the intelligentia that harbor resentment or try to cause problems, but I believe they are definitely the minority.
I could relate many stories of our tour of duty in France, some quite humorous. Not to take much time, but one such incident occurred during the stay I mentioned at the military cemetery in Epinal. When we first arrived in France, we were young hotshots newly out of training. One of the first things we did was to "rewire" the BC610 transmitters (the big monster with two 100th tubes) that were in our mobile units. We tripled the range we could send and receive morse code and doubled the range for voice transmissions. When we arrived in Epinal, it was toward the end of the month. We had very little money with us, but we did have two fifty gallon drums of gasoline to run our power units. Fortunately, Dupre (who, being from Louisiana, spoke Cajun french) could communicate with the local frogs. We made an arrangement to siphon off enough gas to obtain francs, but not enough that we would run short. To make sure I didn't run short, I needed some from the Flores' unit at the cemetery. We switched to voice, put the transmitter on low power and made the arrangements. (Had a heck of a good time as a result) When we returned to Verdun, the first question we were asked by the other guys in the unit was how the sale went and did we have a good time. What we didn't realize was that even on low power we were transmitting far enough to reach Verdun and the frequency we had been working on was so close to AFN (Armed Forces Network) that, as improbable as it sounds, we were actually coming across on the radios in the caserne. We never heard anything from the brass about that little incident and, to this day, I don't understand why. There were many other adventures on trips to Metz, Dijon, Epinal and other parts of France, Alsace-Lorraine, Pirmasens and other parts of Germany, the TDY duty at the little POL sub-depot near Rheims (where we lived in a tarpaper shack with a pot belly stove in a box of sand to keep us wam in the winter while the engineers lived in luxury in a brick two story building, with a mess hall and rec room - pool table and all, at the other end of the depot) and two or three day trips to various parts of France and Germany to "tune our equipment." (We'd put everything on low power or do something else that would result in a 2/2 signal for awhile and when we were ready to return, we bump it up to high power, tune the transmitter or relocate our long wire antenna and come in 5/5). The nice thing was we had a permanent pass, so if we were not on duty or could arrange our schedule where we didn't have to be around for several days, we could go anywhere our limited funds would take us. With a very young second lieutenant for a radio officer, who didn't know the first thing about what we were doing, we pretty much had a free reign. As long as our outfit received good ratings and passed the NSA visits (which were easy because they didn't have the speed to monitor our net), our company commander, Capt. Nance, never interferred with our operation. I remember Capt. Nance very fondly because of a favor he granted to me one time in 1958 (an emergency leave to go to Paris to find a little Austrian girl I was supposed to have met in Graz, Austria during a leave in 1958 that was cancelled because of an "alert"). Her Aunt, who owned a restaurant on Rue Montyon, just 30 yards from the Follies Bergere, and a caberet a block away, said she hadn't returned from Graz and didn't want to see me. I didn't "find" her again until two years ago. An interpreter with the Graz police department (bless his sole) located her brother and, through him, I found out she was living in Vienna. I knew we would be accompanying my youngest son (Army vet - NSA) to Heidelberg to enroll him in college and planned a side trip to Vienna. I finally met her during that visit to Vienna. But that, with its beginning in Paris in 1956, is another story. We explored many many miles of the Maginot Line, underground from Verdun outward, even though there were many signs that said "Danger de Mort" - Danger of Death. It was fascinating down there in those miles of tunnels. We were always very careful about where we stepped and what we picked up. Especially up around Metz where entire areas were still cordoned off with barbed wire and signs of warning of mine fields. In 1956-58 France, it was still the time when a pound of coffee, a few gallons of gasoline or cigarettes could get you just about anything you wanted and, with the PX handy, we made good use of the barter system. I've never forgotten my morse code. I guess you never do. This was evident during a visit to see a German foreign exchange student that lived in Bargtheheide (outside of Homburg) that stayed with us many years ago. The occassion was to celebrate the 75th and 70th birthdays of her Father and Mother. It turned out he was a radio operator for the Luftwaffe in WWII. Still knew his morse code! Also, knew all of the old GI songs and did a good job of singing them in english. We had a great time. |
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1964 |
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(Source: Email from Richard Martineau, US Army Garrison St. Nazaire, Dec 1963-April 1964; 1st Sig Gp, April 1964-June 1966) |
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| I was in the Army from 1963-1966. the picture I am adding is of Harbord Barracks, not certain what year it was taken, but a friend of mine sent it to me a few years back... first of all, I am quite impressed with this site. A friend and former Army Buddy of mine emailed me this site yesterday and it was great checking out some of the stories and names of places that I was once a part of, as with everyone who has been in the service, those memories never fade, and for those of us who were fortunate enough not to serve time in combat, well they are mostly fond memories with dear friends. This is a great reminder of some great times which come back to mind no matter how many years have passed. I arrived in Bremenhaven, Germany on the USNS Patch in December 1963, and had orders assigning me to USA Garrison Unit, in St. Nazaire, France... with the M.O.S. for Personel Administration. I arrived there to find out that they were deactivating this base, and had but a skeleton crew with no mess hall or anything else functioning, and no one could figure out why I was sent there ??? Well a Capt. Robinson who was in charge at the time made up things to keep me active, and this lasted until April when I got my orders assigning me to Headquarters 1st Signal Group, Harbord Barracks, Orleans, France, where I served until June 1966. It sure was great to be a part of an outfit where there was actually a reason to get up... No more mess kits and K rations and cold showers while living in a cold quonset hut. I have only good memories of Orleans, France; the officers in charge, our CO. Col. Depau, and later Col. Myles E. Standish and EXO. Col Erastus W. Roberts and Capt. Robert Williams, and Sgt. Major Marshall were all quite professional. The staff were a great bunch of guys, and we had many French ladies as secretaries who were always friendly and helpful. The atmosphere and people were just great . |
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1966 |
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(Source: Email from Anthony S. Sumida, 1st Sig Gp) |
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I am providing a document that identifies as best as I can recollect the units, their disposition, and their missions just before FRELOC. |
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| If you have more information on the history or organization of the 1st Sig Gp, please contact me. | ||||||||||
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| 256th Signal Company | ||||||||||
(Source: Email from Harris Williams, 256th Sig Co, 1959-61) |
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I served with the 256th Signal Company from Oct 1959 thru July 1961 as a field radio repairman. We had a shop in the Chicago Area and served as a repair shop for the surrounding area such as Nancy, Toul , Vitry, and Etain Air Base. Most of my work was in the 2nd echelon shop and Ft. Regret radio site and at the other sites mentioned. My shop was located behind the main repair shop in the Chicago Area. I was on the road most of the time and if any thing major needed done I sent it to the 1st echelon shop in the Chicago Area. I do remember Allen Sorenson and Antone Johannes who worked in the main shop. I've often wondered what happened to them as we were together all the way back to Ft. Gordon, Ga. The army first sent me to Nancy, France, and they did not even have a slot for a repairman so I was then sent to Verdun. I do remember that the MOS 296.1 was frozen in grade and there was no advancement. Before my return to the states I had a pretty serious discussion with Col McGovern about that to no avail. He promised me the moon if I would reenlist for 6 years. I guess I did alright by getting out, missed Vietnam, and went to work for the postal service retiring 37 years later as a Postmaster. I enjoyed my tour of duty for during my off time I toured the old battlefields and American cemetaries in the area. |
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(Source: Email from David Askins, 256th Signal Company, 1963-66) |
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I was stationed with the 256th Sig Co in Verdun, France from 1963 to 1966. My Signal Company not only operated the Photo Lab mentioned under the logistics section, but was also a battalion-sized company. I was a Commcenter operator in Verdun. We operated a Telecommunications Center serving all the units in the Verdun area, and we operated a minor relay station with detachments at Nancy, Trois Fontaines, Toul, Metz, Vitry Le Francois, and Bar Le Duc. All message traffic from these depots came through our relay. Our major relay was in Saran, near Orleans. We were under the command of the 1st Signal Group in Orleans, which during my time (63 to 66) was commanded by Colonel Myles Standish III. We also had microwave transmission personnel and radio personnel who worked at Ft. Regret. We had direct circuits to Orleans and Pirmasens. The Pirmasens circuit was intended primarily for transmission of information on the nuclear weaponry. We began using data transmission equipment in around 1965. Our company HQ's was located at Maginot Caserne. Our barracks were old French Cavalry Barracks from shortly after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The stables which were originally located on the bottom floor of the barracks. Being stationed at Verdun gave those of us who were interested in history a fantastic opportunity to see first hand the Battlefields of Verdun, and also to travel to the St. Mihiel Battlefields as well as the Meuse-Argonne Battlefield of the AEF. We marched each year at the American Cemetery at Romagne Sous Montfaucon, as well as in a parade at Epernay celebrating the liberation of that town by the American Troops. David Askins |
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(Source: Email from Charles Schamenek, 256th Sig Co, 1962 - July 1964) |
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I was stationed in France as a radio repairman from 1962 to late July 1964, in the 256th Signal Company. My first 21 months were spent at the "Vatry" base near Chalons-sur-Marne, and my last six months were spent at the Maginot Caserne in Verdun. While going through some very old souvenirs that I had in my attic, I discovered a slightly yellowed copy of the "Advance" newspaper for the 4th Logistical Command. I have little knowledge worth talking about of the organization, mission and history of the 256th Signal Company. When I was stationed in France, the headquarters of the Company were in Verdun, and I think they had between 7 and 9 "detachments" in other places in Northwestern France.
One detachment was Detachment 6, in the "Vatry airbase", to which I was assigned from April 1962 until January 1964. I was a field radio repairman, at least officially, by training and MOS. But we only had one "radio", which was a 300 watt transmitter and two receivers in a "cab" in the back of a truck; it seldom needed service; when the official company clerk was reassigned and not replaced, I took his place since I knew how to type. At Vatry the main job of the detachment was to provide telephone service, and there was a telephone switchboard there manned by French civilians as much as possible. However, all of us in the detachment had to learn how to use it so that we could fill-in as switchboard operators when no or insufficient French civilians were available, either due to Holidays, sickness, or not enough personnel, or whatever. I know there was also a detachment in Vitry-le-Francois, and for some reason I think there was one in a place called "Brienne", but I have not been able to find any reference to a US Army and/or NATO site in Brienne, even though I remember that "Hey, somewhere near there was where Napoleon went to military school". Of course I knew all the French civilians who worked in our small building as telephone operators; there were men and women, although only the men were allowed to work there on the evening and graveyard shifts. When I re-visited France in 2000 and 2001 I was fortunate in being able to locate, and spend time with, three of those French civilians. One was a man named Jean-Claude who lived in Vitry-le-Francois; unfortunately he died almost a year after I saw him. THe other two were women, and when I visited them in France they actually put me up for the night in their homes !! Now THAT I never expected ! Being able to speak some French helped a lot, and we had a good time. Unfortunately, now that I speak even better French, and am retired, my poor health prevents me from returning to France. At the Vatry base, I still remember the open air ceremonies we had for the funeral of President Kennedy, and also Eleanor Roosevelt. I also remember the Cuban Missile Crisis which occurred when I was at Vatry. I was boiling mad, not because of the crisis, or the fact that we all had to pull guard duty around the clock; I was mad because my guard duty at night consisted of walking around a very small concrete blockhouse with an unloaded M1 rifle, a blockhouse which was well lit up at night and situated in the middle of a field, about the size of a football field. This field was surrounded on two sides by thick woods, and I could not see a thing beyond the perimeter of the blockhouse and its immediate surroundings because of the bright lights on it. The rumor was that there was ammunition and weapons inside this blockhouse. But if any enemy wanted to attack it, they could have done so easily by sneaking up through the woods, and there I was, well lit up by the bright lights at night, at most 50 yards away; they could have picked me off with a rifle shot even if they were not good shots. No way I could have seen them, even if they had been standing up just inside the edge of the woods. In any event, so what? I had an unloaded rifle, and no way to contact anybody to sound an alarm or to call for help. From January 1964 until July 1964 I was in Verdun, (company headquarters), repairing radios in a repair shop in what was called the "Chicago Area". I walked to work each day through several blocks of the city, just as though I had a regular 8 to 5 job. I enjoyed troubleshooting radios, and having to walk through the town each day to get to and from work. I was fortunate because I got out of the Army just before the Tonkin Gulf incident, and having put in my 3 years, there was no way I could get drafted. So I missed Vietnam and was instead able to finish college and get a good job. And of course I saw much of Europe on the American taxpayer's dime. The only large city in the world that I know better than Paris, France, is Houston in Texas, which is close to where I live. I've been in New York City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles many times, but I know Paris better than any of those places. |
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(Source: Email from Harold Jennings) |
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I was stationed at Verdun from Oct 1962 to Nov 1964 and was a photo lab technician at the 256th Signal Co (Spt) photo lab. I know three of the men mentioned in the article (above) about the photo and film section and was wondering in particular about two of them. If you have heard anything from James E. Beauchamp or Michael A Marsh I would love to contact them if possible. I am particularly interested in Jim Beauchamp who was promoted to Sp5 and transferred to Metz at his own request. I played in a band in Metz on the weekends and my friendship with Jim continued even after his transfer. This is the first time I've found anything about the 256th , let alone seeing names of people I actually knew. Thanks. Robert H Jennings |
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| 269th Signal Company | ||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Jorge Thompson, 269th Sig Co, 1959-62) | ||||||||||
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(Source: Email from Greg Hodgen) |
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I just want to thank you for a wonderful site, one that just brought back so many memories of my service in Orleans France with the 269th Sig Co. I arrived at Harbord Barracks in Sep. of 1962 and was assigned to the Hq 1st Signal Group as a Private. After a taste of Class A uniforms and Brass I applied for a transfer to the 269th replacing Sp4 Morgan as their Company Armorer. Major Jose was the C.O. My supply officer was Lt. Battle. The Supply Sergeant was Sgt. Tushioki Matsuo. We moved into the field into Quonset huts in the Fall of 1963 and it was cold and desolate. I slept in the Arms Room building which was shared with the Mail room, and hand carried my stove oil. We went through the assassination of President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis at that location. Both times we thought we were going to war. They told us that if "Ivan" ever crossed the border in Germany he would also be dropping airborne troops on us, and that we had approximately 24 hrs to get to the coast to defend as a Army. Scary stuff to a young Sp4. The local French did not like us, and going into a bakery to buy something got real cool fast once they looked at our haircuts and shoes identifying us as American GI's. There was still a lot of bombed out buildings there then, as well as machine gun bullet craters in walls alongside the streets, and they were still repairing the church spire at the main cathedral that General Patton's spearhead had shot off to get at German artillery observers. But I really liked the people and their way of life and wish I could have met some and maybe lived amongst them when I was discharged. I remember the annual qualifications with the issued weapon M-14. The H&R manufactured rifles were unserviceable and jammed constantly on the range. All of them had to be sent to the Ordnance Facility for re-machining. The side rails weren't machined completely to allow the roller bearing to cycle the action. Think of us going to war like that? I had a lot of friends there such as Mamerto Sarno, Jim Holloway, George Petrowski, Gene Brady, and many others. At this stage of my life I look back and try to remember, but they will be with me forever. |
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| 275th Signal Company | ||||||||||
(Source: Email from Christopher Vock , 275th Sig Co, 1963-65) |
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- It was my office in 1964-65 (prior to that I was stationed at Harbord Barracks, Orleans). I was an SP/4 company armorer with supply duties, i.e local purchase ( I spoke fluent french). - After the war the French tried to destroy this "eyesore", but they could not. They asked the US Army to do it, same story; so they "rented" the blockhouse to the US Govt. It was only in the late 1970's that they dynamited the entire bldg. If you go there today you can see the pitmarks on the stone façade of the opposite 19th century bldgs. - Apart from us (275th Signal Co.) there was a SOFTE office and WHCA office (White House Communications Agency) at Via rue Lapérouse; we were a 5 minute walk from the Majestic Hotel (Ave. Kléber) (which was) also a Wehrmacht HQ and not far from the Gestapo HQ (torture cells etc.) |
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| Related Links: 256th Signal Co (SPT) - a website dedicated to those who served with the 256th Signal Co. (SPT) from its beginning in Verdun until being disbanded. |
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Telephone Exchange 