U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum

    I visited the U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum in hopes of adding to the communications page on the website. The museum does not contain navy-specific items, but does provide an interesting overview on the history of communications.

Entrance Hall to the Signal Museum

   The sign said "Open Every Day Except Monday."  Guess what day it was... I had driven seven hours to see this museum and was, well, pissed!  I peered through the glass into the unlit museum and tugged on the door handle. It opened!  I walked in... 

A guy yelled "Hey! We're closed!"

I replied "Oh sorry, but the door was open..." then, before violence could erupt, I flashed my ID card and gushed "I'm from the U.S. Army Department of History in Washington, DC. Your museum is being considered for additional funding and my boss at the Pentagon sent me to look around and make a recommendation...."

Big smile. Great! How can I help you?...    I didn't even need a clipboard. 

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    Now, the truth: A guy did stop me. I explained my long trip and he took sympathy on me. Boring but true. Again, Southern hospitality at work. You gotta love it, to say nothing of respect it.

    The museum's main hall, pictured above, has several smaller rooms along three sides in which different time periods are represented. Beginning on the left side (I inadvertently started on the right), the history of signaling are presented in sequential order. The well laid out displays leads you logically from the visual signals (hand signals, flags, torches, lights) up through satellite communications. Along the way you'll see a variety of original items to include a rare Civil War Beardslee Magneto, some "Wig-Wag" signal flags, a cipher desk, telegraph equipment. 

    During WW I the signal corps employed 200 women switchboard operators in France, known as the "hello girls", because of the way they answered the phones. A "Hello girl" mock-up sits in a a realistic recreation of a switchboard office. around the corner you'll find two of the first aircraft radios, the BC-15 (See photo)  and the SCR-59. 

   The WW II display contains an original OSS "suitcase radio", the first SCR-536 "handie talkie", an M-209 cipher device, an SCR-300 FM radio, a dedication to native American "code-talkers", and many other interesting items. The curator displayed everything in a mock-up communications center with the items casually sitting around on tables.

    Post-WW II displays everything from Korean war backpack radios to a realistic setting of a AN/GRC-50 tactical satellite communications relay center. 

    CONCLUSION: While small, the U.S. Army Signal Museum is well organized and professionally presented. The displays are top-notch and realistic. The artifacts are well preserved and fit into the museum's "story line", progressing logically from rudimentary communication tools through satellite systems. Along the way, interesting pieces of history are injected to keep your interest high. Quality, not quantity jumps to mind. Well worth a visit if you find yourself in the Fort Gordon area.