|
|
|
This page is dedicated to the men and women of the 44th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, who served at Long Binh Vietnam. Any comments welcome. You can also visit http://1st_signal_rvn.tripod.com/home.htm Interesting photos from 67 - 68 Welcome to the Internet Home for
Veterans of the
Maybe one of you have an answer to a question which is bugging us. In 1970, "C" Company became "Radio Company Long Binh". Frank tells me that "B" Company underwent the same fate. Did all the companies in the 44th become "Radio Company Long Binh"? So far, the following veterans have submitted their names and e-mail addresses:
Do you recognize any of these people?
Frank's Page : http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~class66/pate1.htm
Keven Jackson June 68 through June 69 "I worked on the hill at the comm center" HECTOR GUZMAN I was with the 44th Signal BN, 1st Signal Brigade from February, 1967 til February, 1968 My MOS was a 72B20 and worked in the terminal section in the parked trailers. I was in charge of the comm section of the 44th. I also survived the Tet Offensive which started in January, 1968 and ended in April 1968. My rank while there in Long Binh, was SP4. I would like to hear from anyone who served with me during the aforementioned time frame DAVE FIEDLER "I was in B Co as a 1LT/CPT from Sept 1969 to Sept 1970" 44th had 4 companies: HHC ; A - Comm Center; B - Radio; C - Telephone Operations (once called the 580th signal company) I arrived in Sept 1969. The Company Commander was CPT William Trousdale and I was assigned as the XO, the OPS officer and the leader of all 4 platoons since we only had 2 officers. The platoon Sgts were Sgt's Clark (Larry), Sgt Yarnell, Sgt Lang, and a tall blond guy with a Polish last name that I cant remember. We were later joined by Sgt Berry, Sgt Alsop and SFC McKuen. 1SGT was SGT Kamahili later replaced by 1SGT Ousely. CPT Trousdale was replaced by CPT Watson. We were joined by LT Sidenstryker who we put in supply, and later by LT Clmensrud who we made into a platoon leader. Bn commanders were LTC Martuchi, followed by LTC Collom, followed by LTC Clark. We were "B" Co (Radio) 44th Sig BN, until we sent the Bn flags home and the Bn was redesigned Signal Support Agency Long Binh. We were then Radio Company SSA Long Binh. Name and paperwork changed but organizationally we were still B/44 Sig, 160th Sig Group, 1st Sig Bde.
I wanted to submit my Dad's photo to your page. His name is David Myers.
My name is Ray Sayre, I was in the US Army and was
stationed at Long Binh for the last half of 67 all of 68 and all of 69
going home in November of 69.. When I first went to Long Binh I was with the
593rd Telephone Operations Co. We were under MACV and wore the MACV patch at
that time. Shortly we were transferred to the 1st Signal Brigade, 44th Battalion,
we were still the 593rd Telephone Operations Co. Then I transferred
to B Company and worked the Mars Station AB8USA. I was there through 2
extensions of tour.
My name is Owen Martin I was with the 44th
sig bat
in Bien Hoa then moved to Long Bien from April 67
to May 68 with HHC. was battallion draftsman for General Cheny
Here is a picture of me in Nam as a buck Sgt. I'm on the left the dog was our company mascot that had a litter of puppies under my bunk. The black fellow was my buddy, Chuck (can't think of his last name).
I was stationed in Viet Nam in 68'/69' in
Co. A44/36 Sig. which I think was Co. A of the 44th Sig Bn that was
combined with the 36th Sig Bn somehow. (I never did understand how it
all took place). Anyhow, we were stationed at Bien Hoa (the Army side)
adjacent to the Bien Hoa Air Force Base. I was in charge of a AN/TCC-28
Telephone Switching System. It was contained in two semi trailers with
the switching equipment and the Main Frame in one van and the Switchboard and
Back Up Batteries in the other one. Each van had its own air
conditioning system and their were two 100kw generators that supplied power
(one running, one resting). I worked on this system for 6 months with a crew
of 4 others. (The only other name I remember was Frank Sinatra, "for
obvious reasons.") Around Dec. of 68' all telephone communications
were switched over to the Air Force and my vans and I went to Long Binh where
I spent another 6 months getting every nut, bolt, and piece of wire back to
top condition. After I rotated back to the states I'm told that they shipped
the entire system "up north" somewhere.
Michael
Lynch Here is some info on the "early"44th. Mike
Hauser I was there from Jan 1970 - Dec 1970... Pictures
This was the old site. The old tower is in back the new one in front going up.
More of the Baby party. Sgt Bifolchi and friends. The more I looked at these photos the more I realized I could remember where these people came from almost every time but not their names. L to Right Cleveland, Illinois, Minnesota I do believe.
The Platoon dog. Don’t remember too much about the guy but know he drove water truck. If anyone gets interested I do have more photos. Let me
know. Mike Hauser
My name is Tony Camarda. I served with the
44th at Long Binh from 8/1967 to 1/1969 as a 72B40. I was in Area Company.
My job was in the M&R van of the Comm. Center by the gate of LB Post. CW4
Harbough was the OIC on the day shift there. SFC White and SSG Hurd were there
also. I was a SGT and lived in the first hootch in Area Co. I don't remember too
many other guys names (it's been 36 years) but a lot of faces I do recall.
1st Signal BrigadeIn the beginning...The 1st Signal Brigade was activated on April 1, 1966, in the Republic of Vietnam. Its mission was one of the most complicated ever given to any signal unit in the history of warfare: to originate, install, operate, and maintain an incredible, complex communication system that fused tactical and strategic communications in Southeast Asia into a single, unified command. The creation of the brigade brought together three signal groups already in Southeast Asia along with other units into a single unified command, except those organic to field forces and divisions. The mission in Southeast Asia meant providing communications to forces scattered over more than 60,000 square miles of torrid jungle, mountain ranges and coastal lowland - much of which was under-populated and enemy-infested. One of the innovations that circumvented the difficult terrain and enemy situation was the introduction of an extensive, tropospheric scatter radio relay system, which provides numerous communications channels over distances of several hundred miles between sites. Other firsts include, first use of satellite communications in a combat zone and first use of automatic, digital message and data switches. At its peak, the brigade had more than 21,000 soldiers, with six signal groups, 22 signal battalions, and a large number of specialized communications agencies. This made it, at that time, the largest single brigade in the U.S. Army. The stand-down of 1st Signal Brigade was almost as significant as its buildup. Caught by the U.S. reduction-in-forces that affected our pullout from Southeast Asia, 1st Signal Brigade reduced its strength from 21,000 in 1968 to less than 1,300 by November 1972. The departure of American forces from the Republic of Vietnam was accompanied by a decline in communications facilities needed to support them. Whole signal sites, from delicate communications gear to the buildings that housed them, had to be dismantled, packed and shipped to destinations around the world. More than $50 million worth of communications equipment and facilities were recovered between 1970 and 1972. ====== From a satellite in orbit 18,200 miles above the Pacific Ocean to a courier on a dusty Vietnamese road, the 1st Signal Brigade passes the word into, out of and within Southeast Asia.With more than 20,000 men scattered among more than 200 sites in Vietnam and Thailand, the brigade is the largest combat signal unit ever formed and controls the most comprehensive military communications-electronics systems in the history of warfare. Its mission is very simply put: communication. Since its organization on April 1, 1966, the brigade has fulfilled this mission by planning, engineering, installing, operating and maintaining both the Southeast Asian portion of the Army's worldwide strategic communications system and extensive area communications systems in Vietnam and Thailand. All communications entering or leaving Vietnam must pass through facilities operated by the brigade, which consists of six subordinate signal groups, five in Vietnam and one in Thailand. In the more than three years of its existence the 1st Signal team has provided communications of a scope never before achieved in a combat zone. The primary mission is to "keep the shooters talking" but as the last sentence of every signal unit mission outlines, the communicator will "perform as infantry" when required. This he has done admirably. ====== Shoulder Sleeve InsigniaDescription
SymbolismThe orange field of the shield and the yellow border were suggested by the authorized shoulder sleeve insignia of the Strategic Communications Command of which 1st Signal Brigade was a part. The lightning bolt, which also appears on the Strategic Communications Command shoulder sleeve insignia, is depicted on the distinctive insignia (badge) of 1st Signal Brigade. In this instance, the lightning bolt, a symbol of communication, has been used as a sword blade and attached to a hilt. The sword, thus refers to both the tactical and strategic mission of the organization. The blue vertical stripe with "sword" (suggested by the authorized shoulder sleeve insignia for the United States Army, Vietnam) alludes to the unit's numerical designation.
44th Signal BattalionLineage and Honors Information as of 15 June 1998 44th Signal Battalion Lineage Constituted 3 February 1944 in the Army of the United States as the 44th Signal Construction Battalion Redesignated 14 April 1944 as the 44th Signal Light Construction Battalion and activated at Camp Forrest, Tennessee Reorganized and redesignated 26 June 1944 as the 44th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion Inactivated 6 April 1946 in Japan Redesignated 1 August 1966 as the 44th Signal Battalion, allotted to the Regular Army, and activated in Vietnam Inactivated 1 March 1970 in Vietnam Activated 17 March 1972 in Vietnam Inactivated 3 June 1972 at Oakland, California Activated 16 March 1981 in Germany 44th Signal Battalion Honors Campaign Participation Credit World War II: Rhineland; Central Europe; Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Streamer without inscription Vietnam: Counteroffensive, Phase II; Counteroffensive, Phase III; Tet Counteroffensive; Counteroffensive, Phase IV; Counteroffensive, Phase V; Counteroffensive, Phase VI; Tet 69/Counteroffensive; Summer-Fall 1969; Winter-Spring 1970; Consolidation II; Cease-Fire Southwest Asia: Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation and Defense of Kuwait; Cease-Fire Decorations Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1967-1968 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for VIETNAM 1968-1969 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for SOUTHWEST ASIA Company C additionally entitled to:
Date last updated: 11/03/2008 |
