About the 40th Signal Construction Battalion in WW II

In the late 1930s, the United States had a very small standing army. In July 1939, the active U.S. Army numbered only 174,000 soldiers and three divisions had a full divisional framework. The outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939 prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare a “limited national emergency” and request a rapid build-up. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941) transformed the mobilization program.

General George C. Marshall decided in summer 1943 that the Army should build to an effective strength of 7.7 million (it ultimately peaked at 8.3 million) and maintain 91 divisions . This enormous expansion created critical gaps in trained manpower. Facing shortages, the government could no longer afford to exclude large segments of the population. Pressure from civil‑rights leaders and the necessity of war led Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 and to push the War Department to open aviation, ground combat and Marine units to African Americans.

The mobilization crisis triggered by Pearl Harbor not only reshaped U.S. military recruitment but also helped dismantle barriers that had limited African-American participation in national defense.

The United States Army Signal Corps faced an unprecedented crisis, needing to expand from 6,543 personnel to 36,000 while having only 320 officers when 2,715 were required. According to "The Signal Corps:The Emergency", equipment shortages compounded the emergency as only two U.S. companies could manufacture essential field wire. The Corps urgently needed new "construction battalions, aircraft warning companies, wire platoons" for the expanding Army.

With few qualified men in the Regular Army or National Guard, the Corps increasingly relied on Selective Service after 1940. Reception centers screened both draftees and volunteers without branch preference for skills in telephony, radio, or electrical work, directing them to Signal units. Fort Monmouth, and later Camp Crowder, became the core of this expansion, which by early 1942 had turned the Corps from a small peacetime service into one of the Army’s largest technical branches.

The unit insignia features a shield with a black background and an orange band bordered in silver, representing the Signal Corps. The battalion's connection to the 29th Signal Construction Battalion is memorialized in its official insignia. The silver peach symbolizes the state of Georgia, origin of the cadre and original officers of the 29th. The horse's head represents Kentucky, the state of activation. The telephone poles are symbolic of telephone construction work, with the two poles representing the original unit - the 29th.

The crest includes a lion adapted from the arms of Normandy, commemorating the unit's initial combat service. The mural crown with five embattlements represents the total combined campaigns credited to the organization for service in France and Europe during World War II. The unit motto is "Bene Factum" (Well Done).

Battalion strength records show fluctuations throughout 1944. As of 1 January 1944, the unit comprised 25 officers and 572 enlisted men. Monthly strength reports document changes: 31 January 1944 showed 24 officers and 545 enlisted men, while by 31 December 1944, strength had decreased to 22 officers and 208 enlisted men.

By 25 May 1945, battalion strength including Medical Detachment showed 19 officers, 1 warrant officer, and 423 enlisted men against an authorized strength of 19 officers, 1 warrant officer, and 416 enlisted men (with authorized overstrength of 5 enlisted men).

The battalion underwent several organizational changes during its service, including assignments to various army groups and signal service organizations as documented in official troop assignment orders and circulars.