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Phillips William Berg

2LT in 3133rd Signal Service Co : Officer

ASN#15312445

Born 1923 in IL, Died 1998

County of residence at enlistment: Cook County, IL
Other residence(s): Chicago, IL; Glenview, IL
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: foremen, n.e.c.
College education before the war: Purdue 1 year
Source: 3133rd roster from 10th Mountain Division Museum at Fort Drum; AES 1944 Christmas Dinner Program

Phillips Berg was born on February 23, 1923 in Chicago, IL. He was the second of two sons; his father worked as a traffic manager for the steam railway in 1930, and later as a freight solicitor for the railway.

Phillips attended Purdue University in Lafayette, IN, and registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, just after he finished his freshman year. He enlisted on September 18, 1942 in Lafayette; it is likely that he continued his education while serving in the Army Reserves. (His VA death record says that he enlisted on September 23, 1944 which may have been the date that he transferred from the Reserves to the regular Army. In addition, he was commissioned as a 2LT.) He was assigned to the 3133 Signal Service Company, probably because of a background in mechanical engineering (which was the profession he pursued after the war). He went overseas with the unit, and was discharged from the Army on August 15, 1946.

After the war he returned to Chicago and moved back in with his family; in 1950 he was working as a mechanical engineer in the electrical equipment industry.

At some point after that he married Mary Lafkas; they would have two daughters: Andria and Maria, and the family eventually settled in Glenview, IL.

In 1957, Phillips was named regional sales manager at the Tuthill Pump Company and in 1962 he was named manager of railway sales for the Chicago Region at Gould-National Batteries, Inc.

He died on June 15, 1998.

Sources:

1923 Cook County birth index

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1499&h=2312217&tid=&pid=&queryId=2b2c1047d3f446fbcd4bffc6d1013904&usePUB=true&_phsrc=aEC2&_phstart=successSource

1930 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/23461511:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=aff6460128ef4c0ecb6f668fac3b6d9e&_phsrc=doD5&_phstart=successSource

1940 census (listed as William, his middle name)

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/144499422:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=2b2c1047d3f446fbcd4bffc6d1013904&_phsrc=aEC1&_phstart=successSource

1942 draft card

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/41237981:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=da0bcdcad158e8e7fb1a96eae145e1f4&_phsrc=FdP6&_phstart=successSource

1942 enlistment record

https://www.fold3.com/record/84276955/phillips-w-berg-wwii-army-enlistment-records

1950 census

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/225381291:62308?tid=&pid=&queryId=cb68b34dad18f868d9648d051d60e691&_phsrc=FdP14&_phstart=successSource

1957 article in the Chicago Tribune (IL) about his job

https://www.newspapers.com/image/372843444/?terms=phillips%20w%20berg&match=1

1962 article in the Chicago Tribune (IL) about his job

https://www.newspapers.com/image/374623283/?terms=phillips%20w%20berg&match=1

1993 Glenview IL phone and address directory

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/120558437:7339?tid=&pid=&queryId=2a41472187a6212cd6bf305506684487&_phsrc=FdP19&_phstart=successSource

1998 Social Security Applications and Claims Index

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/27363136:60901?tid=&pid=&queryId=0060ac61f69f197e8355299361e14bcd&_phsrc=FdP11&_phstart=successSource

1998 Social Security death index

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=3693&h=4349638&tid=&pid=&queryId=cb68b34dad18f868d9648d051d60e691&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FdP13&_phstart=successSource

1998 VA death record

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/7596261:2441?tid=&pid=&queryId=cb68b34dad18f868d9648d051d60e691&_phsrc=FdP12&_phstart=successSource

1998 death notice in the Chicago Tribune (IL)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/169352651/?terms=william%20phillips%20berg&match=1

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