EMAILS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM GRADUATES OF THE 11-E-36 / 905.1 SCHOOL AT FT. MONMOUTH, NJ
PART 1: FROM ITS BEGINNING THROUGH 1958
Compiled by Paul A. Roales Note: The email below are arranged in order of graduation date from the school. Created January 1, 2007. Updated with a class picture of the first class on January 7, 2007. Updated with a Late 1958 email from an Officer on January15, 2007. Updated Feb. 3, 2007 with an email from another first class member. Updated March 14, 2007 with information on a 1954 graduate.
October, 1952. In November, 2006 I heard from Francis Szymanski from Texas. That is a picture of Frank and his weather equiptment taken in Korea at X Corps Headquarters on the left. He says: "I believe I was part of the first group to graduate from the Signal School at Fort Monouth in 1952. It was made up of seven officers and forty four enlisted men. The forty-four enlisted men were a mixture of draftees and Regular Army. The group were from the New England States, New York and New Jersey. We did our basic training at Fort Dix and were in our final cycle when we were transfered to Fort Monmouth. Here we met the seven Officers who were ROTC and a few Regular Army. We were assigned to SCEL (Signal Corps Engineer Laboratory) for our housing, meals and our schooling. The school was located on the base and we marched from Hq.Co 9460TSU area to it. The first person we met at Fort Monmouth was Master Sergeant Howard F. Willey. We learned that he held the only MOS in the Army. He was transfered from Yuma Arizonia to New Jersey. His job there was the testing of equipment to see if they would work in the heat and cold. His present assignment was to help select, train and bring the group to Korea.
According to Master Sergeant Willey, the reason we were being formed was there was a disagreement between the Air Force and the Army. The Army wanted the Air Force to provide weathermen down to Division Level. The Air Force refused saying they had men at Army Headquarters and that is where they would stay. So the Army decided to produce their own weathermen and send them down to Division Level. We needed weather equipment and according to Sergeant Willey, it had to be made. Doctor Donald M Swingle, a graduate of MIT, was assigned to SCEL, where he was developing radar for weather. Also he would come to the school to teach us various subjects. School began on September15, 1952 and ended on October23, 1952, which was our graduation day and then we were sent to Korea.
When we were sent to Korea, we brought with us our weather equipment. All the equipment fitted in a box, which you could hand carry. Because we were mobile, we could move from one location to another if we needed to and then set up quickly. The team I was part of was sent to the 73ECB to set up our weather station which was North of the 38th Parallel. I believe my team was the only one that was set up in North Korea. We provided the 73ECB with temperature readings and the latest forecasts and continued to provided our weather information to X th Corps Headquarters. After coming to Korea and setting up our weather stations, we began to provide weather infiormation to the 40th Weather Squadron of rhe Air Force. This information was included in their weather maps. Later the Air Force finally provided weathermen, fixed weather station and a forecaster to Corps Level to improve their forecasting. Just before the end of the war, the Air Force replaced our group with their people. The Army finally got them to Division Level. We were mentioned in the Eight Army Newspaper. An article written by M/Sgt. Dick Bartlett under the title "Signalmen Cite Achievements" listed us. When we returned to the States, the group was separated. Most went to work at SCEL, but a few like myself went to the school. My job was to be in charge of the instructors. The class had started before I returned and I remember the Officers in it. Amoung the instructors who graduated while we were overseas, some had been sent to Thule, Greenland. I came across pictures of men who were attending weather classes. They were: A. Mike Lia, B. Duxburg - I believed he came from Mass., C. Roberts, D. Possus, E. Wordowski - I believe he was an instructor and was in Greenland. I remain at my position until my discharge."
Here is a list of those first graduates provided by Frank: The seven Officers were: Albert W.Damanda, John J. Flynn, John H. Kuhn, Thomas E. Little, John G. McEhlaney, Marvin Polan, and Paul F. Wilkinson. The enlisted men were: Thomas J. Adams, Harold G. Allen, Charles F. Beers, Jr., Robert M. Breenan, Michael J. Deloughery,Jr., Charles DiVencenzo, Joseph P. DiPerna, Jean Duraffough, Paul C. Ewing, Jr., Augustine Fabiani, Alfred Fratoni, Harvey S. Freund, Kenneth E. Gordon, Ralph J. Hockman, Joseph A. Horvath, Bert D. Hyland, Robert F. Kennedy, Richard A. Lambert, Joseph Lersky, Joseph F. Luthner, Michael J. Lynch, Raymond G. Mayer, Charles W. McCorkle, Nelson D. Moriarity, Charles B. Mulligan, Angelo Nichele, Donald S. O'Reilly, John M. Ousta,Jr., Nicholas V. Paul, Arthur W. Perlot, Allen B. Pooler, Ralph J. Rankin, John S.Rice, Joseph P. Robinson, William F. Rogers, Donald W. Rooksby, John S. Rossi, Kenneth J. Rossman, Joseph Saia,Jr., Robert J. Shattuck, Francis A. Szymanski (standing in the back row, forth from the left) , William A. Thorpe, Hugh B. Tweedie, and Lawance E. Vallentin. 41 of the 44 enlisted graduates of that first class are shown below in a picture taken at a Red Bank, NJ restraunt after they returned from Korea. It is dated Feb. 8, 1954 on the reverse.
October, 1952. In January, 2007 I heard from another member of the first meteorology class. He also provided the picture on the right which shows: Gus Fabiani, Allan Pooler, Angelo Nichele, Tom Sullivan and Hush Tweedie at Ft. Monmouth in 1952. He says: Let me introduce myself. I am Allan Pooler one of the 44 enlisted men trained at Ft. Monmouth (the very first class) and sent to Korea in 1952 as weather observers. I am located in Yardley PA, which is about 25 miles NE of Phila. We along with Sergeant Willey and 7 second lieutenants established a network of weather stations. There were stations at each corps i.e. I, IX, X, IROK, IIROK, and several at division level i.e. 2nd, 3rd, First Marines etc. I was with II ROK which was just about in the middle east to west and many miles above the 38th parallel. There were two reporting stations.
Another member of the Ole 44 (Angelo Nichele) saw your great Web site and sent some of us the link. What a surprise to see a photograph of myself! In the group photo I am first from the left third row from the top; Angelo same row third from the left. Since 1996 many of us have gotten together every two years. We call ourselves the Ole 44. The last time was in 2006 in Gettysburg PA.. I am sure with a little time and jogging of memories we could give you a pretty complete picture of the mission and some pretty interesting tales as well. Many members of the Ole 44 have weather related photos."
[PAR Note: I am working with Allan and the "Ole 44" to get their photos and stories. I will post them when I have the information.]
1954. Information on the history of Signal Corps meteorologists shortly after the Korean War is hard to come by. We know that the Army Weather School at Ft. Monmouth continued to turn out classes after its initial class graduated on October 23, 1952, but I have very little information about those men. Last year I was in contact with the daughter of Kenneth Nolte who died of cancer in 1967. She was trying to find out more about her fathers' Army service record. She sent me the picture on the left.
It was taken in March, 1954 at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. (The man on the right is unidentified.) She knew very little about what her father did, other than that his work was classified. Since the sign in the photo says: "U. S. Army Meteorology Branch" with the Chemical Corps emblem (the 2 crossed flasks) he was apparently attached to the Chemical Corps. Some research on the WWW determined that the 2nd. Chemical Bn. was stationed at Dugway from Jan. '53 until March of '63 (http://www.hood.army.mil/13coscom_64csg/page26a.html ). So the 2nd. Bn was probably running the Meteorology Branch Office in the photo. Recently I came across a declassified document from HEADQUARTERS, CHEMICAL CORPS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMMAND, ARMY CHEMICAL CENTER. MARYLAND, RCC2.950320.003, dated 5 May 1953. It states that on March 3, 1953: "A request from DPG for Signal Corps meteorological personnel support of two officers and 28 enlisted men was coordinated by Lt. Hamilton with Meteorological Section OCSigO, and Prov Gd Div, R&E Comd. It was pointed out to Prov Gd Div that Signal Corps personnel will be loaned to the Cml Corps only, and no transfer of personnel will take place." So apparently some Army Weather Observers trained at Ft. Monmouth were sent to Dugway Proving Grounds shortly after that. Kenneth Nolte is the first one I have heard about. Since he is still a Pvt. in this photo he must have just arrived at Dugway.
August, 1958 Apparently there was a shortage of Meteorological Observers around 1958 because Lacy Hancock tells me he was trained at Ft. Huachuca, not Ft. Monmouth. Here is what he had to say about his training: "I finally contacted my school buddy, as near as we can determine, the 905 school at Fort Huachuca was in July and August of 1958 with about 40 to 50 students. The school was supposedly the same format as Monmouth but was only 84 total hours. Most grads were sent out, about 10, including myself, were held over for an additional 2 months of rawinsonde training. The diploma did have the 905.1 mos. While training we were split into 3 or 4 groups. Also, this was the one and only class taught at Huachuca."
Late 1958 I was not quite sure where to place this entry. Lon Allen contacted me in December, 2006. He never attended the Army meteorology school, but was an officer and CO of several meteorology teams in the early ‘60's. I decided to place it here because he graduated from the Air Force Forecaster school at Chanute in 1958. "My name is Lon Allen and I have often wondered what happened to all of the good men who were in the Army Meteorology Department in the 1950's. My story is probably similar to many.
I was stationed in Japan from late 1954 through 1957, a three year tour since I had my family there. I was a Tech Sergeant at the time and was
assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. I applied and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Reserves but was not called to active duty in that grade at the time I was commissioned. I saw an article in the Army Times in 1956 where the Army was looking for a few good men to attend Weather Forecaster School run by the Air Force at Chanute Field, IL. I was interested and applied. I was accepted fairly quickly and was sent to the school in mid year 1957. Since I had no weather experience the Air Force was in a quandary with what to do with me when I arrived because the prerequisite for Forecasting School was attendance and completion of Weather Observer School and Rawin School, each of which was several weeks long. Well, they decided to give me special training and pushed me through the Observer Course and the Rawin Course fairly quickly, and then placed me in the Forecaster Course which was 55 weeks long. Needless to say, I had to study extra hard because most of the Air Force personnel in the course were experienced weather people and way ahead of me.
I did make it however, and was assigned to Yuma Test Station in 1958. There I worked with Mr. Brown ("Brownie"), Mr. Baldwin, and S/Sgt Richard Carney. Dick Carney and I were good friends and I often wonder what became of him. If you know, please tell me. I know that his wife was from Missouri and a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, MO. He may have been from Missouri also. We four were the forecasters assigned to Yuma. We all did a lot more than that, however. We worked in the field on test firings to make field artillery firing tables for guns and rockets, primarily the "Honest John" and some other rockets undergoing acceptance tests, such as the "Lobber." A lot of them never made it. We ran tests on drones, air drops of equipment and personnel such as HALO, and even tests on meteorological equipment. One of my most interesting assignments was to prepare a study of winds aloft of the southwestern desert. Sgt Carney and I worked on this project. This study was later used by an Air Force Colonel (then a Capt) in testing parachute drops from balloons as extremely high altitudes. He was at some site in New Mexico, Alamogordo I think, and he contacted me for information about the best time for such an undertaking. He later set a record for jumping from a high altitude, a record that I believe he still holds and the story of which appeared in National Geographic just a few years ago. [PAR Note: This refers to Joe Kittinger who parachuted from 102,800’ in 1960.]
In early 1959 I applied for and was accepted for active duty in my reserve grade of 2nd Lieutenant, and changed my branch to the Signal Corps. I was sent to the Signal Officer Basic Course at Fort Monmouth, NJ. In the summer and after completion, I was assigned to the Army Meteorology Department at Fort Huachuca, AZ, and to the SigC Meteorology Team, Huachuca under the command of Captain William Barton. Let me take a moment to say that I recognize many of the names in your chronicles of personnel from Yuma, Monmouth, Huachuca and Greely. Lt. Buck, for example, mentioned somewhere in your memoirs, was a good friend and one of the first persons I got to
know upon my arrival at Fort Huachuca. Lt Buck was an ex-Navy man. The Army was building is meteorological expertise at this time and many of the officers were ex-Navy personnel. I also remember many of the civilians who were working for the Meteorology Department at that time. Captain Barton was assigned to the SigC Met Team Greenland at Thule, Greenland in early 1960 and I took command of the Huachuca Team until the summer of 1960 when I received orders to take a brand new Meteorological Team to Fort Greely, Alaska.
That was quite a challenge since we were relieving an Air Force Weather Detachment and really did not know what to expect. Sgt Reigert, also
mentioned in your tales, was already stationed in Alaska and assigned to a Chemical Test unit that was responsible for the testing of chemical agents at a site removed from Greely called the Gerstle River site. It was a closed site because many of the chemicals tested consisted of deadly nerve and blood gases under arctic conditions. Sgt Reigert and three or four other Signal Corps meteorological personnel were responsible for checking the meteorological parameters during these tests. The Air Force had never been involved in these tests and they were now assigned to the Army Met Team and Sgt Reigert and the others were assigned to the new Met Team Greely. At full strength we numbered 16 and if I do say so myself I think that all of these men were great and performed very difficult tasks under truly adverse weather conditions in an exemplary manner. I remember that the coldest day I saw there the temperature was 76 below zero. I can also remember that in the winter of 1961 there was one long period where the temperature never got warmer that 40 degrees below zero. Perhaps one of the most interesting items that occurred during my time at Fort Greely was the time when the Russians tested a hydrogen bomb in far north Siberia. The pressure wave was so great that it caused a large jump on the barograph in the station, and we were a thousand+ miles away. We were told to send the barograph chart immediately to the US for examination. As an aside, there was an Air Force Captain in charge of the USAF Weather Det that we relieved at Fort Greely. He and I had served together in the USAF many years before when we were both sergeants.
Then, in early 1962, I applied for advanced training in meteorology and the Army sent me to the university of Utah for a degree in Meteorology. I
completed that school and received a degree in June of 1964 and immediately received orders to attend the Advanced Signal Officer Career Course at Fort Monmouth with further assignment to Korea after completing the course. I was supposed to serve for two years in a meteorological assignment after the school, but never made it. When I returned from Korea in 1966 I received orders for Dugway Proving Ground, Utah which were later changed to Fort Gordon, GA. The Vietnam conflict was heating up and meteorology was forgotten. I went to Vietnam in 1968 and then again in 1973. I retired after that. I don't know if there is still any meteorology in the Signal Corps.
If there is anyone out there who would like to talk about old times, just give me a holler."
December, 1958. In December, 2006 I heard from Steve (Tex) Fortenberry. He says: " I stumbled on to your web site and it brought back a lot of memories. Since then I have had lunch with a couple of my old friends (Howard Martin and Jerry Park) that I knew in the Army and I am going to meet another one (Robert S. Robinson) in January. I have attached a picture of our graduating class at Fort Monmouth. We graduated on December 4th, 1958 and the entire class was sent to Fort Huachuca. Walter Cherry, Bob (Goldy) Goldsmith and George (Andy) Anderson retired from the Army. I reenlisted in 1961. I spent a total of four years at Fort Huachuca and a couple of years at Dugway Proving Ground before my discharge in July 1964. I spent three TDY tours to Greenland. I was station chief at Camp Century the first winter they kept the base open for the winter (1960). I was station chief at Tuto East and Tuto West the other two tours. I was hired by the National Weather Service (Weather Bureau) in September 1964 and retired on September 3, 1994. It would be nice to have a website where prior Army weathermen could register their e-mail and telephone numbers. I'll bet there are a lot of people who would like to contact their Army buddies.
Thanks for your efforts on the websites.
I have attached a picture of the class of December 4, 1958.
Standing from left:
SSG Walter E. Cherry
Pvt Ronald J. Brown
Pfc Robert J. Goldsmith
Pvt Russell E. Twiford
Pfc George E. Anderson
Sitting from left:
Pvt Charles T. Coker
Pvt Stephen W. Fortenberry
Pvt Roger W. Lilly
Pvt Glen A. Drew
Pvt William N. Gehrke"
December 1958. In April, 2006 I heard from David Olsen. David stayed in meteorology after the Army. He provided the partial class photo shown here and one other photo on the equiptment page. He says:
"The photo is of most of the people who attended the Sig Met school at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. If I recall from left to right the people are: Paul Swing, Paul Shirley, Unknown, William Black, ____Kelly, and Bob Ebert. These folks attended the Sig Met school from late September 1958 to December 19, 1958. Swing, Ebert and myself went to Dugway, Shirley and Black to Yuma. The unknowns were not on any orders I still have in my files so don't know where they were assigned. As for myself I was at Dugway from December 1958 to April 1959. But early in 1959 I was sent to Ft Greely, AK. After 18 months at Ft Greely (actually Gerstle River test site) I returned to Dugway October 1960 and was discharged along with Ken Knowlton in May 1961. At Ft Greely I was attached to a unit called the Chemical Corp Test Activity (CATA). For quite a while I was the only sig met team member attached to CATA and really wasn't trained to handle the duties assigned. By Summer 1959 there were two of us in Sig Met and I was the PFCIC. By Summer 1960 a full Sig Met unit from Ft Huachuca was assigned to Ft Greely but because I was a short timer I spent most of my time with CATA. After I got out of the Army I went to college and became a meteorologist with the National Weather Service and then retired after 34 years."
To view email messages from people who graduated from 1959 up to my class in 1964 go HERE.
To view the email messages from people who graduated after my class in January, 1964 go HERE.
To view the email messages from those who graduated after the school moved from Ft. Monmouth go HERE.
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E-mail feedback or questions to Paul Roales. I hope you have enjoyed my efforts. I want to extend thanks to everyone who provided information for this page. Feel free to email me with suggestions for improvements using the link above. You can return to my MOS 93E2 page HERE, or go to my HOMEPAGE here. You can access my other web pages from there. Page and all contents copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 by Paul A. Roales
October, 1952. In November, 2006 I heard from Francis Szymanski from Texas. That is a picture of Frank and his weather equiptment taken in Korea at X Corps Headquarters on the left. He says: "I believe I was part of the first group to graduate from the Signal School at Fort Monouth in 1952. It was made up of seven officers and forty four enlisted men. The forty-four enlisted men were a mixture of draftees and Regular Army. The group were from the New England States, New York and New Jersey. We did our basic training at Fort Dix and were in our final cycle when we were transfered to Fort Monmouth. Here we met the seven Officers who were ROTC and a few Regular Army. We were assigned to SCEL (Signal Corps Engineer Laboratory) for our housing, meals and our schooling. The school was located on the base and we marched from Hq.Co 9460TSU area to it. The first person we met at Fort Monmouth was Master Sergeant Howard F. Willey. We learned that he held the only MOS in the Army. He was transfered from Yuma Arizonia to New Jersey. His job there was the testing of equipment to see if they would work in the heat and cold. His present assignment was to help select, train and bring the group to Korea.
According to Master Sergeant Willey, the reason we were being formed was there was a disagreement between the Air Force and the Army. The Army wanted the Air Force to provide weathermen down to Division Level. The Air Force refused saying they had men at Army Headquarters and that is where they would stay. So the Army decided to produce their own weathermen and send them down to Division Level. We needed weather equipment and according to Sergeant Willey, it had to be made. Doctor Donald M Swingle, a graduate of MIT, was assigned to SCEL, where he was developing radar for weather. Also he would come to the school to teach us various subjects. School began on September15, 1952 and ended on October23, 1952, which was our graduation day and then we were sent to Korea.
October, 1952. In January, 2007 I heard from another member of the first meteorology class. He also provided the picture on the right which shows: Gus Fabiani, Allan Pooler, Angelo Nichele, Tom Sullivan and Hush Tweedie at Ft. Monmouth in 1952. He says: Let me introduce myself. I am Allan Pooler one of the 44 enlisted men trained at Ft. Monmouth (the very first class) and sent to Korea in 1952 as weather observers. I am located in Yardley PA, which is about 25 miles NE of Phila. We along with Sergeant Willey and 7 second lieutenants established a network of weather stations. There were stations at each corps i.e. I, IX, X, IROK, IIROK, and several at division level i.e. 2nd, 3rd, First Marines etc. I was with II ROK which was just about in the middle east to west and many miles above the 38th parallel. There were two reporting stations. 
She sent me the picture on the left.
It was taken in March, 1954 at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. (The man on the right is unidentified.) She knew very little about what her father did, other than that his work was classified. Since the sign in the photo says: "U. S. Army Meteorology Branch" with the Chemical Corps emblem (the 2 crossed flasks) he was apparently attached to the Chemical Corps. Some research on the WWW determined that the 2nd. Chemical Bn. was stationed at Dugway from Jan. '53 until March of '63 (http://www.hood.army.mil/13coscom_64csg/page26a.html ). So the 2nd. Bn was probably running the Meteorology Branch Office in the photo. Recently I came across a declassified document from HEADQUARTERS, CHEMICAL CORPS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMMAND, ARMY CHEMICAL CENTER. MARYLAND, RCC2.950320.003, dated 5 May 1953. It states that on March 3, 1953: "A request from DPG for Signal Corps meteorological personnel support of two officers and 28 enlisted men was coordinated by Lt. Hamilton with Meteorological Section OCSigO, and Prov Gd Div, R&E Comd. It was pointed out to Prov Gd Div that Signal Corps personnel will be loaned to the Cml Corps only, and no transfer of personnel will take place." So apparently some Army Weather Observers trained at Ft. Monmouth were sent to Dugway Proving Grounds shortly after that. Kenneth Nolte is the first one I have heard about. Since he is still a Pvt. in this photo he must have just arrived at Dugway.
December, 1958. In December, 2006 I heard from Steve (Tex) Fortenberry. He says: " I stumbled on to your web site and it brought back a lot of memories. Since then I have had lunch with a couple of my old friends (Howard Martin and Jerry Park) that I knew in the Army and I am going to meet another one (Robert S. Robinson) in January. I have attached a picture of our graduating class at Fort Monmouth. We graduated on December 4th, 1958 and the entire class was sent to Fort Huachuca. Walter Cherry, Bob (Goldy) Goldsmith and George (Andy) Anderson retired from the Army. I reenlisted in 1961. I spent a total of four years at Fort Huachuca and a couple of years at Dugway Proving Ground before my discharge in July 1964. I spent three TDY tours to Greenland. I was station chief at Camp Century the first winter they kept the base open for the winter (1960). I was station chief at Tuto East and Tuto West the other two tours. I was hired by the National Weather Service (Weather Bureau) in September 1964 and retired on September 3, 1994. It would be nice to have a website where prior Army weathermen could register their e-mail and telephone numbers. I'll bet there are a lot of people who would like to contact their Army buddies.
Thanks for your efforts on the websites. 
December 1958. In April, 2006 I heard from David Olsen. David stayed in meteorology after the Army. He provided the partial class photo shown here and one other photo on the equiptment page. He says:
"The photo is of most of the people who attended the Sig Met school at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. If I recall from left to right the people are: Paul Swing, Paul Shirley, Unknown, William Black, ____Kelly, and Bob Ebert. These folks attended the Sig Met school from late September 1958 to December 19, 1958. Swing, Ebert and myself went to Dugway, Shirley and Black to Yuma. The unknowns were not on any orders I still have in my files so don't know where they were assigned. As for myself I was at Dugway from December 1958 to April 1959. But early in 1959 I was sent to Ft Greely, AK. After 18 months at Ft Greely (actually Gerstle River test site) I returned to Dugway October 1960 and was discharged along with Ken Knowlton in May 1961. At Ft Greely I was attached to a unit called the Chemical Corp Test Activity (CATA). For quite a while I was the only sig met team member attached to CATA and really wasn't trained to handle the duties assigned. By Summer 1959 there were two of us in Sig Met and I was the PFCIC. By Summer 1960 a full Sig Met unit from Ft Huachuca was assigned to Ft Greely but because I was a short timer I spent most of my time with CATA. After I got out of the Army I went to college and became a meteorologist with the National Weather Service and then retired after 34 years."