If you do NOT see the Table of Contents frame to the left of this page, then
Click here to open 'USArmyGermany' frameset

63rd Signal Battalion
7th Signal Brigade
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

Bn in Germany

Bn in Austria

Related Links


 
Battalion History
63rd Signal Battalion DUI
 
(Source: US Army Center of Military History)
Lineage: 63rd Signal Battalion

Activated 1 June 1941 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana

Reorganized and redesignated 1 March 1945 as the 63d Signal Operation Battalion

Inactivated 20 June 1948 in Austria

Activated 1 April 1950 in Austria

Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1952 as the 63d Signal Battalion

Inactivated 10 September 1955 in Austria

Redesignated 1 July 1975 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 63d Signal Battalion, and activated in Germany

Inactivated 1 October 1977 in Germany

Reorganized and redesignated 1 October 1984 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 63d Signal Battalion, and activated in Germany (Companies A and B concurrently activated)
(Source: Official website of the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Fort Gordon, GA (accessed November 18, 2013)
The rich and proud history of the 63rd Signal Battalion began when it was constituted in the Regular Army on July 1, 1940, and later activated on June 1, 1941 at Camp Claiborne, LA. The Battalion was reorganized and redesignated the 63rd Signal Operations Battalion March 1, 1945, while in Europe. The battalion was subsequently inactivated June 20, 1948 in Austria.

The 63rd Signal Battalion (63rd Sig Bn Page, USFA section) reentered the active force April 1, 1950 while in Austria. On October 1, 1952, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated the 63rd Signal Battalion.

On September 10, 1955, the unit was again inactivated.

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 63rd Signal Battalion, was reactivated July 24, 1967 at Fort Riley, Kansas; spent time in the Republic of Vietnam, and was inactivated February 15, 1972 at Fort Lewis, Washington.

On July 1 1975, the 63rd was redesignated the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 63rd Signal Battalion. The unit was activated while in Germany, where it remained until inactivation September 1 1977.

The Battalion next entered active service on October 1, 1984 when it was reorganized and redesignated the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 63rd Signal Battalion. The unit was activated in Massweiler, Germany. Companies A and B were concurrently activated.

On April 15, 1989, the battalion was reorganized and redesignated an Army Area Signal Battalion. On April 15, 1990, Company E, 67th Signal Battalion, and Company F, 16th Signal Battalion were redesignated Company C and Company D, 63rd Signal Battalion, respectively.

During Desert Storm/Desert Shield, 63rd Signal Battalion installed, operated and maintained a significant portion of what was, at that time, the largest, most technically complex Echelon Above Corps communication network ever developed.

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 assigned to the 11th Signal Brigade, effective March 16, 1992. The 63rd deployed companies into Somalia in 1992 and 1993 in support of U.S. humanitarian and peace keeping operations.

Effective February 19, 1998, the 63rd Signal Battalion was reassigned from the 11th Signal Brigade, Fort Huachuca, Arizona to the 93rd Signal Brigade, Fort Gordon, Georgia.

If you have more information on the history or organization of the 63rd Signal Battalion, please contact me.


Entrance to A Company Cave (Bldg 7278?), Massweiler Cave Complex (John T. Carter II)
(Source: Email from Dana Reif)
I was there in Massweiler when in 1984 we turned the 207th Signal Company into the 63rd Signal Battalion Headquarters. I was there from November 1983 until April of 1985.  When I arrived in Massweiler, it was merely the 207th Signal Company. We had GREAT Barracks, a motor pool and different levels of the caves. To be honest, I don’t recall the rest of the org, but not long after my arrival, we turned the Massweiler Kaserne into the 63rd Signal Battalion HQ, part of the 72nd Signal Bn. We supported them with Communications. We had anything from the oldest teletypes back from Korea and Viet Nam, to the latest in computer communication equipment. 

I worked in all of them except the newest, and I remember seeing this machine in our van, about the size of a washing machine, and when I asked what it was, in 1984, they said it was a machine that could electronically send a copy of a document. They said it hasn’t ever worked, and nobody EVER worked on it, so it probably never did, it was…the predecessor to the fax machine.

Half of our Company, went to Germersheim, but I remained for the  duration of my service in Massweiler. We sure did a LOT of work there.
 
(Source: Email from Scott DiLuciano, Co "B," 63rd Sig Bn, 1984-88)
I was just searching for pictures of the old radio equipment that I used in the Army as a 31C, and I ran across this website about USAREUR and all of it's units. I clicked on the 63rd Signal Battalion and read your entry and noticed that no one had entered anything about B Company, 63rd Signal Battalion, the company that was located at Germersheim.

Well I was the first new trainee out of AIT to be stationed there! Everyone there at the time came from the 269th Signal Company, 72nd Signal Battalion in Karlsruhe. We hadn't even been activated yet! I was stationed there from September 1984 through June 1988, and would like to add some thoughts to the website if I can.

Yes, we were located at the Army Depot in Germersheim. I was in the RATT platoon, and we had (12) AN/GRC-122 RATT Rigs (equipment photo) for many missions. There was a Microwave platoon, but I'm not knowledgeable on what equipment they used.

We did the very important Railex/Probex missions up by Helmstedt and Checkpoint A, and many other missions. I did a lot of the Weather Net missions, setting up a remote system in the weather office in Heidelberg. Our RATT Rigs would be on the parade field under camoflage and surrounded by concertina wire. We would connect something like 6 hex and 6 diamond sections of camoflage to cover two RATT Rigs and two generator sets!

I already saw some photos of the equipment by itself, but sadly I never took any pictures when I was in the field in Germany.

Being my first duty station, West Germany is probably my favorite. The camaraderie there was great! We had our issues like any other unit, but it seemed we really worked well together. We had tons of TA-50 inspections and field exercises! I can't believe in June of this year it'll be 20 years since I left West Germany! Please keep in touch and let me know what details that you are interested in.
 
(Source: The Word, Nov 1984)
Battalion rebirth in 7th Brigade

by Larry Rosenberg
7th Sig. Bde. Public Affairs Office

After months of planning and preparation the 63rd Signal Battalion took its place alongside the 1st, 44th, 72nd and E/67th Signal battalions as another proud member of the 7th Signal Brigade at a ceremony held in Pirmasens on October 1.

"Today we see the birth, or more accurately the rebirth, of a unit," said Lt. Col. Jock C. Lindsay, the new commander of the 63rd Signal Battalion during the activation ceremony. "It is with great pride that I assume command of this battalion."

Lindsay was confered the honor of command by Col. Samuel A. Leffler, commander of the 7th Signal Brigade, during the ceremony.

"This is a great day in the history of the U.S. Army in Europe," said Leffler. "The 63rd will take on a significant role in providing theater communications support of the NATO alliance."

The 63rd is a result of more than two years of work reconstructing the 72nd Signal Battalion into a more concise and manageable unit.

As a command operations battalion, the 63rd will be assigned the responsibility of providing tactical support to the headquarters echelon of USAREUR.

The 63rd Signal Battalion was first activated at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana, on July 1, 1940. After service in World War II, the unit was reorganized and subsequently inactivated on June 20, 1948, in Austria. The battalion was reactivated and played an active role in Austria from April 1950 until September 1955. During this time, the unit was reorganized and redesignated the 63rd Signal Battalion.

On July 24, 1967, Headquarters and Headquarters Company was reactivated at Fort Riley, Kansas, and saw service in Vietnam until February 1972 when the unit was again inactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 63rd Signal Battalion last saw service from July 1, 1975 to October 1, 1977 in Schwetzingen, Germany.

"The motto of the 63rd is 'AB INITIO' or 'from the beginning' and it is most appropriate on this day," continued Lindsay. "As a unit, we are untried and untested -- we cannot yet claim our place, but rest assured, we soon will."

Lindsay is no stranger to the 7th Signal Brigade, having served as the brigade S-3 since 1982. Lindsay enlisted in the Army in 1963 and upon completion of Basic Training and AIT, was assigned to Germany where he served with the 11th and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiments. He returned stateside to enter OCS and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1966.

The soldiers that now form the 63rd are primarily from the old 207th, 269th and 593rd Signal Companies. "The 63rd has, in the past, already made its mark in the Army," said Leffler. "The organizations used in the forming of the battalion have also been winners. As we equip and train, there will be no shortage of challenges ahead."

In Lindsay's closing remarks, he pledged his support to help make the Pirmasens community an "even better place to live and work." He also promised that the 63rd will be an organization that accomplishes its assigned mission.

"And to the soldiers of the 63rd, I pledge to you the leadership you deserve, the training you require, and the respect and care that will be the hallmark of this unit. Today we begin with a singleness of purpose - there is no goal that cannot be obtained."
 
Related Links: