Communication Training and the 117th Field Signal Battalion

Solider of the 117th Field Signal Battalion
operating a field radio

When America entered World War I, all but one unit from the Missouri National Guard joined the 35th Division.  Composed of men from the Kansas City area, "A" Signal Corps was assigned to the 42nd Division, another National Guard unit.  Known as the "Rainbow Division" because it contained units from 26 states, the Missourians were designated as the 117th Field Signal Battalion in the 42nd.  The only Missouri unit in the 42nd, the 117th Field Signal Battalion made significant contributions to training standards in the Signal Corps. 
The commander of the 117th, Major Ruby D. Garrett, set the standard for the battalion's success.  Major Garrett showed such aptitude for signaling that, Chief of Staff, Colonel Douglas MacArthur chose him to create a commuinication system suitable for both trench and mobile warfare.  More explicitly, according to General Henry J. Reilly’s history Americans All:  The Rainbow at War, Major Garrett recalled that Colonel MacArthur expected him to carry out the demanding task of developing a system that would ensure that communication between Division Headquarters and all its field units under any conditions.

Major Ruby D. Garrett
Communicating via Telephone

Major Garrett’s first step was to acquire information on communication construction and implementation training from any available sources.  Finding no help in the American sector, Major Garrett met with English and French commanders.  They were all too familiar with the difficulties of communication and their advice became the basis for Signal Corps training.  

The second step for Major Garrett was the implementation of his newly developed plan.  Garrett’s curriculum centered on practical training instruction, including installation and operation of telephones, radios, ground telegraphs, and all the other signal devices utilized by a Division.  The most efficient aspect of training was the development of a trench training sector.  In this sector, instructors created environments that most accurately represented front line conditions. Every piece of signaling equipment was tested during simulated trench and open warfare. Each unit’s training included actually handling the installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment in the mock trenches. 

Telephone utilized by Major Garrett in above photograph
(Currently on display at the National World War I Museum)

Before the war, most soldiers in the 117th had been operators, cable-men, light and power constructors, and engineers.  Even with this background, they were noticeably more efficient after completion of Major Garrett's training program.  The advantage of having experienced personnel not only allowed Battalion commanders to demand the most competitive training for the field, but also prepared their soldiers to be ideal trainers of other signal personnel. 

The training proved so successful that Lieutenants Walter A. Parker, Ralph R. Guthrie, and Home A. Reed, Jr., all of Missouri, returned to the United States to instruct signalmen in the Army using the system developed by Major Garrett and the 117^th Field Signal Battalion.  The Battalion had strengthened the electrical communication system to the point where it became the standard for the United States Army. 

For more information about Ruby D. Garrett, check out the Ruby D. Garrett Collection (81.74) at the National World War I Museum or the Ruby Dwight Garrett Papers (C2558) at the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Bibliography:

Garrett, Ruby D. Collection, 1918-1958.  81.74.  National World War I Museum, Kansas City, MO.

Reilly, Henry. Americans All: The Rainbow at War. Columbus, Ohio: The F.J. Heer Printing Co., 1936.

Smith, Richard T. Collection, 1913-1922.  84.72.  National World War I Museum, Kansas City, MO.