Ed Savitski
Staff Sergeant
U.S. Army
17th Signal Battalion
1948- 1952
I was raised in Bessemer, a small town on the far western edge of Michigan's upper peninsula. Like most boys in that area, I grew up fishing and hunting so I was pretty good with a gun. In high school, I was First Lieutenant of our ROTC rifle squad.
Jobs were scarce in the U.P. after I graduated so I began working odd jobs downstate in Grand Rapids until I was drafted into the Army in 1948. I went through basic training at Camp Breckinridge in Kentucky, then was trained in the signal corps at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey before being shipped to Germany. Considering many of my friends were shipped to Korea, whose conflict was just heating up at that time, I considered myself fortunate.
The 17th Signal Battalion was based in Karlsruhe, Germany, near the French border. The main task of our unit was to set up temporary radio relay stations in remote areas, driving our trucks to specified locations then raising an antenna and tuning the radio equipment to enable long-range communications.
As a mobile unit, we moved around a lot and saw the destruction and rebuilding of many German and French towns and cities, even several years after the end of WWII. Later in my deployment, our unit was transferred to Orléans, France, to help set up a permanent radio installation there. While on leave in Paris, I signed up as a member of the American Legion at Post #1. At the time of my discharge in 1952 I was a Staff Sergeant in charge of a dozen men.
I've always said: While I went to school in Bessemer, I got my education in the Army. After returning from duty, I found the training in radio and electronics I received served me well. I had good jobs repairing dictaphones and, ultimately, elevators for Westinghouse in the Ann Arbor area where I'd settled, got married, and raised 4 kids.
I recently re-joined the American Legion at my local Post #46 here in Ann Arbor and have enjoyed the camaraderie of the group very much.
