Name/Title
Document, WWII, 30th Signal DivisionScope and Content
Correspondence written for a WWII Reunion about the 30th Signal Division; author unknown. It is scanned just as it was typed by person who wrote it. Wilton A. Zick belonged to the 30th Signal Division.
30th SIGNAL - (Mostly Company A but some on Company B and Headquarters Company)
There seems to be no better place to start this travelogue or whatever you may call it than at dear old Camp Atterbury. In April 1943 everbody was busy packing and boxing equipment. The feeling in the air told everyone that things were going to happen soon, but what was going to take place and when was still the mystery. On the morning of the 18th with full field packs we started on our way to the railroad station.
By 9 o'clock we were on the train, but still didn't know which way we were going.' We left Indiana, crossed the state of Ohio, touched a part of Pennslyvania, followed the Mohawk Valley and the Hudson River in the state of New York and finally arrived at Camp Shanks, NY the following afternoon.
Shanks was a very new camp and they were still working on most of it. We were some of the first troops to arrive there, but after a week or so the camp was full. It was a short bus ride into New York from camp and after 10 days of processing we were given passes into the big city, visiting such as Jack Dempsey's, Stage Door Canteen, Paramount Theater and the top of the Empire State Building. We continued our training at Shanks. The evening of May 4, 1943 we hiked down to the railroad with full field pack and one barracks bag and left for the pier in New York. The train took us down to the Hudson River where we ferried across and boarded the S.S. Pasteur at about 10:30 that evening.
Bright and early the next morning the Pasteur pulled away from the dock and on passing the Statue of Liberty we finally realized that actually we were going overseas. We left port with the S.S. Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. They went one way and we went another. It was a real surprise after we got away from land and couldn't see a convoy nor was there a ship in sight. We learned shortly that we were to go unescorted and rely on our speed to out run the subs. The Pasteur was a French ship and was manned with a British crew. I believe it was the 13th largest ship in the world at that time and one of the fastest. The food was terrible, the quarters were terrible and it was a miserable trip. It was difficult to down mutton stew and tea on a rolling stomach. One night we would sleep on deck and the next we could go down into the hold and sleep in hammocks. The latrine was next to our hold and when it stopped up there was a stench. Thankfully the ocean was calm all the way across.
Several days after we left New York they told us we were going to land at Casablanca, Morroco. One afternoon they gave us a scare as they shot off the guns on the ship. The only trouble the ship ran into during the trip was a wolf pack of subs one night, but by morning it had outrun them. The shimmering white houses of Casablanca against the sandy brown hills were a welcome sight on the morning of May 12, 1943.It had taken us a little over a week to cross the Atlantic. We landed about 10:30 AM and marched to Camp Charles Du Shane, which was about 5 miles from the docks. The camp was being newly built by the Americans, but was originally the site of an old French camp. Casablanca was little affected by the war and the city was very pretty. All the homes had beautiful gardens with many flowers. It was very hot anddry anti almost everything that was grown had to be irrigated.
The platoons moved out for awhile. One platoon worked south of the city and worked as far away as Marrakech and Safi. The other platoon moved out for about a month and worked at Oujda, Meknes and Fes. By July 16, 1943 we were all together again and on that day started ourlong trek across North Africa. Our first night was spent at Meknes and the following day we reached Guercif. At each of these places we had to get a supply of gasoline, water and rations, as there were only these certian locations where these items were available. The third night we were bivouaced in a dirt courtyard right in the city of Tlemcen. A city to be remembered for distilled spirits, watermelons, gasoline drums, cherry bombs and busted non-coms. The next day we stopped at Orleansville, the next at Boura and the next at Guelma. At first we were to go to Constantine, but the orders were changed while we were on the trip and instead we went to Mateur, Tunisia, a small town south of Bizerte. We arrived in Mateur on July 22, 1943 and bivouaced a short distance out of town. The total trip was about 1400 miles. We had crossed some mountains and deserts. It was a very hot trip.
The platoons didn't stay with us very long, but again went to different locations. One platoon went into central Tunisia working at Gafsa, Kasserine Pass, Kairouan, Sfax, Sousse and Gabes. The other platoon went into Algeria and worked at Tabarka, La Calle and Bone. There were just a few left at Mateur. Bob Hope and his troupe Played in the area several times while we were here. I made several trips to the platoons while we were at Mateur. A couple times I went to La Calle. I also visited the other platoon when they were at Sousse. I thought they were located at Kairouan at the time so went there first. We couldn't find them that day so we stayed at an Airborne outfit for the night. Next day we located them on the outskirts of Sousse. Kairouan was an oasis type of town. There is a little irrigated land right around the town, but after one gets several miles out of the city there isn't a green thing in sight. The closest to a desert that I had seen.
While we were at Mateur we realized for the first time that there was an actual war. There were extensive mine fields, air raids over Bizerte, and German paratroopers were dropped several times nearby. We had a ringside seat for the raids over Bizerte. Our bivouac was on a slight hill about 20 miles from Bizerte and we could take in the whole show. It was a display of fireworks that would be hard to reproduce. They surely had plenty of guns around the town and near the port. We saw several planes shot down. One night the Germans missed Bizerte and dropped their flares about half a mile from our camp. We had a couple airfields very near our area. Several times the Germans dropped paratroopers nearby to sabotage the installations, but each time they were captured.
The battle of Sicily was finished, the invasion of Italy was taking place and again we were together, packed up and ready to go. On September 10, 1943 we conveyed from Mateur to Bizerte. Originally the whole Battalion was to ship from there, but orders were changed. B Co. stayed at Bizerte and A Co. had to motor convoy to Oran, Algeria. B Co. left several days later and landed at Salerno. Co. A started on our journey back across North Africa the next day, September 11, 1943. The first night we spent at La Calle, Algeria. Our camp was situated near a beautiful big lake. The next day we ran into a huge forest fire and almost lost some of our equipment. We were in the mountains at the time and had a difficult time getting our vehicles turned around. If it hadn't been that the wind shifted for several minutes we would probably have lost several trucks. We traveled all that day and arrived at Bougie, Algeria shortly after midnight that night. I wish we could have made that trip during the daytime as it looked like it was very scenic. At night we drove right along the Mediterranean Sea, cliffs on the one side and a long drop into the sea on the other side. We had to drive blackout and it really was a miracle the we didn't have an accident, because the road was narrow and full of curves. Some places weren't wide enough to pass another vehicle. That night we camped right on the seashore. On September 13 we stayed at Blida and the next day we arrived in St. Barbe du Tlelat, a small town near Oran. We encountered our first rain storm and pulled the trucks alongside the road for the night. We slept in the vehicles whereever a place could be found. We stayed in the same place the next day and the rain continued. That night was spent in the vehicles again. On September 16 we moved to a staging area near Oran. Here we were again processed and prepared for the boat ride. Oran was a pretty nice city.
On September 27, 1943 we left the staging area, went to the docks at Oran and loaded on the S.S. Barnett, an American ship with an American crew. Some of the fellows and our vehicles loaded onto another ship. We laid in harbor for several days and finally on the 30th we set sail. The Barnett was the flagship of the convoy of six ships and the destroyer escort. It was altogether different than the trip on the S.S. Pasteur. Each man had his own bunk and the food was excellent. On October 2, 1943 we arrived at Bizerte and pulled into the harbor. We laid in harbor there for several days and on the 5th we pulled out for Italy. We saw the coastline of Sicily, sailed between the Isle of Capri and the mainland and arrived in the Naples, Italy harbor on the 6th. The sea was calm all the way and it was a good trip. The other ship with the vehicles and a few of the men had a bit more excitement. The ship right behind them was torpedoed one night and the next morning they didn't see any of it.
Our ship was the first troop ship to enter the harbor at Naples. The docks were blown to pieces so the big ships couldn't dock. Some LCIs (Landing Craft, Infantry) pulled alongside, we climbed down into them and they took us into the shore. From the docks we walked to our billet. Originally it was an Italian garrison. We slept in pup tents for several nights until we cleaned out the building. It was filthy with plenty of rats, lice and bedbugs. There were Italians living in the building before we arrived and I don't see how they could live there. A few snipers were still in Naples when we arrived, but an Airborne Division was getting it gradually cleaned out. There were plenty of mines and time bombs going off after we got there. Several days after we landed the Postoffice blew up. We had to contend with air raids slmost every night and once bombs dropped 4 or 5 blocks from our area. Most of the time the planes couldn't get over the city because the flak was so heavy. We had a large tunnel near the billet that was used as an air raid shelter.
While in Naples some went to Pompeii, climbed Mt. Vesuvius, saw the great eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and saw the crater of Little Vesuvius near Pozzuoli. When one got on the ridge behind the city and looked toward Vesuvius it was a very picturesque scene with the city sprawled at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples on the right. When one got down into the city you found a maze of dirty narrow alleys and streets. Right in the center of the city Mussolini had several modern buildings built and that section looks more like our cities. The. Postoffice building was in this part of the city.
As before the platoons left us and went on their own. One platoon went to Torre Annunziata, which is south of Naples, and then several weeks later moved to St. Maria. The other platoon moved to Aversa and when they completed their work there they went up to Casanova which is located near the Gargiliano River. The front lines at that time were just over the river and the Germans still had Minturno. They strung open wire across the river, but it was knocked out three times by German artillery so they discontinued work for the time being and moved back to Aversa for the rest of the winter.
On May 9, 1944 Co. A headquarters platoon moved from Naples to Fertilia, a small place between Aversa and St. Maria, and one platoon from St. Maria came down to bivouac with us. Shortly after we got there the big push came in Italy and Southern France was invaded. When they jumped off in Italy we could hear a deep rumble all the time and the sky at night would be lighted up. Just before Southern France was invaded we would watch the Libs and Forts go over. One morning I counted around 700 heavy bombers that went over our area. It was a sight to behold.
A few days after the push started one platoon went up to Cassino and worked with the British 8th Army Signals up through the Liri Valley. They followed the front as close as it was permissible. Part of the platoon worked with them right up into Rome, but the rest of the platoon moved to a place just out of Rome. From there they worked towards Anzio, which was south of Rome and right in Rome. Company B was working at this time at Anzio. While Co. A headquarters was still at Fertilia our other platoon was split up into small maintenance teams and they were sent all over to maintain the lines up to the front. They continued that work for about six months. During that time the different teams were stationed at such places as: Aversa, St. Maria, Littoria, Terrachina, Fondi, Rome, Bracciano, Civitecchia, Grossetto, Cecina, Siena, Viterbo, Aouapendente, Leghorn, St. Miniato and Florence. About June 20, 1944 Co. A headquarters platoon left Fertilia and moved to Rome with the platoon that was living there. We didn't stay long and on the 27th we moved to Cerveteri, which was a small place south of Civitecchia. From there the fellows worked at Civitecchia and the surrounding country. At first they had planned on making Civitecchia a big port, but the front was moving so fast that they didn't complete all the planned installations, and we moved ahead. On July 16, 1944 we moved to Cecina and as soon as Leghorn was taken we moved near that city. That was on July 23. At that time they were fighting between Pisa and Leghorn. For a week after we got in Leghorn there were shells still coming into the city. Leghorn was badly battered and there wasn't a person in town when we went through the first time. The streets were so filled with rubble and debris that only two streets were open and it was difficult to get through them. I think the Germans planted more mines in that city than in any other that we had been in. The port was pretty well smashed, but after several months work the engineers had it partly working again.
We stayed in Leghorn longer than any other place since we had been in the Army. We were there about 9 months and during that time had built up quite a camp with wooden mess hall, orderly room, supply room and everyone had floors and railings in their tents. With stoves in the tents the winter wasn't bad. There was a lot of work in Leghorn as they made it a big base for this spring's offensive. Also a lot of work was done between Leghorn and Florence and quite a bit in Pisa. One of the platoons moved up to St. Miniato for awhile, but came back as soon as their work was done there. Co. B also spent most of the winter in Leghorn. They were up in the Appenines, above Florence, for awhile.
Again everyone was getting ready for the big push. Company A was altogether again, the first time in over a year. On April 13, 1945 one platoon moved to Porretta and started hauling materials for a signal dump at Bologna when that city was taken. It was quite a job hauling all the material over the narrow winding roads over the Appenines. Two days after the fall of Bologna, on April 23, 1945, the other platoon moved into Bologna. At this time the Partisans still had their weapons and every night they would go out on Fascist raiding parties. Co. A headquarters moved up with this platoon several days later. The platoon at Porretta started moving all the material to Bologna and when they completed that they moved to a bivouac north of Modena. A Co. headquarters went along with them to above Modena. The platoon at Bologna worked in the city and its vicinity. The rail yards at Bologna were literally destroyed, but the downtown section was hardly touched. On May 18, 1945 the platoon at Modena moved back to Bologna and all of Co. A is together again.
The war ended in Europe on May 7, 1945 and now the big question still remained. "Where would we go from here and when?"
Wilton A. Zick served in this 30th Signal division. This was written for a WWII Reunion - Author unknown. This information is handwritten on the back of the last page of this correspondence.Acquisition
Accession
2015.0059Source or Donor
Zick, Lynn
