Collected 1976-1988 command chronologies

Gents, I'm on deck in Quantico, and I just copied our command chronologies from 1976-1988.  That's all the Gray Research Archive has for us until 2001 or so.  Next week I'm going to locate the end of the 80s and all of the 90s back at Great Lakes (it's either with us or with Group).  In the next day or so, I'm heading over to the National Archives to see how much of our 1953-1975 stuff I can find (all the name changes won't make it easy).

So far, it's going well.  Gray's been a great help, and we now have a huge amount of MWCS-48 history in one place.  I provided them some of our documentation as well, like then-LtCol Davis' letter from NFL Properties about the 1988 unit logo change (which I've also provided to the Bears historian and the NFL Archives, neither of which had a copy).

I'll let you know what I find at the National Archives, but let me know if you have any historical information on Comm Squadron...really, anything.  And again, if you have stories from your time in, let me know and we'll set up an interview so I can get the story added to the History Division's Oral History Program (at which point I can add info from your story to the MWCS-48 Wikipedia page).

Finally, if any of you are in the Quantico area this week and want to get a beer, I'll be in the Globe and Laurel every night.

Semper Fi,
Capt Palmer

We have begun to write the unit history of MWCS-48.  This is an early first draft.  Please send us your stories and photos for inclusion in this History.

You can click here and write

Or you can email them to:

Craig Hullinger    craighullinger@gmail.com

and/or

Christian Palmer   cpalmer3002@gmail.com

Semper Fi

1953 Photo

We found this photo was on line and is of an Anglico Unit from Chicago training in California in 1953.  The Anglico Unit may be the predecessor unit to MWCS-48.

Does anyone have any information about the Anglico unit days?

MWCS-48 is preparing a history of the Unit.

Semper Fi,

Craig Hullinger

Oral History Interviews

I'm talking with a field historian I know from the Navajo Code Talker event last summer about how to do interviews for submission to the Oral History Project.  Half of you are already on my hit list as strong candidates for interviews, but for the moment I'm going to focus on who's most interested.  If you'd like to talk about what one of these interviews entails, hit me up at cpalmer3002@gmail.com.

______

This will be fun. I encourage all MWCS-48 Squadron mates to participate, unless you fear that your ex wife or the long arm of the law will find you through the video.  We will put the videos on this blog.

Semper Fi

Craig Hullinger

Update of lineage and honors

I'm working toward scheduling an update of our lineage and honors with the History Division.  Part of it is piecing together our old command chronologies, but it really only comes down to three things for each year of our history:

1. Where did we go?

2. When did we go there?

3. How many Marines did we bring?

Unlike our own internal history, they don't need a lot of detail, so having just those three things will ensure that we get the right awards in a timely manner.  Also, if we get our books in order, it really helps the History Division...there's just one poor woman, Ms. Crumley, updating lineage and honors for every unit in the whole Marine Corps, so we want to make her job as easy as possible.

Piecing it together, covering gaps

I just talked to an archivist over at Gray.  I'm trying to get copies of our old command chronologies that we can keep at the unit.  Right now we only have so many of them, and they're concentrated in the 1990s and over the past few years.  Long story short, he was able to turn up documents from us going back to 1971, when we became MWCS-48, but there are some gaps.

I'm working on finding a Marine to go over to Quantico and spend a day scanning everything, and checking some of our previous names.  If anyone is out in the Quantico area (or is going to be), and wants to spend a whole day scanning or xeroxing documents, let me know.  If not, plan B is that I try to convince my brother, Sgt Palmer, to do it for us.  He spends plenty of time over at Gray anyway.

When we have everything, we'll be able to see exactly what we're missing.

Unit History

MARINE WING COMMUNICATIONS SQUADRON 48

Unit History

Activated 10 April 1952 at Chicago IL, as 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. U.S Marine Corps Reserve. Located in Chicago near White Sox Park on 35th Street.

Redesignated 1 July 1962 as 5th Communication Battalion, Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force.

Redesignated 1 May 1967 as Marine Wing Communication Squadron 4, and re assigned to 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

Redesignated 1 July 1971 as Marine Wing Communication Squadron 48.

Their were two Squadrons - MWCS-48 and MWCTS-407. (Marine Wing Communications Training Squadron-407).  MWCTS-407 was formed by the Communication Platoons that would normally be part of the Marine Air Base Squadrons. The thinking was that the Marines would be better trained in on central location rather than being located with the MABS.

Relocated in 1974 to Naval Air Station Glenview, IL

1977 attached to MARINE AIR CONTROL GROUP 48.  MWCTS-407 was merged with MWCS-48.

Mobilized in support of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Southwest Asia FEB - JUN 1991.  Approximately ½ of the Squadron was activated while the remainder was near mobilization. Squadron Marines served in North Carolina, Norway, and in the Persian Gulf.

Relocated during September to Fort Sheridan in Highwood, IL in 1995

Relocated during November 2001 to Great lakes, IL

Mobilized in support of Operation IRAQI Freedom, IRAQ FEB 2003