Walter Morey Haynes
PFC in 3133rd Signal Service Co
ASN#17073168
Born 1920 in SD, Died 2012
County of residence at enlistment: Black Hawk County, IA
Other residence(s): Waterloo, IA; Cedar Falls, IA; Cresco, IA
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: unskilled occupations in manufacture of miscellaneous electrical equipment
College education before the war: 1 year
College education after the war: Univ. of Northern Iowa (BA and MA)
Walter Haynes was born on May 7, 1920 in Sioux Falls, SD. He had been adopted by his parents and was their only child; his father worked as a roofing salesman and later as a sheet metal worker in a tractor plant.
The family had moved to Waterloo, IA by 1930 and Walter grew up there. He graduated from East High School in 1939 and went to work pumping gas. By the time he registered for the draft, on July 1, 1941, he was working as an apprentice electrician.
In May, 1942 he went to work for the Army Signal Corps as a civilian, and joined the reserves. He attended radio repair school in his hometown of Waterloo, and, in October, went off to Steamboat Springs, CO to attend radio school there.
After completing the radio course, he was inducted on February 4, 1943 and trained at Camp Crowder in Missouri. He then took courses for seven months under the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) through Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Walter married Ruth Marie Rewoldt on December 8, 1943 in Frederika, IA while on a short leave from the ASTP program.
In 1944 he attended radio school at Fort Monmouth, NJ and had the opportunity to volunteer for a secret assignment. Then he was off to Pine Camp, NY to become a part of the 3133 Signal Service Company.
He saw service with the unit in Italy in the spring of 1945. After the war was over, Walter reported that he "enjoyed several interesting trips as Rest and Relaxation to Milan, Rome, Venice, Nice, France and, best of all, to Mussolini's mountaintop hide-away. It was very elaborate and a wonderful place to vacation, with movies, hiking, horseback riding, and wonderful food."
He was discharged from the Army on February 6, 1946, got a job on the maintenance staff of the Waterloo Schools as a "utility man," and obtained a certificate from the Milwaukee School of Engineering in 1947.
But he decided to take advantage of the GI Bill in about 1949 and enrolled at Iowa State Teachers' College (now University of Northern Iowa (UNI)). He moved the family (he and Ruth had a son, Allan) to Cedar Falls, IA, and got a part-time job as an architectural draftsman. Ruth also went to work in a greenhouse. He graduated in 1952, and taught industrial arts, math, and science at Keystone and Cedar Falls. A second child, a daughter, Deb, joined the family and Walter went back to UNI for more education. He received his master's degree in 1958 and in 1960 accepted a job as the principal at Crestwood Junior High in Cresco, IA. He would stay in that position for 23 years.
Photo from Find a Grave
Photo:
1952 Iowa State Teachers' College Yearbook (p. 242)
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=uni_yearbooks
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1941 draft card
1942 article in the Waterloo Daily Courier (IA) about his role in the civilian signal corps
https://www.newspapers.com/image/357698284/?terms=Walter%20m.%20haynes&match=1
1943 enlistment record
1943 Iowa Marriage Records
1946 article in the Waterloo Daily Courier (IA) about his work
https://www.newspapers.com/image/356117348/?terms=walter%20m%20haynes&match=1
1947 article in the Waterloo Daily Courier (IA) about his education
https://www.newspapers.com/image/359403279/?terms=Walter%20m.%20haynes&match=1
1949 Iowa World War II Bonus Case Files
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/216344:8825?ssrc=pt&tid=105388519&pid=212234174900
1950 census
1957 US City Directories for Cedar Falls, IA
1960 article in the Globe-Gazette (Mason City, IA) about his work
https://www.newspapers.com/image/38213981/?terms=Walter%20m.%20haynes&match=1
1993 US Public Records Index
2012 obituary in The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/541241843/?terms=Walter%20m.%20haynes&match=1
2012 Find a Grave record
2012 Social Security Death Index
2022 Cresco Times Online, story about the Ghost Army and Walter's role (it confusingly blends the activities of the 23rd HQ Special Troops and the 3133, but has some interesting observations from Walter on his experience)