12th Signal Company, Philippine Scouts

History

Lineage and Formation

The 12th Signal Company (PS) traces its lineage to the First Philippine Field Signal Battalion (Provisional). The Army activated it in 1918 in compliance with General Order (G.O.) 21, HQ Philippine Department and consisted of Philippine Scout enlisted personnel. The Wire Company was the newly activated 83rd Company (PS). The strength and organization of this unit was the same as a similar company in the Regular Army. The commander was Captain John H. Caron (PS). An experienced Signal officer, Caron worked diligently and soon had a capable company of men. The company was moved from Ft. William McKinley to Camp Nichols in accordance with G.O. No. 33, IUD, 20 May, 1918. There they received their quota of horses and equipment. Instruction was given the men in the training, handling and riding of the animals, as well as the care, nomenclature and usage of the equipment. In addition to intensive technical training in laying of wire, transmission of messages and proper manipulation of heliograph and night lanterns, the men did a great deal of camp and station duty. This included fatigue, building corrals, picket lines and additional stables. [1]

On 19 October, 1918, Captain Caron was relieved and 1st Lt Frank E. Stoner, (PS) became the commander. The following month new wire carts were received. This provided another incentive to the development of unit espirit.

The company in January and February of 1919 recovered the network of lines at the Philippine National Guard camp at Camp Claudio, Paranaque. They also salvaged enough lumber and roofing to build a movie theater at Camp Nichols. During the Spring, the company followed a normal training schedule and participated in the Philippine Department Annual Meet. On the range, a large number of men shot expert or sharpshooter. Bad luck struck in the form of a cholera epidemic in a nearby barrio, but application of sanitation practices prevented any spread to the company. August saw a number of men taking discharges. The majority were ones who had not kept up with the others because of language problems or lack of education. They were replaced by new recruits, all of whom had to be proficient in English and have a high school education. The increase in unit efficiency was soon clearly evident.

However, personnel shifts began on 21 July, when seventy-one men were transferred out and seventy-nine were assigned from the 10th Signal Service Company and Company "D," 53rd Telegraph Battalion. The latter had been dissolved on 30 June.

The Army organized the 12th Signal Company (PS) on 22 June, 1921. The first commanding officer was Major Seth H. Frear, a Philippine Scout Officer, who was to have a great influence on the signal development of the Division. His first act was to organize the company into three platoons. The Operating Platoon and the Headquarters Platoon were composed of men of the First Philippine Field Signal Battalion . The Operating Platoon was subdivided into three sections: Radio, Telephone and Telegraph and Message Center. The Headquarters Platoon had an Administrative Section and a Supply Section. The Construction Platoon, to which were assigned the men from the 10th Service and the 53rd Telegraph was the third element of the company. It had two sections: motor and mounted (Horse).

Interwar

The first field training took place in early October 1921 when the company participated in staff rides and terrain exercises on the Ft. Wm. McKinley reservation. This lasted for a month at the termination of which the company was well shaken down.

Upon return from the field, the company was moved to Ft. Wm. McKinley . Its new barracks were located on the hill, soon to become known as Signal Hill, northeast of the Carabao Gate. It became a part of the newly formed Philippine Division.

During the next few years, the company participated in field exercises that extended from Lingayen Gulf in the north to Batangas and Tayabas bays in the south. This training not only served to familiarize the personnel with the terrain and environmental conditions in these critical areas, but also permitted testing of the various types of radio and telegraph equipment in the company. This would prove invaluable twenty years later when the company was operating over the same terrain under combat conditions. As a rule the maneuvers terminated in Bataan. There, the adverse effects of the mountains and dense jungles were met and solutions developed to meet the problems posed. So, again the experience was to be invaluable. Throughout, from 1923 through 1929 the company won praise for its efficiency and speed of operations from the Philippine Department and Division staffs.

Not only were the signal provisions of the defense as laid down in the War Plan Orange thoroughly checked, special reconnaissance were conducted. As an example, during March 1925, Lt H.P. Roberts, S.C., led a party of one non-commissioned officer and thirteen men on a twenty-five day trek through the mountains of Northern Luzon exploring "radio possibilities of both reception and transmission for location of intercept and field radio stations in this critical, but little populated terrain.

The company "also directed and supervised the construction of the high frequency station, KS1HR, then called "K1HR". It was the first station "to establish two way radio communication between the United States and the Philippines on short wave lengths". It began operation 23 December, 1922. In the ensuing years the personnel of the 12th Signal Company (PS) operated and maintained the station. It would con-duct a nightly schedule with a station in Williams, California. As a member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) and the World Amateur Radio Union (WAC). KA1HR would be heard in all parts of the world.

Because of the post-World War I personnel shortages, the company commander of the 12th Signal Co (PS) was sometimes the Division Signal Officer and on at least one occasion was the Department Signal Officer. The roster shows the officers who served with the company from 1921 until the Fall of Bataan. One former commander retired as a major general and two were brigadier generals.

There were no major changes in either organization or operations during the 1930s. The reorganization of the Philippine Division in the Spring of 1941 heralded the first alterations. Beginning in mid-1940, the German succession of triumphs in Europe introduced a deadly serious note in the training of the 12th. Japanese expansion was reaching into Southeast Asia and the Philippines was on the axis of advance. The strength of the company on 30 September, 1941 was 218.

World War II

The 12th Signal Company (PS) roster of October-November 1941 can be seen here.

On 8 December, 1941, it had four sections:

• Company Headquarters
  Captain Walter J. Hewitt, Commanding

• Message Section Center
  Staff Sergeant Jose Palafox, NCO in charge

• Radio Section
  1st Lieutenant Gerald J. Brown, Commanding
  Master Sergeant Angel D. Maningas, NCO in charge

• Telephone/Telegraph Section
  1st Lieutenant Robert W. Studer, Commanding
  Technical Sergeant Hermogines Reodica, NCO in charge

• Telephone Wire Section
  1st Lieutenant Robert W. Studer, Commanding
  2nd Lieutenant Reginald M. Polk
  Master Sergeant Agapito Dalida, NCO in charge

The company moved initially on 8 December, 1941 to preplanned locations on the Ft. Wm. McKinley Reservation and communicated with the Division Headquarters, its subordinate units and higher head-quarters. On 15 December, the Division Headquarters was moved to Hermosa in the northeast corner of the Bataan Peninsula. At that time, the Division was part of the USAFFE Reserve. At the end of the month, when the Japanese pressed toward Bataan, the Division Headquarters moved south and set up at Rodriguez Park. The 57th Infantry (PS) was placed under II Corps, but the remainder of the Division continued as part of the USAFFE Reserve. Both the 45th and 31st Infantry regiments were forward of the Headquarters.

This wide dispersion of the divisional units necessitated long lines of field wire that were laid along narrow tortuous trails and across extremely rugged terrain as well as over numerous rivers and streams. Maintenance was performed twenty -four hours a day by the skilled and dedicated members of the wire section. Later in the campaign the 12th had to support the 45th and 57th Infantry (PS) when they were shifted to the I Corps sector. When the final Japanese offensive hit, the signalmen worked without surcease. Frequently, the parties were so isolated and fragmented, junior non-commissioned officers directed the work. They displayed the same reliability and skill that had characterized men of the 12th who had served since it was formed.

Despite the fact that most of the men were constantly exposed to the devastating artillery, aerial and even ground arms fire the casualties were amazingly light. Only two were killed. Corporal Florencio Coca died on 8 March, 1942. Since there was little or no activity at that time it is probable that he died of wounds suffered earlier. Private Domingo Jagudilla was killed in the heavy fighting around Mt. Samat on 5 April, 1942. 1st Sgt. Mariano Banot, a fine soldier was bayoneted when he fell out on the Death March. A similar fate fell to Private First Class Mauro Masaoy.

Camp O’Donnell would be the end of service for twelve non-commissioned officers and thirty-six privates first class and privates. As so many of the Scouts did, many of the signalers joined the resistance. Eight non-commissioned officers and four PFCs/privatess would give their lives continuing the struggle. Two officers, Major John K. Shillemeier And 1st Lieutenant Reginald M. Polk perished on prison ships.

Post-WWII

Of those who survived WWII, many would reenlist when the 12th Signal Company was reactivated and reorganized in 1946 at Camp O’Donnell as part of the 12th Infantry Division (PS). The Army inactivated the unit in 1947.

Company Commanders [1]

Insignia and Coat of Arms

Bibliography

[1] “12th Signal Company (PS).” The Philippine Scouts, by John Olson, Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, 1996, p. 270.

[2] “Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register.” Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, The Army, 1961, p. 55.

[3] Olson, 271.

[4] Olson, 272.