The following notes, thoughts and remembrances were submitted by Candidate
Katz, a graduate of Army Signal OCS Class 40-1944.
As time permits, Candidate Katz has said he will continue to add to the
recollections below. Please check back frequently and enjoy his thoughts,
stories and remembrances.
We would also like to thank Candidate Katz for providing us with a photo of
his class and scans of several class orders. The pictures and scans he
submitted have been placed in a photo album for Class 40-1944. You can see
them by clicking here
.
You will find the orders in the photo album are referred to in Candidate
Katz' eMails below.
Finally, Candidate Katz' eMails are reproduced below in chronological order
of receipt. We have applied only minimal editing to them in order to assure
their flow and the coherence of the story being told.
Candidate
Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class 40-1944;
eMail received
at ArmySignalOCS.com
5-28-2011
Yesterday May 26, I arranged to send to [the Association] copies of [photos
of] OCS Class 44-40. [The copies I wanted to make were] not available in a
Pharmacy, but [I was able to have them made] in a Camera store, with all
such services. I accepted their offer to send [to you the files in] "jpg" HD
soft scanned [copies,] by e-mail. But not realizing that my name or ID does
not appear anywhere on the e-mail, I hope they will have no problem reaching
you or any added delay.
To further describe the scanning, I sent two copies:
1) One is the copy received in 28.12.1944 which has light sepia color [and]
which is aging.
2) [The other is] a copy I had made many years ago which is in normal B&W.
[I sent two copies,] to make sure one, at least, is O.K.
To give you a clue in ID'- ing the 28 graduates, included is copy of:
ARMY SERVICE FORCES , FORT MONMOUTH; 22 Dec 1944 SPECIAL ORDERS NUMBER 346
(2Pgs.)
...which include other Signal Officers not from Class 44-40. Of course, let
me know if the scanned e-mail did not reach you
Thanks for you warm interest to help an old soldier!
Gerald Katz
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class 40-1944;
eMail received
at ArmySignalOCS.com 6-18-2011
[Editor’s note: Candidate Katz had some initial
difficulties connecting to the Army Signal OCS website… when he finally
succeeded he sent the following comments. Please note also that his
reference to the terms E.T.O. and E.T.G. have to do with their use in
SPECIAL ORDERS 346 22 Dec. 1944, a copy of which he scanned and you can see
in the photo album mentioned above. To see these orders click on the “VIEW”
icon in the heading of this page.]
Clicked on [the] “Era WWII” [link and ] found my name & surprisingly, the
first assignment 3112 SB, which covered Ike's Hdqrs. for the E.T.O. [period
of my service]. I joined the Signal Corps unit's fixed station installation
used for direct teletype communication direct to the Pentagon. It was
located in Frankfort, Main, Germany. Due to the 40 Kw. transmitter used, it
was situated some Km. away from the receiver site so as not to block the
incoming signals. I was located at the Recvr. site. I can dig up a few
photos I have in an album. I had some other interesting jobs with photos
[that I can share with you,] but not for now.
Besides the letters E.T.G. for Expeditionary Training Group which Congress
declared in 1916 and the unit I enlisted in Mar. 1942 called the
Electronics Training Group, there is no relationship. I believe it was
conceived shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
I imagine some wise Senior General in SigC. had decided that, in this
largest of all wars, there would be an immense need for a trained Cadre of
modern electronic communication of [the type used in the] 20th
century. [This,] although thru WW 1, they managed mostly with land line
telephones. [As I recall,] Marconi introduced wireless commun. ship to shore
by Morse code about 1912 but to my knowledge it was not used during WW 1.
When the U.S. entered the war against Japan & Germany, I was just recently
19 and a sophomore in Brooklyn College with a major in Physics. While in
High-School I had always wanted to have an Amateur(Ham)Radio Station. When I
heard the Army Signal Corps was granting deferments to 4 yr. college
students, majors in electronic Physics or Electrical Engineering, although I
was not yet subject to the Draft, some three months after Pearl Harbor I
enlisted in the Army E.T.G. of E.R.C.. The NYC office was located in
Governor's Island in NY harbor. It was the Hdqrtrs. of the 2nd Corps of U.S.
Army. [I was told that] upon graduation I would be called to active duty for
a one month familiarization & receive a commission of 2nd Liett. in the
Signal Corps.
As the years passed slowly compared to my friends already drafted, the B.C.
[Brooklyn College] administration announced a bonus that if a student was
called to Army service, he would receive 12 credits toward the 128 needed to
graduate.
I informed the Hdqtrs. of E.T.G.–E.R.C. [of the Brooklyn College
announcement].
Their reply [was that] we will call you upon your full completion of your
required courses, which was so on Feb. 1, 1944.
However, I learned when [I was] called to A.D. [active duty] in, I believe,
March 1944, [that] no longer after 30 days [would] you receive
your commission. Evidently the SigC. learned that a college degree alone was
not sufficient to make a "well rounded officer." [Instead, now] one had [to
have] 3 months of OCS classes to fulfill, with a fourth month in field
operations simulating A.D. in the theater of operations.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received
at ArmySignalOCS.com 7-14-2011
I am just filling in my story. As
I've said you're free to curtail... Written July 14, 2011.
I realize the random notes are as if I'm writing,
belatedly, a personal diary which [might be how it] would appear to anyone
reading it in the [Army Signal Corps OCS website, Class] 44-40 [page]. I do
not wish to "hog" the website, I leave it up to you entirely.
[Editor’s Note: The website exists, in part, to
publish the recollections of good people like Candidate Katz… it’s what we
are here for. As opposed to “hogging” the website, Candidate Katz is using
it the way it was meant to be used, and we are grateful for that. He's using
it as a stimulant to, and archive of his thoughts and rembrances... those
of a United States Army Signal Corps OCS graduate who courageously served his country.
Our sincere thanks to him for helping us to capture his memories of his time
in service of his country.]
On re-reading what I have already written about the
surprise when I learned that OCS lie ahead; I completely left out a period
of some six months A.D. [active duty] Signal Corps Basic training in Camp
Crowder, Mo (today MO).
In order to qualify for OCS, one needed at least a
Corporal rank. By the way [to me] all this [delay in being appointed as a
Second Lieutenant] was understandable and was not considered [as]
objectionable. If my memory serves me, the [OCS course] was 12 weeks
(3-months) [long]. However, [first I had to become a Corporal, and] one
doesn't become a Corporal from Basic Tng. [Therefore,] we (the E.T.G.) were
assigned to pass several courses in "Test & Repair," first on field radio
level, [and then] afterwards on fixed station, [as well as] long distance
communication gear. This took some 3 months. Finally, after approx. 6
months, we started OCS at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
My EM Serial No. was probably received when I enlisted
into the E.T.G–E.R.C. in March, 1942. [It was] 12148177.
The first digit “1” indicates Enlisted (“3” would
indicate Draftee). The digit “2” indicates the Second Corps Area. The US
[was] divided [at that time] into Corps areas. Second Corps Hdqs. was at
Governors Island in New York City Harbor.
A short Family note. My enlistment represents the second generation of the
Katz family serving our country, in the two largest World Wars. My father,
Moe Katz, was born in New York City, as myself, from Brooklyn. [He] served
during WW 1, [and his]Serial No. [was] 2452734. [He served] from April 3,
1918, to Nov. 28, 1918, [and was] released after [the] Armistice [on] Nov
11th, and was discharged at Camp Dix, NJ. I was discharged honorably from
active duty as 1st Lieut., USAR & AUS at Fort Dix, NJ, on 27 Sept. 1946.
[It's an interesting] coincidence [that] we were both honorably discharged
from the Army at the same army camp.
Some [additional] details after 28 Dec.1944.
All the ETG–ERC's in Special Orders, Pages 1 and 2
[Editor’s Note: click on the “VIEW” icon in this page’s header to see scans
of the special orders referred to] were sent to Central SigC, [at] Camp
Crowder [Missouri]. [Transportation was by] locomotive trains, overloaded
transports, with much coal dust. There was no such thing as air transport
[back then]. It was a several day trip. As Army officers we were lucky to
get upper birth bunks. I imagine the duty [for those who were] non-SigC
related was to qualify for general military experience. I was placed with
Officer Cadre in charge of various live firing ranges. I was assigned
with a "short indoctrination" to be in charge of the live-hand grenade
firing range. Prior to this I never held even a dummy grenade. Once you get
over the initial fear of what can go wrong, it was not too complicated. For
that matter the men or officers passing thru never had held one either, so
they were very attentive to my instructions, [which were] given over a P.A.
system, with barricades separating the throwers, and myself giving
instructions.
What was it all about? [Apparently there was a]
regulation that all EM and Officers shipping out to war zones were to become
familiar with grenades, and have an idea how and when to use them. My hand
stamp was req'd.for them to ship out! I was King of the Roost!
I must tell this experience. Regulation required every
one firing must wear the steel helmet on top of the helmet liner. A
full Bird-Colonel came once with nothing but the soft overseas-type
cap. [I]told him he could not throw a live grenade without a steel helmet.
He told me "Son" I've thrown many in combat before you, etc. [He said he
would] take responsibility. [My response:] No dice! I'll get you a steel
helmet. I told him.
He put on the helmet, closed the chin strap. I couldn't
see his eyes under the helmet. He threw the grenade on my command from my
barricade and heard the explosion some 7 seconds later. I stamped his orders
and he gave me a big grin.
After several months the SigC Cadre was returned to Fort
Monmouth, N.J. for two courses in order to give them M.O.S.'s (Military
Occupation Specialty) for their future SigC occupations. If you look at the
"Big Picture" ever since joining the ETG–ERC [this is what you would see]:
Finished our academic studies, called to A.D. [active
duty], Basic Military Trng., obtaining Corporal rank, completing OCS,
[gaining] experience as an Officer, and now the final step [of gaining an
MOS] before using our technical knowledge in important communication
operations for the Signal Corps.
The two courses were 0501-Field Radio Officer, and
afterwards, 0502-Fixed-Station Radio Officer. You cannot say the SigC does
not plan ahead.
In my youth, while in high school, my heart's desire was
to have a Radio "Ham" Station. I was then a physics major and knew pretty
much about the technical end but had no way to learn to copy Morse, with a
speed [of] 13 w.p.m. [as was required]. There were no phonograph records
that gradually teach & increase speed or tape machines But as from
heaven both courses 0501 & 0502 required Officers to pass a certain Morse
speed. When both courses were completed, at the first chance, I took the
locomotive down the road to opposite the N.Y.–N.J. Ferry, [took the ferry]
to NYC, took a taxi to the Federal Bldg., and took the amateur radio Morse
exam. [The exam had a passage] about a ship sinking with latitude longitude,
etc. [that we were to send at speed].
At the conclusion of the exam, the federal Rep. told me
I did not pass.
I explained to him I recently passed a higher speed
[test] in a military course. Only [the problem was that] in the military
exam there was no clear text , [and] only 5 letter code groups.
[The result:] He saw a young Army officer before him
sweating profusely. [To my surprise] he gave me another exam. Afterwards he
told me you made it! [And he] told me the Operator’s License will be mailed
to your Brooklyn, N.Y. address. Until the war is over [though], station
licenses with your call sign were not [to be]sent out, for the security of
the U.S.A.
So long for now,
Gerald Katz
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received
at ArmySignalOCS.com
8-8-2011
I would like to make a last
comment on [the origin of the] E. T. G. & E.R.C. [terms going] back to 1912.
What comes to my mind ? Besides some General Officer in the Signal Corps who
had the authority to publish orders with the phrase (Formerly ETG–ERC), did
anybody question the meaning? Of course, someone had to describe the plan to
the various places of recruitment. I have yet to see "The Phrase" appear
anywhere else.
The Electronic Physics/Electrical Engineering [fields of
study were] the ONLY fields of university studies acceptable [for students
to be included in the ETG–ERC program,] as far I have seen. NO Nuclear,
Theoretical, Astro-, Bio-, Physics [students] etc. [were accepted into the
program]. Similarly NO Mechanical, Chemical, Aeronautical, Satellite,
Engineering, etc. [were accepted].
I am preparing to send details about my first assignment
leading to my entrance in the E.T.O. I haven't been able to find the SPECIAL
ORDERS themselves but I had made notes. [Here is a sample]:
Hdqtrs.
3118 Signal Service Group, Col. Angster
SPECIAL ORDERS 64
APO 757, US Army 11Dec.1945
EDCMR 7 Dec.1945
Following Officers assigned this Hdqtrs. from (535th
Reinforced Co) after finish taking 2 platoons SigC during transportation
from Fort Jackson, S.C. (via P.O.E.
NYPE Cp Shanks, NY)
2nd Lt. Gerald Katz O-1650926 SC Co.F assigned to
3118 SSG (Frankfort Am/Main, Germany)
[The above represents my] first assignment in the E.T.O.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
Letter sent to ArmySignalOCS.com 8-20-2011, received
11-18-2011
[Editor’s note: An update to Candidate Katz' previous
comments was received in his latest eMail. His new thoughts are reproduced
below. As an aside, we here at ArmySignalOCS.com owe an apology to Candidate
Katz, as he sent his materials in to us in August 2011, and due to business
travel issues on the part of this website's Managing Editor, and Candidate
Katz' mail following him around the world until it finally caught up with
him back here in America, we are only now posting his material... in
December, 2011. Five months, hey, that's not so bad for a Signal Corps
communicator, is it? Of course it is. Our sincere apologies Gerald. We
weren't ignoring you...we just couldn't master the logistics of the
situation. Note also that to preserve the integrity of Candidate Katz'
comments they have been reproduced below with only minimal editorial
correction. Again, our sincere thanks to Candidate Katz for sharing his life
and time in the Army with us.]
I learned my lesson NOT to write
details in an eMail with references to a snail mail, not even sent out. This
will be a letter with enclosures & sending snail mail together.
First item concerns 3 photos: One is a set of related
photos, vertically. To conserve space [on the webpage], they can be
separated... The subject QSL card Amateur radio station are already
mentioned [on the website]. The 3rd photo, Reunion [may be of interest].
There are 2 other small packets ID'd ORD & SIG which are
not revert to our escort.
I have sent the full copy of the orders... so that you
[will] know from where all the numbers of Off & EM come from. Our escorting
includes some 1,000 EM. We, fourteen (14) 2dLt's Acting as Co. comdr or Plat
comdr of 2 Plat each. The Companies are Identified as Casual. with Nos 37th,
38th, 39th, 40th, 41st. Similarly, all Plat are ID'd Casual.
Also of interest The Off Ser Nos. are those, including
my own, are of recent OCS Grades.
O-164900
O-1650000
O-1651000
We learned after arriving at Fort Jackson, SC a day or
so before we were to start to escort from SC to P.O.E. Cp Shanks, NY., that
the troops we were to escort were American Negro. In those days there was
racial segregation in the Armed Forces. The EM were in a different part of
the camp from us. We did not meet them before we were scheduled to leave Cp
Shanks. We heard they were not happy to be sent abroad.
Just to clear I Up the font of the enclosed S.O.
ARMY SERVICE FORCES
New York Port of Embarkation
Camp Shanks, New York
[Editor’s note: We received a few additional comments on
Dec 5, 2011, from Candidate Katz to conclude the story above...]
I believe I failed to bring the "packet" to their final
destination, from where the SigC Officers continued on to the 3112th SSB in
Frankfurt Am/Main, Germany. The 3112th was under SHAEF(Supreme Headqtrs.
Allied Expeditionary Force) of General Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower. I will send
a few lines more soon, covering my final separation from the duties of the
EM delivery.
[Editor’s note: Documents sent by
Candidate Katz are shown below. They can also be viewed in the photo album
on Candidate Katz' Class Page.]
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 4-03-2012
I have been thinking & planning
to continue from where I left off last year. I hope you receive the
attachment as I'm not certain of the File Nos. etc. This Movement
Orders precedes my knowledge of where or when I was to be sent after
completion of my then. MOS courses in Fort Monmouth, NJ. I send these
orders to show [that] the A.G.O. plans ahead. I will follow by a group
covering my Movements to and within the E.T.O. But there will be a much
longer period in which I plan to describe my duties & experiences in
those years.
Hi all, Coming along but slowly...Hope to "set sail"
to Le Havre soon (smile) i.e. in 1945...
Take care, Jerry.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-19-2012
Note from Candidate Katz explaining why it had been
a while before the following was sent for posting — "Finally getting
over my inertia. I thought I'd bring you up to date on my problem during
the past 6 months. Woke up one morning with no vision in my left eye.
Went to the Ophthalmology Dep't where I went thru a series of tests
which indicated a hemorrhage blood-clot on retina. Since then have been
getting a series of injections in the eye, followed by O.C.T.'s which
indicates the region of defective vision has steadily decreased. In the
mean time using both eyes I see no defect in reading, using computer,
etc. If I close the good eye then I see a small blacked out area in
center of my vision BUT clear peripheral vision."
[Editor's note for those of you not aware, as of
this writing Gerry is 89 years old and still going strong!]
– The Story Continues –
I have taken literally, date published SPECIAL
ORDERS 64 3118th Sig Sv Gp, Apo 757, US Army 11 Nov. 45, with EDCMR: 7
Dec 45 as the departure date Cp Shanks, Bklyn, NY for Le Havre, France,
Port of Debarkation for service in European Theater of Operation. This
was not only for my military service, but also for two platoons (100)EM
Sig C under my com'd and responsibility which I, together with 13
other 2nd Lts. have been escorting for service in the E.T.O. 1,000 SigC
EM from Fort Jackson, SC.
The estimated travel time to Le Havre given was 10
days. But for the time of the year, in the mid-winter, nothing is
certain. We were fortunate to have an Army transport, not one of the
hundreds of Victory-class converted freighters for crossing the north
Atlantic in winter. Despite a relatively large ship, its
stability during most of the voyage did not prevent "mal de mer"
(spell?) sea-sickness. The adage still held true; First one feels he
might die but as it progresses, one feels he won't die but have to live
with the severity for ever. When one gets over it, his appetite returns
albeit, around him there are those still 'throwing up'. Sleeping
quarters was something else. Officers had relative luxury. We had a
cabin with 12 double deck bunks with services within. The EM slept on a
tubular frame with laced canvas on four sides; secured to the bulkhead
with hinged fittings. The hinges enable canvas mattress to swing up
against the bulkhead to clear the area when not used for sleeping. The
worst of it, when used there are some 6 'bed' rows one above the other
like shelves. Can you imagine what it must have been like? Le Havre
could not come soon enough.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 6-16-2012
They say initial impressions are the lasting ones. After a rough and crowded
(especially for the EM) sea voyage in winter on the North Atlantic Ocean,
one and all were looking ahead for a respite in Le Havre e.g. stretch ones
legs without the ship's "rock & roll". What we found were thousands of worn
out, leaky pyramidal tents, bare except for folding canvas cots.
Fortunately, in Dec 1945, there were more vacant tents then occupied ones.
It wasn't too difficult to scrounge for some make-shift metal container for
burning wood or coal for heating. Sustenance were K-rations. The thousands
of tents appeared to be grouped in various sizes depending on the number
men in the contingent for movement forward. For security purposes, no sign
describing the units involved gave any indication of the type of unit or its
destination. The large units were called Camps, named after cigarettes e.g.
Cp Chesterfields, Cp Lucky Strike, Cp Old Gold, Cp Philip Morris et al.
We were glad to learn the first day, that our stop-over would be for two
days for organizing rail transport. Troop travel for large numbers as our
battalion was by WWI boxcars known as "40 et 8's" so called for the French
designation "40 hommes et 8 cheveaux". The boxcars had a capacity of "40 men
or eight horses". I shall post two photos of the boxcars used by my two
platoons from Le Havre to Namur, Belgium and to the final destination,
Frankfurt A/M, Germany. Each boxcar was supplied with an empty 50 gal oil
drum which we used to heat with charcoal briquettes offered from the
locomotive. In addition a bale of hay was received to spread over the porous
flooring.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 7-31-2012
Allow me the privilege, in introspect, to counter the impression I had of
the run-down facilities and disappointment all of us experienced in Le
Havre, in Dec1945. France and all of Europe had suffered a brutal occupation
by Nazi Wehrmach from 1939. Not until D-Day 6 June 6, 1944, was there any
respite to those conditions, was there any hope of freedom.
The Allied forces comn'd by US Gen. D. Eisenhower invaded the French
Normandy Coast with hundreds of thousands of troops from US, UK, France,
Brit' Comnw'th. et al. Maps from Google of 1944 give a "birds-eye" of June
to reverse views based only on late Dec 1945. The map does mention the heavy
bombardment of the coast by the Allied and German forces at the same time
which includes Le Havre; Includes six beaches bet. Cherbourg and Le Havre:
Utah. Omaha. Jerilite, Gold. Juno, Sword.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 8-02-2012,
8-10-2012, 8-18-2012
Map of situation June 6,1944
D-Day invasion to liberate Normandy Coast, France and Europe from brutal
occupation by Nazi Germany since 1939/40. Allied forces directed by US
Gen. Dwight Eisenhower targeted six (6) beaches between cities of
Cherbourg and Le Havre: Utah, Omaha, Jerilite, Gold, Juno, Sword. Le
Havre was was bombed, as all the coast, by the Allied forces and German
forces. The many Allied Forces are shown from England, giving military
I.D.'s.
Am ashamed that the D-Day happening was unknown
until post entering Le Havre in Dec. 1945. Retracing my steps from D-Day:
on that date found me in SigC. Cp. Crowder some where after Basic Tng.,
earning Corporal grade required for entering Fort Monmouth OCS in
Sept`1944; learning "Test & Repair" radio communication equipment.
I thought the map was
relevant to explain my "introspect" confession which our contingent
did not realize in Dec.1945 i.e. bombings from both sides the Allied
and retreating Germans hit Le Havre where afterwards the Cigarette
Camps were built to assist the Allied troops continue on liberating
France and Europe. When we arrived Dec.1945, the war was over, in
the dead of winter, the Cigarette Camps were semi-deserted and mired
in mud from snow & rain. We "scrounged" for makeshift furnaces &
fuel in sub-zero weather. Rec'd good news, in 2 days will have rail
transport to reach our destinations. Already posted [above] are
photos of our departure.
Candidate Gerald Katz, Army Signal OCS Class
40-1944;
eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 9-08-2012
The final leg of SPECIAL ORDERS 64 of
Headquarters: 3118 Signal Service Group APO 757, US Army, 11
Dec.1945, EDCMR 7 Dec.1945 was been completed on 21 Dec.1945, in
Frankfurt A/M, Germany. It was no accident that Co. F had three
(3) 2nd Lt.'s with MOS 0502, Fixed Station Radio Off. As the sole
radio-teletype communication station between the War Department and
the ETO was located in Frankfurt A/M.
Initially, I was given B.O.Q. quarters in
central Frankfurt with my baggage, and got organized in a
residential neighborhood in which there were other BOQ's. I was
assigned to the Receiver teletype site, which was several Km's
distant from the Transmitter site due to the the large RF power
needed for transmission. The teletype technology was new to the
Signal Corps, the equipment was was from a US commercial company,
Press Wireless. It was initially installed and used by technicians
which helped our familiarization and use. [The following are] photos
taken in my first days as a shift Officer. There were 8 Hr
24/7 shifts.
AN/FRR 3 Receiver Bay (L), AN/TGC 1 Teletype Bay
(R)
Reception direct from War Department in USA.
Control switchboard
