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The Soldier Turned Shopkeeper
As the war rolled on, and the invasion of Normandy boosted the allies’ fortunes, it started to change the balance of power in Europe, and Abe's duties changed also. His position as “Motor Maintenance Specialist”, a classification he earned in the Officers’ Candidate School, was left behind. He was not a motor head.
So, in Italy, putting him in charge of the Post Exchange, PX, was a good move for the Army and for Abe. As a traveling salesman in the late thirties, he learned inventory, logistics, bookkeeping, and how to treat his PX customers, no matter what their rank in the service.
It puzzles me that upon graduation, the Army considered him a Motor Maintenance Specialist. I don't know what he thought of that. He could do many things, but he never sang in the choir, played poker, and I never ever did see him check the oil, let alone change it, in any of the many Chrysler automobiles he drove as a traveling salesman. Whatever the army taught him about internal combustion engines did not stick.
A Vietnam veteran friend of mine suggested, Abe’s Motor Maintenance title was a cover story. Perhaps the Army could use it as he moved up into something more important than changing oil and spark plugs? If he was actually working in some clandestine role, this motor head moniker would give him cover.
In 1944, while running the PX in Italy, he was tagged to run a Signal Corps Company.
To do what and where? Did the Army quietly promote talented officers who would later be “activated”, given jobs that matched their skills?
Lt. Sacks waited just a little while to find out.
He wrote my mother Bea, in November 20,1944, bragging that he had been assigned to the United States Army Signal Corps.
"I am in the big picture now."
For the Lieutenant, his move up the military ladder started - with new clothes and long underwear.
How was Lt. Sacks expected to reciprocate for this practical signing bonus from the Commanding Officer?
In his next letter, he answers that:
“S.I.A.M.
You are probably a little curious as to the title of this Co. The title means Signal Information And Monitoring.”
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Officially classified as a Motor Maintenance Specialist, the army realized Lt. Sacks had more civilian experience with men's apparel business than motor manifolds.
In Italy he ran the post exchange (PX), until he was tagged to run a Signal Corps Company. |
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Early on, Lt. Sacks was not "read in" on all the duties and responsibilities he would assume leading a Signal Corps squad. This overview document summarizes the development of the S.I.A.M process as the British first practiced it. |
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