After the death some years ago of Captain Henry Singer, David Singer, his son, discovered “a great many papers” from his dad’s service in WWII. “Everything from pay and travel vouchers to commendations were stashed in a leather folder.” Trying as best as he could to piece together a chronology of his dad’s service, David began sending some of the information along to us, along with his own recollections of the few stories his dad told him of his time as an Army Signal Officer.

A graduate of Class 42-06, Captain Henry Singer ended up being deeply involved in, among other things, the North African campaigns. Some of the stories and pictures follow. Over time David will continue to research the papers in his dad’s files and send along more information to help capture the legacy of this member of America’s greatest generation. As we receive new information on Captain Singer we will add it to this archive. check back from time to time, and enjoy reading what it was like to be an Army Signal Corps OCS graduate and Officer during WWII. As an aside, as David told us, "Interestingly enough, I joined the 110th Signal Company (Heavy Construction), OARNG in December of 1966.” It looks like Army Signal runs long and deep in the Singer family. Hooah!

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-09-2012

 

Captain Henry Singer a Military Chronology

Sept. 1940 – Oct. 1945

1940

Sept. 14, 1940  Enlisted, Oregon National Guard, Assigned to HQ Co. 249th Coast    Artillery

1941

March 13, 1941  Promoted Staff Sergeant

March 22, 1941  Coast Artillery Electrical Course, Ft. Monroe VA, 12 wks.

1942

March 28, 1942  Transferred to Signal Officers Candidate School, Ft. Dix NJ

April   17, 1942  Begin classes SOCS, Ft. Monmouth NJ

July    13, 1942  Commissioned 2nd Lt., Ft. Monmouth NJ

Aug.   29, 1942 Assigned 829th Signal Services Battalion

Oct.    14, 1942 829th Signal Service Battalion, ordered to Staten Island, Port of NY

            Promoted 1st Lt

Oct.    22, 1942 Convoy loading, Western Task Force

Oct     24, 1942 Western Task Force Sails from Port of NY 

Nov      8, 1942 Operation Torch commences. Lt. Singer lands with the 30th Infantry Regiment at Fedala, French Morocco

Dec.    25,1942  Released from 30th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 71st Signal Co., Casablanca, FM

1943

Feb.     3, 1943 Transferred from 829 Signal Service Battalion to Signal Section, Atlantic Base Section, Casablanca, French Morocco

Apr.    16, 1943 TDY, 2623rd Signal Service Regiment, Algiers, Algeria

July       ?  1943 2623rd Signal Service Regiment redeployed to Casablanca, FM

Aug.    20, 1943 Assigned 6661st Signal Service Company

Nov.    12, 1943 Transferred from 6661st Signal Service Company to 976th Signal Service Company

Nov.    16, 1943 TDY Marrakech, FM

1944

Jan.    10, 1944 TDY 5 days Marrakech, FM, Designated Signal Officer “Casino”

Jan.    12, 1944 Churchill & de Gaulle meet, Marrakech, FM

Jan.     27, 1944 Assumes command 976th Signal Service Company

Jan.     29, 1944 Ordered proceed Casablanca, FM to Corsica

May     15, 1944 Assets for Operation “Dragoon-Anvil” transferred to Corsica

June    27,  1944 Promoted Captain

Aug.    15 – 28, 1944 Operation “Dragoon-Anvil” takes place

Sept.     9 – 13, 1944 U.S. Army Rest Center, Rome, Italy

Nov.     30 – Dec. 8, 1944 Rotated to the United States, Furlough

Dec.     28, 1944 Reported to Ft. Lewis, WA, Reception Sta. #13 

1945

Jan.      23, 1945 Reported to Santa Barbara, CA, Redistribution Station

Feb.      20-28, 1945 TDY Waco AAF, Waco, Texas

Mar.      6, 1945 TDY The Pentagon, Washington DC

Apr.      9-10, 1945 TDY The War College, Washington DC

Apr.      21, 1945 TDY New York City, NY

Apr.      25, 1945 Proceed to Fort Knox, then Fort Benning

May      14, 1945 Assigned to 9463 TSU-Sig C, Radio Propagation Unit, Holabird Signal Depot, Baltimore, MD

May      21, 1945 TDY Fort Knox, KY

Jun.      21, 1945 TDY The Pentagon

Jul.       31, 1945 TDY Fort Knox, KY 30 days

Sept.     14, 1945 Assigned Personnel Officer, Radio Propagation Unit

Sept.     18, 1945 Requested release from active duty

Oct.        4, 1945 Released from Holabird Signal Depot for travel to Portland, OR

Oct.       29, 1945 Released from active duty

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      eMail received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-10-2012

Comments from David Singer, son of Captain Henry Singer: “Typical of his generation, dad came home, put away his uniform and made a life for himself. He did have a few stories to tell. As briefly as possible, I'll relate two of them.

“After the successful allied landings in North Africa, a location was needed for the overseas radio sets. It seems the Shell Oil Headquarters in Casablanca was the tallest building in the city and the Signal Services Battalion took over the top floor. My dad was a lifelong neck tie hater and would avoid wearing one whenever possible. One day as he was coming down the steps of the Shell building, sans neck tie, he passed General Patton and his entourage going up. Patton stopped, walked over to my father, tapped him on the chest with his swagger stick and said to one of his aides, "no neck tie $50 fine." As Patton proceeded on his way, his aide merely shook his head no, and followed after his boss.

“When dad was given his own command of a signal company they were shipped out to Corsica to support the Allied landings in Southern France. Everyone was bored out of their mind waiting for the invasion to take place. In what my dad assured me was his "greatest contribution to the war effort," he took it upon himself to organize a softball league on the island. After weeks of preliminary play it came down to a climactic game between my dad’s team and an engineering outfit from Texas. Naturally, his team won, with a lot of money bet on the game. I have the autographed team ball. The game was written up in Stars and Stripes. Regretfully, I do not have a copy. If [any of your readers has] the ability to search the Stars and Stripes archive, perhaps they could find that story on the ball game [and send along a copy]. I know it's out there because someone showed me a copy at my dad’s memorial service. He was a well known athlete both before and after the war, in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon.

“I have attached some pictures I hope you will find useful.

“The first [aboard ship] was taken on the way to N. Africa. The man in the center is my father

“The second, Corsica HQ, shows the headquarters tent of my dad’s unit on Corsica. He is the one stripped to his waist. I believe he was probably installing a radio in the jeep. The man standing on the "porch" may be his First Sergeant. I know they had a good relationship and kept in touch for years after the war. Dad always said he would trade two officers for one good NCO any day of the week !

“The third [shows] my dad on R&R in Rome late in the war. It appears to be St. Peters Square.”

 

 

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      Additional eMail comments received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-10-2012

"Another thing my dad was very proud of was the Soldiers Medal one of his men received. During the landings at Fedala, an infantryman fell into a hole and quickly went under in the surf. An enlisted man from dad’s detachment stripped off his field gear and went into the water, saving the man from drowning.

[Editor’s Note: Captain Henry Singer and his unit participated in the landing at Fadala, on the coast of Morocco. A classic amphibious assault put on by the 3rd Division, it was part of the French Moroccan Campaign. While the campaign itself turned out successful, resistance at the fishing village of Fedala, 15 miles east of Casablanca, was incredibly strong. As the first attack wave landed just before dawn some troops were put ashore as much as two to three miles away from their designated beaches. Others landed on rocks and in heavy surf. Lives were saved by Kapok jackets after landing craft capsized or were grounded in the surf. The beach was intermittently covered by French coastal searchlights, artillery and machine gun fire as well as by airplane bombing and strafing.

A naval battle just offshore saw the new French battleship Jean Bart immobilized and three other French ships sunk. Crippled, those that could dragged themselves into Casablanca harbor. At Fedala itself the landing and fighting was frenzied. German submarines sank four U.S. transports and damaged two other ships. Two 443rd Antiaircraft Artillery gun-tracks of Platoon A-2 were lost. Across the whole harbor, the Fedala area became known as "torpedo junction". Ammunition trailers were overturned in the surf and one gun-track broke down at the water’s edge at low tide. Engineers managed to retrieve it after the Armistice on 11 November. However, crew members manned it continuously for three days during both bombing and strafing attacks and were awarded Silver Stars for the ordeal accomplished in wet clothing, while living off or C rations.

One of the problems with the landing was that critically needed equipment for the infantry “cannon companies” and light artillery batteries, like the self-propelled 105s, was not able to be taken off of the transports soon enough to give support to the infantry elements. Included in this critical equipment shortage were the men and equipment of the Signal units. Worse, when equipment was finally brought ashore, it often ended up in the wrong place or in a place where the enemy was able to capture it. One unit found its two supply and equipment trailers 6 miles up the beach in enemy territory. They had been stripped of everything but the ammunition. Since ammunition was in short supply and needed, two men were left to guard the trailers until they could be towed back. While they were guarding the trailers a first group of nine, followed by a second group of sixteen, enemy bombers came over the beach, dropping bombs that bracketed the trailers and the men guarding them. One of the men was  buried in the sand but dug eventually out alive. The other was dead. To the AAA’s credit, 105mm guns fired at the bombers and while they were really too high for effective fire one bomber was destroyed.

By 10 November Fedala was under control and the 3rd Division was on its way to Casablanca. Considering the chaos and carnage, Captain Henry Singer could rightfully be pleased with the work his men did, and proud of the EM that earned the Soldier's Medal.][1] 

 

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      Additional eMail comments received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-11-2012

"The story is, after Churchill met with de Gaulle in Morocco he contracted pneumonia. His doctors decided to send him to a convalescent hotel up in the mountains at Marrakesh. There were no facilities there to provide overseas radio to London. My dad and a detachment were air lifted to Marrakesh with their equipment and set up a relay station allowing the Prime Minister to remain in contact with the War Office in Britain.

"Attached are copies of his orders as well as the authorization for air travel. As these are done from 70 year old "flimsies", I hope you can read them. The picture is of my dad in a jeep overseeing the loading of equipment into what appears to be a British marked C-47. Finally, you will see the commendation from Colonel Doctor, forwarded to my father, indicating the success of the mission and the degree of satisfaction expressed by Churchill’s personal secretary. The commendation was never mentioned in all the time I was growing up. Although I did hear him speak of a party for all the officers which was held at the hotel, where Mrs. Churchill played the piano and his daughter performed several songs. Apparently, [my dad] just saw it as another job to be done.

"There is a commendation from a British Naval Commander regarding my dads' signal unit on Corsica, code named, "Miller". He was very proud of his command but always credited the hard work of the NCOs and enlisted men.

"Finally, I have attached a team picture of the 'We Do'd Its.' This is the Corsican softball tournament winning team which featured my dad as pitcher. He is in the bottom row, second from the right. I'm afraid this may not be usable as it was scanned from a copy of a newspaper photo and has suffered from moiré effect."

 

Lt. Singer loading for Marrakech

 

 

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      Additional eMail comments received at ArmySignalOCS.com 5-20-2012

As told to me: Once my dad and his men were detached from the 30th Infantry Regiment they were assigned to travel to Oran [Arabic: وهران‎, Wahrān, a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and presently the second largest city of the country ] and pick up a number of company vehicles belonging to the 71st. Signal Company. At this point in the campaign the allies had only secured the coast. The Luftwaffe was still bombing from bases in the interior. The Navy was reluctant to have its ships tie up at the docks in Oran for any length of time. Cargo was being unloaded as rapidly as possible without much regard to organization. When my dad and his men arrived they found vehicles scattered everywhere. Trucks, jeeps, vans and all manner of transport were jammed together just the way they were left by the dock workers.

It was obvious it could take days to find the correct vehicles for the 71st. Somehow (he never explained this part) dad and the boys managed to get hold of a stencil set and some paint. Well, they painted over the bumper markings and re-stenciled them as belonging to the 71st. Signal Company! Some frustrated motor sergeant may have gone to his grave trying to straighten out the mess at the end of the war. But, that was my dad. Give him a job and he was going to get it done and if the Army didn't like his methods, well, too bad. I also think it's why the American Army was able to do what so many others couldn't.

In an aside. Dad also said the French were really pissed off at the Americans because they were hiring Arab dock workers as stevedores and paying them 50 cents a day. Apparently that was double what they got from the French. And then there's the story about the British officer who drove my dad’s jeep off the end of the dock. Perhaps another day.

Oh, and I should tell you, they were more worried about the Army Air Corps than the Germans. I guess they all looked the same from 5,000 feet and many of the U.S. pilots didn't want to come down low enough to make a positive identification.

 

 

 

 

 

Candidate Henry Singer, Army Signal OCS Class 06-1942
      eMail received from son David on June 8, 2012

I went through dad's photo album and tried to pick out a few things that would be recognizable to an interested party.

Photos of the camp area show what it looked like when they got there and after camp had been set up. There's a story about the mess hall and how it got upgraded. Corsica is a very rocky island without much in the way of resources. After the company had been bivouacked through an exceptionally rainy period everyone was sick of slogging through camp in the mud. The First Sergeant came to my dad and asked if the men could build a new mess hall. Dad knew building materials were almost impossible to obtain. He told the First Sergeant, "go ahead but, I don't want to know where the supplies came from."

A mess hall was constructed with a concrete floor and a corrugated metal roof. As he told me this story dad opined that it was so well built it was probably still in use by a Corsican olive farmer. Another Corsica story as told to me: The 976th SSC was specifically told not to take any poles with them as they would be able to cut down trees. This all has to do with something called a "rhombic antennae" of which I am totally ignorant other than dad said it had to be 90 feet high! There is nothing remotely resembling a tall tree on rocky windswept Corsica. 1st. Lt. Singer ordered the stevedores to lash the poles to the deck of the freighter. Upon approaching Corsica they dumped the poles into the sea where they were able to retrieve them from a local beach. I guess it's just another example of how dad did things.

  

 

 

         

 Footnotes:

[1] Source for details of Fedala amphibious assault landing: Texas Military Forces Museum, the French Moroccan Campaign, 443rd AAA Association. To return to your place in the text above, click here .