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Re: Seeking Signal Corps units attached to 101st & 82nd Airborne during Battle of the Bulge
Jason AtkinsonApr 1, 2020 9:35 AM (in response to Lance Moss)
Dear Mr. Moss,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
The U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) has posted online the World War II orders of battle for the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Each division had a signal company as a permanent part of the division. While it does not list any external signal units as formal attachments, there would have been other signal units supporting their operations. The 54th Signal Battalion was assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps (which included the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions) during the Battle of the Bulge and was reinforced during the battle by companies of the 97th Signal Operations Battalion. There would have been also signal units at the Army and Army Group level as well as various other detachments and teams supporting the campaign. We searched online and located War Department General Order 114 listing units entitled to battle credits for the Ardennes Campaign. A search for the word “Signal” gives 97 results. There also may have been Signal Corps personnel assigned to the staff and support troops of some of the units that were not specifically Signal Corps units.
The following CMH publications provide some insights into the role of the Signal Corps during World War II, to include the Battle of the Bulge:
- CMH Pub 10-16 The Signal Corps: The Emergency (To December 1941) (and -1) (Paper)
- CMH Pub 10-17 The Signal Corps: The Test (December 1941 to July 1943)
- CMH Pub 10-18 The Signal Corps: The Outcome (Mid-1943 Through 1945)
- CMH Pub 7-8 The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
We also locate the following websites that may be of interest:
- https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1994-12-11-3001548-story.html
- https://www.eucmh.be/2018/01/27/54th-signal-battalion-harze-aywaille-december-1944-2/
If you are trying to identify your grandfather’s unit, we suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). 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. You can also fax the form to 314-801-9195 OR view the record by visiting the NPRC Archival Research Room in St. Louis, MO. Veterans and their next of kin can also use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.
However, due to the coronavirus public health emergency, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is servicing only urgent requests related to homeless veterans, medical emergencies, and funerals that may be faxed to 314-801-0764. The staff of NPRC thanks you for your patience and looks forward to resuming normal operations when the public health emergency has ended.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
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Re: Seeking Signal Corps units attached to 101st & 82nd Airborne during Battle of the Bulge
Peter Ostrander Jul 10, 2020 12:20 PM (in response to Lance Moss)Hello Lance.
Not sure if this answers your question. My father was a sargent in the 94th Signal Battalion in WWII. The 94th was part of the III Corps from when they both landed in the ETO and initially assigned to the 3rd Army. Their first assignment was in France in the taking of the forts at Metz. Three days after the last fort, Jeanne d,Arc fell on Dec 13th they were moved to support the southern front line of the Bulge at Arlon Belgium. Arlon is approx 20 miles south of Bastogne. The 4th Armored Div was then in the III Corps . The 4th were the first to break through to open the road to Bastogne. The 94th SigBn were the first to make communication contact with the 101st at Bastigne. The 94th were awarded battle stars for both the Bulge and Bastogne.
The III Corps and 94th next were at the Harlange pocket. Next they were assigned to the First Army and were at the taking of the bridge at Remagen which they awarded the Presidential unit Citation. Next they were up north to the Ruhr pocket. Then assigned back to the 3rd Army and went with Patton when he was pushed aside and given the 15th Army.
The 94th Signal Battalion was deactivated in Dec 1945. The 94th was formed in May 1942 at Camp Crowder,Mo.
Hope this was of some interest and help and likely more than you may have wanted to know about the 94th.