Jesse Donovan Wicoff
Private
Headquarters Company - 56th Signals Battalion
Omaha Beach
Echoes of artillery and machine gun fire grew louder as LST #54 lurched through the waves closer to the beachhead (1). Fear began to spread like a disease among the already claustrophobic signalers packed aboard the steel landing craft (1). Peering among the many anxious men were a set of grey eyes belonging to 23-year-old Jesse Wicoff. He stood alongside his comrades in the Headquarters Company of the 56th Signals Battalion who all were awaiting an unknown fate. Yet as precarious as the situation was quickly becoming for the message clerk, he held greater sympathy for those in the field companies who would have to go in directly alongside the exposed infantry (1). At least his position provided some level of safety.
As the ship neared the beach, the Battalion’s Amphibious vehicles with radio equipment were let loose, only to be met with an onslaught of bullets and artillery fire (1). The early dawns cloak was lifting, and the Germans had a full view of all the landing craft (1). Eerie minutes passed by as Jesse awaited the order to disembark, but the ship could not get close enough and ended up having to anchor a mile offshore of Omaha Beach (1). From here he could only listen to the thunder of naval guns and the firefight going on in front of him (1). Once again, the ship tried to move in, but it was no good and it remained stuck with a stream of other landing craft piling up behind it (1). The assault waves were floundering, and the invasion force was left exposed to enemy batteries for a time.
Fighting raged throughout the day, but finally the foot soldiers broke through, clearing the way for the masses of men and equipment to disembark into Normandy. The signalers who were crammed aboard the dingy ship were eager to make headway, but it was not to be. The officers reported that they would spend another night aboard the craft as preference was given to those vessels carrying tanks and other equipment (1). The same disappointing orders arrived again the following day as all grew impatient well the waves rocked them in the steel hulk of the boat (1).
A new morning finally brought with it the long-awaited command to prepare to move out. Jesse grabbed his steel helmet and equipment as the columns of signalers and many vehicles began crawling onto the Norman beachhead. For the green signaler, Omaha was a sight to behold in more ways than one. It was his first view of conflict, the once pristine beach being now covered in burnt out vehicles, shell craters, and debris of all types. Though not quite a picturesque place, the scene unfolding there was worthy of a painting. Huge landing ships were sprawled across the shoreline unloading thousands of men and vehicles. Jesse was used to the packed streets of Chicago but the mass of men on the beach and in those ships put anything he had seen to shame. There was little time to relish in this incredible sight though as he was spurred on to move with the rest of HQ further inland into the famed bocage. A near miss by an enemy shell certainly helped urge him along. |
Critical Communications
The signalers wasted no time in setting up and soon Jesse was busy manning his post. The 56th was responsible for handling the frontline communications with the men in the line for V Corps as they began their push into occupied France (2). The task was demanding as critical messages had to be transcribed and forwarded to the appropriate unit in a timely manner. A report of an assault or troop movement necessitated both speed and accuracy to ensure the correct response could be made by the tacticians. It was a far higher stakes task for the Illinois native then his job as a law clerk in a comfortable office before the war. But he performed well under the pressure and worked to ensure that V Corps communications remained organized. His job was not as dangerous as the regular signalers, but the odd artillery shell or airplane bomb still found its way to their position just behind the line. Causalities were taken and friends lost in the dense hedgerows of Normandy. |
The importance of the job only became apparent to the signalers as the unit moved deeper into France, discovering the ruins of the enemy in the Falaise gap that August. Every road and laneway was lined with the corpses of Germans and destroyed vehicles (2). The Seventh Army had become disorganized and was encircled leading to a scene of mass chaos and carnage, which no one in the 56ths signals would soon forget. Yet despite this critical blow the war raged on, and Jesse’s job only grew more demanding as V Corps sprinted across France (2). Every mile of ground the forward elements took meant more cable to run and orders to process as the supply lines began to grow unendingly long (2). The advances were extraordinarily quick and new reports came in constantly. But progress meant victory and before long, the grey-eyed clerk had moved through France, Luxembourg, and into Belgium (2).
An Unpleasant Awakening
The endless movement, winter conditions, and logistical issues began to increasingly wear on the signalers. When the order came for Jesse to settle into the Belgian town of Eupen, he didn’t complain (2). He had worked nonstop since Normandy and some time spent in the same place for longer than a few weeks was most appreciated. The front here was quiet, and everyone enjoyed not hearing the sound of artillery shells, though the weather was unpleasantly cold (2).
In the early morning hours on December 16th, Jesse was roused awake by the dreaded noise of artillery (1). German shells were being lobbed directly at the 56th (1). Signalers rapidly stumbled out of their makeshift beds as shells tore into vehicles and equipment leaving the streets filled with debris (1). The situation developed rapidly as reports came in of enemy paratroopers landing not far from the town (1). The NCOs rallied their men and even the clerks expected to potentially do battle with the advancing enemy (1). But the reality of the situation became increasingly clear, they would be outnumbered and outgunned. The order was given to withdraw to safer ground as the Germans advanced all along the front (1). The signalers wasted no time and evacuated, being far more fortunate than many of their comrades in other rear echelon units that would be massacred just to their south in Malmedy (1).
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To retreat was bitter but Jesse was a far better messenger then an infantryman and his services were yet needed. The U.S. Army had been thrown into a panic by this unexpected attack and the 56th became their primary link to the situation at the front (1). Information was sporadic at best and organization hard to maintain as the clerk worked overtime to sort through incoming transmissions. Yet even when contact with frontline units was established, it was hard to maintain as tanks and artillery damaged cable lines so often that even the ground crews working 24 hour shifts could not keep up with the repairs (1). This coupled with consistent strafing by airplanes and the unyielding cold made for an incredibly demoralizing existence (1). Yet Jesse and the others were inspired by the fortitude of the regular infantry that endured even greater hardship and never stopped working to support them.
The Final Days
The bone chilling cold finally turned to more bearable spring weather as the 56th once again followed V Corps, which was now on the advance after having halted the German assaults (1). Months of endless work in the winter elements had hardened even the Chicago clerk who now bore black bags under his weary eyes. If they had needed a rest before the Bulge, they surely needed one now, but the Germans were on the run, and they gave chase. Fierce fighting carried on until the German army finally began to break and Jesse traversed through so many towns that it was hard to keep track (1). Reports of advances began pouring in again like they had during the drive through France, the war was reaching its end. This thought spurred on the 56th as they traveled through Germany reaching the town of Weimer near the Czech border. This was not a place Jesse, nor any signaler, would ever forget when they discovered the horrors of the Buchenwald death camp there (1). Millions of innocent people had been systematically murdered here on a mass scale (1). The carnage of the Falaise Gap had been hard to stomach, but it paled in comparison to the horrific scene in the camp and even the most hardened signalers were left shocked. The sight of stacked bodies and emaciated survivors ensured every soldier now understood why they had come halfway across the world to fight, there was no question such an atrocity had to be stopped.
The end of the evil regime responsible finally came in May of 1945 well the 56th was in Czechoslovakia. For Jesse, it felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders as the guns fell silent and things quieted down at HQ. The great trek across Europe had taken him to the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Yet like the many other signalers who had been in uniform for 3 years, his only desire was to once again see home. This became reality when he was shipped back in October of 1945, returning to the Windy City, where he wasted little time in reuniting with his sweetheart, Dorthy Bushor, who he married in April of the following year. Life finally returned to some kind of normal, though the many tragedies that he had witnessed overseas stuck with him as they did with all men. Such things after all could only be repressed in ones mind and never truly fully buried away.
Sources:
(1) Tour of Duty - 56th Signal Battalion in World War II. The United States Army Signal Corps Officer Candidate School Association, 1 June 2013, http://www.armysignalocs.com/archived/veteranssalultes/tour_of_duty.html.
(2) “Well Documented Memories.” D-Day - Eyewitness Accounts of WW2, 2022, https://www.normandy1944.info/stories/robert-h-searl.
(1) Tour of Duty - 56th Signal Battalion in World War II. The United States Army Signal Corps Officer Candidate School Association, 1 June 2013, http://www.armysignalocs.com/archived/veteranssalultes/tour_of_duty.html.
(2) “Well Documented Memories.” D-Day - Eyewitness Accounts of WW2, 2022, https://www.normandy1944.info/stories/robert-h-searl.