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504th Signal Battalion
Seventh Army
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please email me (webmaster).

Battalion History

Newspaper articles

 
Battalion History
19.. - 19..
 
504th Signal Bn DUI
 
(Source: Email from Kendall Fugate, 93rd Sig Bn and 504th Sig Bn, 1961-1964)
I and several other newly minted 2LTs joined the 93rd Signal Battalion at Ft. Huachuca, AZ in May 1961, fresh from the Signal Officer Basic Course at Ft. Monmouth. The battalion was commanded by LTC Zellerfrow (sp?). For two days I was assigned to B Company under CPT Bailey, who was very proud of his pistol marksmanship, and then transferred to A Company under CPT Ray Martel, who called everyone “stud.”

I was responsible for the Carrier Platoon, and reported to 1LT Chris Larson. Everyone was new, the concepts were new, and the equipment was mostly untried in the shelter mounted configurations we were given. Planning and control were worked out (when they worked at all) on the fly. Since I had worked several summers for the phone company, I found the lack of workable standard operating practices appalling. We did our best to make the theory work in practice, and passed the summer fighting wildfires, training and struggling through two training tests.

In August we were placed on orders for Germany. After we packed and loaded the equipment, most of us were allowed to take leave and make our own way to Charleston, SC to board a troopship, the USNS Darby for the trip to Bremerhaven and an overnight train to Hanau. There we were met by the advance party, which had picked up our equipment in France.

Shortly after arriving, some of the officers were reassigned by 7th Army to fill out other newly arriving units. I was reassigned to the 504th Signal Battalion in Mannheim, where I was detailed to be OIC of a Signal supply and maintenance direct support unit in Kaiserslautern. I did manage to remain in touch with many of my friends in the 93rd until I finished my tour in 1964.

The 504th Signal Battalion (Army Supply & Maintenance) was formed in 1961 from a number of company and detachment sized maintenance units already in Germany, which reported to the 7th Army Signal Officer, and a headquarters company deployed from CONUS.

The battalion was organized under the 505th Signal Group. During the buildup of combat and signal units through 1961, a number of officers, myself included, were reassigned from incoming communications battalions to populate the battalion's 10-12 direct support detachments (DSUs) and staff positions.
 
ORGANIZATION (1962):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION COMMENTS
HHD, 504th Sig Bn Sullivan Bks, Mannheim
A Company (Direct Support) Panzer Ksn, Böblingen
B Company (Direct Support) Fliegerhorst Ksn, Hanau  
C Company (Direct Support) Wharton Bks, Heilbronn
D Company (Depot) Sullivan Bks, Mannheim  
E Company (Direct Support) Pendleton Bks, Giessen  
 
After I returned to CONUS in 1964, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated as part of the Army's reorganization of logistics support.

There is a 504th website: http://www.freewebs.com/504thsignal/index.htm A

Also, there were a number of attached Signal support companies which rotated between CONUS and 7th Army in the '60s. I had the honor of commanding one of them and taking it to RVN in 1966.
 
If you have more information on the history or organization of the 504th Signal Battalion, please contact me.
 

504th Sig Bn
A few additional photos were posted on the Mannheim Page
 		 

1. Bldg 222, Co D, 504th (120 KB)
2. Gate, 7th Army Signal Depot (116 KB)
3. 7th Army Signal Depot (123 KB)

4. Battalion Headquarters Staff (KB)
5. Battalion Headquarters Staff (KB)
6. Sig Point 715, Staff (KB)
 
(Source: Email from John Ballard, Det 2, Co "S" 504th Sig Bn, 1965)

(John has also provided comments on his assignments to Co "D," 71st Maint Bn and the 66th Maint Bn)

I arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany in February 1965 aboard the USNS Buckner. We were debarked into a large facility and the “cutting of the herd” began. I was eventually loaded on a train and sent to Mannheim (Sullivan Barracks) assigned to the 504th Signal Battalion. Later that day I was assigned to Company C, at Wharton Barracks.

I got there and spent the night; the next morning I was informed that I would be going to Detachment 2 at Merrell Barracks, Nuernberg. I was loaded into the back of an M-37B ¾-ton truck and froze my tail off on the l-o-n-g ride to Merrell Barracks. Det 2’s barracks was on the 4th floor of the wing across from the Bowling Alley.

Det 2 was commanded by CW2 Stovall and the Detachment NCOIC was SFC (E6) Schwartz. My supervisor was SP4 Klaus Muller (he was from Nuernberg and was allowed to live off post with his mother). My co-worker was PFC Jules Ducharme.

We worked in the building (opposite arm of the H that housed the Bowling Alley) across from the Mess Hall. We had three trailers backed against three windows in the building that held most of our Signal Supply Stockage. In the next room of this building housed our signal repair facility.

Names I can remember SP5 Dryer, SP4 Larry Cox, SP4 Jake Cryer, PFC Alan “Stonie” Stone, and PFC Max Heimerl (another German who was drafted while staying with his sister in New Jersey).

There was also a Detachment 3 that was located in Vilseck. This detachment had an NCOIC, SP5 “Val” Varela. They drew support from us due to proximity.

I had several additional duties while there. I was primary operator of C-13, an M-37B (it took two men and a boy to open the drivers door from the inside). I was also assigned as a team member on a 3.5 Rocket Launcher. Many stories could be told about my six months in this detachment; one, I was actually kicked out of the EM Club for being too young once. I didn’t turn 18 until March of 1965.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

When I arrived at Merrell Barracks (Det 2, 504th Sig Bn) in 1965 the Aviation Section of the 2nd ACR operated at an airfield in the vicinity of Soldiers Field (access was through Soldiers Field along side the Dutzendeich). They had a control tower van, the runway ran almost parallel to Regensburger Strasse towards what is now Langwasser.

Organizational aircraft were H-13, CH-34 and I believe an O-1. I think there were one or two OV-1's attached. The ammo dump was next to the airfield in the direction of Langwasser. I think they moved to Feucht in 1967 and started receiving the UH-1 to replace their CH-34's.

I was later assigned to the 2nd ACR in 1975 (Air Cav TRoop) but that is another story.
John Ballard
 
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