Seeking identity of WWII African-American Signal Corps Unit

One of my WWII Signal Corps family history colleagues said they might be a unit in the Peninsula Base Section,

That may help History Hub in your search for this unit's identity.

Thank you.

Leonard

"Members of Headquarters Company of the 480th Port Battalion have set up an office between the columns  (Doric) of an ancient Greek temple of Neptune, built around 700 B.C."

SC 1815888.

Dear Mr. Cizewski,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the albums for the record series Photographs of American Military Activities, ca. 1918 - ca. 1981 in the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (Record Group 111) that includes photograph 111-SC-181588.  We located a print with a caption that included additional information on a folded under part that was not included in our online descriptions in the Catalog or on our website.  The caption identifies the unit as being Headquarters Company, 480th Port Battalion.  Port battalions were part of the Transportation Corps. The additional information also confirms that the unit was in Paestum, Italy, and lists the hometowns of the named soldiers. For access to the album or to request a copy of the full caption, please contact National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures (RDSS) via email at stillpix@nara.gov.

We also searched the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917-1981 (Record Group 407) that includes histories for December 1942 - May 1947 [file TCBN-480-0.1], which specifically mentions that battalion setting up headquarters in the Temple of Neptune on Paestum and  general orders [file TCBN-480-1.13] for 1946 - 1947 of the 480th Port Battalion. For access to and/or copies of these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Some of the activities of the 480th Port Battalion are also mentioned in the book The Transportation Corps: Overseas Operations published by the U.S. Army Center of Military History. For example, page 204 states that “Newly arrived port personnel, including a Negro unit, the 480th Port Battalion, bivouacked amid the impressive ruins of Paestum.”   The U.S. Army Center of Military History and the U.S. Army Transportation Corps Museum may have additional resources on this unit or campaign.

If you are interested in researching the soldiers named in the caption, we suggest beginning by searching the World War II Army Enlistment Records, ca. 1938 - 1946 available via AAD (Access to Archival Databases). Please note that there are gaps in the records.  For the most effective search technique, we suggest using a fielded search. In the name field, put last name first, followed by a hash symbol, followed by the first name.  For example, Tucker#Carlyle. If the Race and Citizenship field is not showing, click on the “Show more fields” to bring up a menu that would allow you to select the field. In this field, be sure to selection code 2 for “Negro, citizen” to help narrow down your search.

You also may request a copy of their Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs). OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and prior to 1958 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO  63138-1002. For more information, see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.

Selective Service records for individuals who served after World War I and were born before 1960 are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL), P.O. Box 38757, St. Louis, MO 63138-0757. Please complete Form NA-13172 to request a search of these records. For more information, see Selective Service Records. Some World War II selective service records are available through Fold3. There may be a fee for this service. Instead, you may view these records online at one of NARA's facilities for free via a NARA PC. For the nearest NARA location, please consult our web page at http://www.archives.gov/locations/. Additionally, you may check with your local public or university library as these institutions sometimes provide access to Fold3  for their patrons.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

Hi Dave,

I just edited our post on our The Unofficial Archive of the Signal Corps in Northwest Europe in WWII Facebook Group. I added the unit’s identity that you supplied.

Based on your information I found in "Delivering Victory: The History of U.S. Military Transportation" by Richard E. Killblane that 480th was a Fifth Army unit and not a unit of the Peninsula Base Section as we initially speculated.

Thank you Dave for assisting in honoring these African-American soldiers during African-American history month in identifying their unit.

Leonard

Hi Justin,

I just added the unit’s identity to our post on our African-American History Month post on The Unofficial Archive of the Signal Corps in Northwest Europe in WWII Facebook Group.

In "Delivering Victory: The History of U.S. Military Transportation" by Richard E. Killblane I found that 480th was a Fifth Army unit and not a unit of the Peninsula Base Section as we initially speculated.

Thank you for assisting in honoring these African-American soldiers.

Leonard

Now that the unit and its precise location have been identified, I suggest that the National Archives edit its caption on “Pictures of African Americans During World War II: Select Audiovisual Records.

Thank you,

Leonard

Dear Mr. Cizewski,

Thank you for posting your follow-up request on History Hub!

We passed on your suggestion to RDSS and they will update the online descriptions.

Hi Jason,

Thank you.