“For Country and Unity” has been the motto of the 101st Signal Battalion, New York Army National Guard for one hundred and eighteen years.  This motto appears on the unit’s distinctive insignia, but more importantly, in the hearts and minds of the men and women who proudly call themselves members of this historically rich unit.

The 101st Signal Battalion was first conceived in the minds of a few patriotic rsesidents of New York in 1883.  On 6 December 1886 in New York City, the Provisional Signal Corps 1st Brigade under the command of Major Edmond C Stanton, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point was officially organized and Federally recognized. 

Than on 29 December 1894 in Brooklyn, New York, the Provisional Signal Corps 2nd Brigade was organized and Federally recognized.  This unit is now Company A.  The 101st Signal Battalion traces its lineage back to the Civil War and is credited with participation in several historical campaigns such as the Battle of Bull Run, Fredricksburg, Gettysburg the Wilderness and more.  Although it is not certain how Company A is credited with these campaigns, it is believed that the unit, the Provisional Signal Corps 2nd Brigade, was made up of disbanded units and personnel who actually saw service in these battles. 

It was not long before the Provisional Signal Corps 1st Brigade was called to duty.  During the railroad switchman’s strike 18-26 August 1892, in Buffalo, New York, the corpsmen operated telegraph lines between the camps surrounding the railroad yards at which the troops were located.  In addition, visual communication systems were maintained from which messages were conveyed by means of flags during the day and oil burning torches at night. 

Later that year, 11 November 1892, both the Signal Corps 1st and 2nd Brigades were re-designated Signal and Telegraph Corps 1st and 2nd Brigades, respectively. 

On 10 January 1895 both units were re-designated as 1st Signal Corps, 1st Brigade and 2nd Signal Corps, 2nd Brigade.  Later that month, both units were to serve their State when the Brooklyn Trolley Car workers went on strike.  Both units served with such excellence that they were later awarded Silver Service Bands to be worn on the Battalion Colors.   

In 1897 war clouds were gathering over the Caribbean and the Lions of Costile and the Stars and Stripes finally met in combat.  Although these units did not enter the service of the United States as such, the 1st and 2nd Signal Corps furnished sufficient personnel and equipment to the United States Volunteer Signal Corps to warrant state recognition of such service.  Both Captain Edward B. Ives, Commander of the 1st Signal Corps Brigade and Captain Fredrick T. Leigh, Commander of the 2nd Signal Corps Brigade were commissioned Captains in the United States Volunteer Signal Corps and pursuant to paragraph 3, State Order 122, 28 June 1898, much of the state equipment of the signal units was turned over to the United States for use in war.  While the War Department does not credit the history of this organization with Spanish War service the State of New York authorized the attachment of a Silver Service Band on its national colors. 

On 9 February 1898, the 1st Signal Corps, 1st Brigade was reassigned to the 5th Signal Brigade, while on 1 July 1901, the 2nd Signal Corps 2nd Brigade was reassigned to Headquarters National Guard (later to become the National Guard Bureau).  On July 23 1903, the 1st and 2nd Signal Corps was re-designated the 1st and 2nd Signal Companies, Signal Corps. 

The 1st Signal Company was later re-designated Company A 1st Battalion Signal Corps on  7 February 1914, re-designated Radio Company A, 1st Signal Corps on 25 September 1914, and re-designated Company A 1st Battalion Signal Corps again on 25 May 1917.  In addition, the 2nd Signal Company was being re-designated as Company B, 1st Battalion Signal Corps on 7 February 1914, re-designated Wire Company B, 1st Battalion Signal Corps and again Company B, 1st Battalion on 25 May 1917.   

While all these organizational changes were being made and the modern day 101st Signal Battalion was being molded, the Signal Corps was experimenting with fixed-wing air support.  Although the Signal Corps of New York is not credited with the birth of the U.S. Air Force, it can be credited with the birth of New York Air National Guard.  As far back as 1911, Mr. Beckwith Havens, who has been recognized as the first official aviator in the National Guard, joined the first air unit, 1st Company Signal Corps National Guard, New York, as a Private.  Mr. Havens, finally received his first Air Force wings sixty-five years later at the NGAUS conference in Arizona in October 1966, by then-Air Force secretary Harold Brown.  Mr. Havens once increased the Air Force by fifty percent when he participated in Army National Guard maneuvers in Connecticut.  With his Curtiss flying machine, he helped the fledging “Air Force,” which then consisted of only two airplanes.  Later, on 17 July 1916 the 1st Aero Company Signal Corps was re-designated 1st Aero Company, New York Army National Guard.   

This unit, which is a direct descendent of the Signal Corps, was called into Federal Service 18 June 1916 for service on the Mexican and is credited with service during the Mexican Border Campaign and with the history making First Mass, Cross-Country flight by the National Guard, a flight led by then-Captain Reynauled C. Bowlling.  Later, after Captain Bowlling had become a Colonel, he was killed in France during WWI when he resisted capture on a non-flying mission.   

The 1st Battalion Signal Corps, NYNG, was mobilized and militarily inducted on 3 July 1916 at New York City, except for Company B, which was militarily inducted at Brooklyn on the same date.  All departed 5 July 1916 for the Mexican Border, Brownsville District, Texas, where it constituted the Signal Troops of the 6th Division, NYNG.  The Battalion was under the command of MAJ William L. Hallahan, and arrived at McAllen, Texas, 10 July 1916, where it was stationed until 20 December 1916.  The 1st Battalion was mustered out of Federal Service on 23 December 1916.  The strength of the 1st Battalion Signal Corps during this campaign was eight officers and one hundred sixty-two enlisted. 

The return to home for the 1st Battalion was not for long.  On 11 June 1917, Company C was added to the Battalion, and on 21-25 July 1917, the Battalion was mustered into Federal Service at home station.  On 5 August 1917, the Battalion departed for Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, SC, where it arrived 14 September 1917 for training.  On 1 October 1917, it was re-designated 102nd Field Signal Battalion and assigned to the 27th Division, US Army.  The 1st Battalion, Signal Corps organized 19 November 1917, in the New York Guard with Headquarters at New York to replace battalion in Federal Service.  The 102nd Signal Battalion sailed for France on 17 May 1918, and served overseas with the 27th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, which became part of the British armies in France, serving with the 30th Division and 2nd American Corps successively in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th British Armies, and participated in the occupation of the Dickenbusch–Schepenberg Defensive Sector of Flanders, the Ypres-Lys Offensive in Belgium, and the Somme Offensive in Picardy.  These operations include the battles, engagements or minor actions of East Poperinghe Line, Vierstraat Ridge, Knoll Guillemont Farm, Quennemont Farm, Hiddenburgh Line, LeSalle River, Jonc DeMer Ridge and the St. Maurice River.  Following the Armistice, the 27th Division passed to American control and returned to the United States on 15 March 1919.  During this period, twenty-five enlisted men had been killed in action; two officers and eighty-eight men had been wounded.  Silver bands and multicolored embroidered streamers “Ypres-Lyes,” “Somme Offensive” and “Flanders” were added to the Battalion colors to testify to the heroic devotion and dedication to country and unity.  The Battalion was demobilized 31 March 1919 at Camp Upton, Suffolk County, New York.  

The 1st Battalion, Signal Corps, New York Guard and 102nd Field Signal Battalion, New York Army National Guard, were consolidated on 3 May 1921 to form the 1st Signal Battalion, Signal Corps, with Headquarters Federally recognized in New York.  The 101st remained active throughout the interwar period and, in May 1940, was the only National Guard Signal Battalion in the nation.   

With the entrance of the United States into WWII, the 101st was called into Federal service for the third time, and inducted on 13 January 1941.  During the war, the Battalion served in the Pacific, where it participated in two of the hardest-fought campaigns of that theater.  On 21 December 1941, the Battalion arrived in Hawaii where its duties included operation of telephone and telegraph installations, in addition to the operation of a radio station at Departmental HQ, Fort Shafter.  The Battalion also performed cable-laying missions and underwent amphibious warfare training in preparation for the assault landing to be made on Leyte.  The Battalion left Oahu on 11 September 1944 and proceeded to Manus Island where troops were gathered for the Leyte invasion.  On 21 October, the 101st landed on Leyte’s eastern coast, near Dulag.  While on Leyte, the Battalion installed, operated and maintained communication for XXIV corps, 6th Army.  After the battle ended in July, the 101st remained in Okinawa until August, while mopping-up operations were conducted.   

With the end of the war, the 101st performed occupational duties in Korea.  Returning to the United States early in December 1945, the Battalion was inactivated on 8 December at Camp Stoneman, California.  A Philippine Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to the Battalion for its service from 17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945. 

The Battalion was reorganized on 16 October 1947, with its headquarters at Yonkers.  Organized as a non-divisional Battalion providing signal communications at the Corps or Army level, the 101st was called into Federal service for the fourth time in its history, on 19 August 1950 for the Korean War.  The Battalion landed at Inchon on 8 April 1951 and was attached to the IX corps.  Its mission was to provide communications for the Corps headquarters and for the units operating directly under Corps HQ.  It also provided photographic services, handled signal supplies, and performed field maintenance of signal equipment for Corps units.

During the Korean War, the 101st Signal Battalion participated in the following campaigns:  1st UN Counteroffensive, CCF Spring Offensive, UN Summer-Fall Offensive; 2nd Korean Winter, Summer-Fall 1952, 3rd Korean Winter and Korean Summer 1953.  For their service in Korea, the officers and men of the 101st Signal Battalion collectively earned one Air Medal, five Soldiers Medals, seventy-seven Bronze Stars, and seven Commendation Medals Ribbons.  The Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 1 December 1951 to 30 June 1952 during which its members were cited for consistently carrying out their complex assignments with a standard of excellence that evoked the highest praise from all those cognizant of their fine work.  A Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to the IX Corps and its attached units, including the 101st Signal Battalion, for their services, in particular, their participation in Exercise Mushrooms, the first large-scale atomic defense training maneuver, and their role in defense of White Horse Mountain and the Kumsung Salient. 

In more recent years, the 101st Signal Battalion has continued its tradition of service, in both a Federal and State capacity.  Federally, they served on two occasions.  From 1 October 1961 to 5 August 1962, during the Berlin Crisis, the Battalion served at Fort Devens, MA, training for three possible roles in case the Cold War flared up again in Europe.  The Battalion served once again with participation in Operation Graphic Hand, where troops were mobilized during the Federal Postal Workers strike, from 24-30 March 1970.  The Battalion’s state service continued on 19 April 1979, when it was ordered to assume duties in Operation Golden Plum.  During the New York State Corrections Officers strike, the 101st served for 14 days, operating the Green Haven Maximum Security Prison located at Stromville, New York and was called upon in October 1985 to provide community support in the wake of Hurricane Gloria, which pummeled the communities of Long Island, NY.

On 20 August 1994, the 101st Signal Battalion was inactivated as a result of military downsizing at the end of the Cold War.  Shortly after the deactivation, the remaining soldiers were transferred to the 230th Signal Battalion, Headquartered in Humboldt, Tennessee.  Companies B and C remained in New York in previously occupied 101st Signal Battalion armories located in Yonkers and Orangeburg respectively.   

Although the 230th Signal Battalion Headquarters was located in Tennessee, New York State still called upon its two remaining Signal Companies whose members consisted of signalers who had previously served in units now inactivated; 242nd Signal Battalion, 101st Signal Battalion and 187th Signal Brigade.  These Signalers were called to duty during the Ice Storm of January 1999.  Both companies were activated from 20 to 26 January 1999, they served the State and the communities in the Northern regions of New York, along the Canadian border as 50,000 homes were left without power.  On Tuesday, 11 September 2001, after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Signalers from Companies B and C were called into State Active Duty to provide support to New York City.  They worked tirelessly with the New York Police Department and New York Fire Department in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.  Since that date Signalers have been called upon to volunteer in Operation Iraqi Freedom and many have responded to the call with honor and dignity representing the true spirit of citizen soldiers.

Equipment from HHC and A Companies, 230th Signal Battalion, Tennessee was transferred to New York, under the control of the 53rd Troop Command during the period 1 May 2003 and 30 September 2003. On 1 September 2003 the 101st Signal Battalion was organized in a carrier status allowing for the reconstitution of the Battalion.  On 1 August 2004, LTC Jacqueline Russell was appointed the 101st Signal Battalion Commander.  While on Federal service during Operation Empire Shield, Republican National Convention, on September 1st 2004, the 101st Signal Battalion was reactivated and once again Federally recognized as an active element of the New York Army National Guard, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company stationed at Camp Smith, Company A at Poughkeepsie, Company B at Yonkers, and Company C at Orangeburg. 

On 01 November 2005 the Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company relocated to Yonkers, New York.  On September 2006 the Battalion was authorized to transform into a new Integrated Theater Signal Battalion (ITSB-J) or Expeditionary Signal Battalion.  On 01 October 2006 was placed under the control of the 369th Sustainment Brigade, within 53rd Troop Command.  On 01 November 2006 LTC Thomas J. Kilmartin was selected as the new Battalion Commander.

The Battalion continues to train its men and women for wartime missions and maintains a ready status to handle any domestic or national emergencies that may occur.

Pro Patria Et Unitate