The 63rd
Signal Battalion was activated 1 June 1941, at Camp Claiborne,
Louisiana. On 1 August 1941, the strength was 24 officers and 456 enlisted
men. Training was conducted until 22 October 1941, when the entire Battalion
left Camp Claiborne by motor convoy for Chester, South Carolina, to participate
in the Carolina Maneuvers with IV Corps, returning to Camp Claiborne on
26 December 1941.
On 31 December 1941, the Battalion was alerted for movement to an unknown
overseas station. The Battalion landed in North Ireland on 15 January
1942, and operated communications for V Corps; however, training was the
main objective. On 10 August 1942, the T/O was changed and the strength
was increased from 23 officers and 503 enlisted men to 33 officers and
898 enlisted men. In addition, Company "C" was activated at this time.
The Battalion now consisted of Headquarters, "A", "B", and "C" Companies.
On 26 September 1942, the Battalion moved in three echelons to Shrivenham,
England. While at Shrivenham emphasis was again placed on training and
at the same time the Battalion was packing for an unknown area.
Detachments of the Battalion left Shrivenham to prepare for the invasion
of North Africa at Algiers on 9 November 1942. The remainder of the Battalion,
minus Company "C", left Shrivenham and arrived in Algiers on 26 November
1942. While in Algiers the 63rd Signal Battalion installed, operated,
and maintained signal communications for Allied Forces Headquarters in
Algiers; while the detachments, operating in the forward areas, maintained
open wire lines, radio stations, and message centers.
On 20 May 1943, the Battalion was relieved from Allied Forces Headquarters
and assigned to the Fifth Army and promptly moved to Mostaganen, Algiers,
where they were joined on 30 July 1943, by "C" Company. During the stay
in Mostaganen, the Battalion operated for the Fifth Army and prepared
for the invasion of Italy.
The 63rd Signal Battalion landed in Italy on 11 September 1943. The Battalion
was responsible for the installation, operation and maintenance of signal
communications for Fifth Army Command Post (Forward to II Corps) until
August 1945. This mission remained the same throughout the Italian Campaign.
Towards the end of World War II, the Battalion was reorganized and redesignated
as the 63rd Signal Operations Battalion
on 1 March 1945. Members of the Battalion were credited with battle participation
as follows:
| Naples - Foggia Campaign | WD GO #96, 1945 | |
| Rome - Arno Campaign | WD GO #99, 1945 | |
| North Appenines Campaign | WD GO #94, 1945 | |
| Po Valley Campaign | WD GO #93, 1945 |
In addition, two
companies were credited with battle participation:
| Company
"A" Algeria-French Morroco Campaign |
WD GO #59, 1945 | |
| Company
"C" Tunisia Campaign |
WD GO #59, 1945 |
From 15 December 1942,
the first time a member of the Battalion was wounded, until 10 February
1945, there had been 56 officers and enlisted men who were wounded and
received the Purple Heart, and 5 killed by enemy action during the same
period. The Battalion also received three Legion of Merits, one Soldiers
Medal and one Bronze Star.
The Battalion received the Fifth Army Plaque for the month of May 1944
and in June 1944 a bar was added to the Plaque symbolizing the outstanding
service of the Battalion during the rugged advance on Rome.
From the period August 1945 to inactivation, 20
June 1948 (and redesignation as 7663 Signal
Battalion), the 63rd Signal Battalion
was responsible for furnishing fixed communications facilities for Headquarters,
Zone Command Austria.
The Battalion was reactivated on 1 April 1950, (under GO #15, Hq USFA)
with the same mission as when it was the 7663 Signal Battalion. The primary
mission of the 63rd Signal Operations Battalion was to provide tactical
communications for USFA Headquarters in the field with the secondary
mission of handling fixed communications for Headquarters, United States
Forcs in Austria.
The Battalion was redesignated on 1 October 1952 as the 63rd
Signal Battalion. The Battalion was inactivated once again
on 10 September 1955.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 63rd Signal Battalion, was reactivated
on 24 July 1967, at Fort Riley, Kansas, and saw service in the Republic
of Vietnam. The unit was inactivated on 15 February 1972, at Fort Lewis,
Washington.
Redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarers Detachment, 63rd Signal Battalion,
the unit was activated on 1 July 1975 in Germany, where it remained until
inactivation on 1 September 1977.
The Battalion next entered Active service on 01 October 1984 when it was
reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
63rd Signal Battalion, and was activated in Massweiler, Germany. Alpha
and Bravo Companies were concurrently activated. On 15 April 1989, the
battalion was redesignated and reorganized as an Army Area Signal Battalion.
On 15 April 1990, "E" Company, 67th Signal Battalion and "F"
Company, 16th Signal Battalion were redesignated as "C" Company
and "D" Company, 63rd Signal Battalion, respectively.
In December 1990, the Battalion deployed to Southwest Asia in support
of Operation Desert Shield/Destert Storm and returned to Germany in April
1991.
After serving in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the restationing of the
63rd Signal Battalion from the 7th Signal Brigade in Europe to a new home
station at Fort Gordon, Georgia, was announced on 12 November 1991. The
battalion was reassigned to the 11th Signal Brigade (Fort Huachuca, AZ)
effective 16 March 1992. The 63rd rotated companies through Somalia in
support of US elements in that country in 1992 and 1993. Concurrently,
the 11th Signal Brigade and all subordinate units fell under command of
the newly reorganized Army Signal Command (part of FORSCOM).
Effective 19 February 1998, the 63rd Signal Battalion was reassigned to
93rd Signal Brigade at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Joining her sister units,
the 67th Signal Battalion (Fort Gordon), the 56th Signal Battalion (Panama),
and the Signal Activity (Miami), the 63rd takes on a new focus of supporting
operations for US Forces Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The 63rd Signal
Battalion will continue providing Signal Support well into the 21st Century.
I had recently finished 8 months of the High Speed Radio Operations Course at the Southeastern Signal School at Camp (now Fort) Gordon, Georgia, and was scheduled to go on to Intercept School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. My colleagues went on, but my TS clearance had not yet come through, so the powers that were there at Camp Gordon said they only could only offer me the options of continuing to do menial duties (pull KP and police the grounds) and wait for the clearance to come through, or go overseas unassigned. I opted for the latter, and the straw pulled out of the hat said that I was assigned to the 63d. (My classmates who went on to the next stage of intercept training were cut short and sent directly to Korea).
Upon arrival via troopship at Bremmerhaven in June 1950, and boarding a train for Austria, we were immediately informed that we were at war in Korea, and they didn't what our final destination might be. It indeed was USFA, as a PFC, by then the destination was USFA School of Standards in Zell am Zee. Since USFA differed from the occupation forces in Germany, we were being taught how to get along with the people in a "liberated" country, and also they taught us a bit of the language and customs of the country.
At that time, occupation forces in Germany were required to wear the uniform and were not allowed to fraternize. None of that applied to USFA. The School of Standards lasted for about a month, then we were sent on to our units. My next stop was Radio Operations Company of the 63d Signal Operations Battalion at Riedenberg Kasserne in the heart of Salzburg, only a few blocks from the birthplace of Mozart. Who could ask for anything more?
As you will see on your website under Team D at Camp Rum personnel roster, I was one of three sergeants in that unit. Initially, when the 63d decided to deploy a radio team into the French Zone, the purpose was to ensure that USFA would have communications continuity covering the supply route between the Livorno (Leghorn) Italy port and units forward in USFA. In early 1952 about two dozen volunteers (knowing nothing about the plan, except that we were to go out somewhere and set up a HF CW (Morse Code) radio site somewhere) under the command of a captain, were loaded onto a train coach at the Salzburg train station with sealed orders, which were to be opened by the captain a couple of hours after the train departed. We had no idea even of the direction we would eventually head.
The first destination was at a small French army supply camp in Landeck, Tyrol, where we unloaded our gear and set up a radio site. We had a barracks and another small headquarters and operations building turned over to us by the French, and and set up the radio site in HO-17 shelter dismounted from a 2-1/2 ton truck with the power unit still on the trailer. Our CW call sign was AED24L, and we established contact with Vienna (AED), Salzburg (AED2) and USAREUR Heidelberg (AEA) with which we made several radio checks each day.
After several months at that site, we packed up and moved the operation to Camp Rum (AED24), where we moved in with the 25th Transportation Battalion which already had a well established supply depot there. I will continue this saga later, hopefully with some pictures and other stuff from that time.
Thomas Warren
| Sept 1947 |
63rd Sig Opn
is located in Vienna, less Co A |
| 20 June 1948 | 63rd Sig Opn Bn is deactivated in Austria |
| 1 April 1950 | 63rd Sig Opn Bn is reactivated in Austria |
| 1 Oct 1952 | Reorganized & redesignated as the 63rd Signal Bn. |
| 1955 | An advance party of 55 Signal men from the 63rd Sig Bn are sent from Salzburg, Austria to Vicenza, Italy to set up base communications pending the PCS move of USFA troops to Italy |
| 10 Sept 1955 | 63rd Sig Bn inactivated in Austria. Personnel and equipment moved to Italy to join the newly formed Southern European task Force (SETAF). |
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