DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Out at Fort Clark, there's a building that doesn't look like much at first glance. Irregular cut field stone on the outside, tile brick underneath.
Sturdy, quiet, the kind of structure that keeps its secrets. But from 1932 to 1944, that building was the beating heart of communications for the entire post. Every call, every signal, every piece of information moving in or out of Fort Clark passed through right there.
Around 1940, somebody looked at the original footprint and decided it wasn't quite enough. So they enlarged it, added barracks space to house the enlisted soldiers who kept the whole operation running. Then the war came, and the place really got busy.
The 3rd Signal Troop of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the Signal Detachment of the 1855th Service Company moved in together, sharing the building and shouldering a load that would've impressed just about anybody. They maintained the post telephone system. They ran the Army training film library.
They kept the post photo lab going. Essential equipment of every kind passed through their hands. Now here's the part that tends to stick with you.
When Fort Clark was closed on August 28, 1944, somebody had to be the last ones out. And it was them. The Signal Corps detachment.
The people who had spent the war keeping everyone connected, keeping the lines open, keeping Fort Clark talking to the world. They turned out the lights and walked away last. Seems fitting, when you think about it.
The folks who kept the whole conversation going were the ones who got to say the final word.
What the marker says
This building served as the communications center for Fort Clark from 1932-1944. The Building is of tile brick construction with a veneer of irregular cut field stone. The original footprint was enlarged c. 1940 to accommodate barracks for enlisted soldiers. During World War II mobilization, the 3rd Signal Troop of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the Signal Detachment of the 1855th Service Company shared this building and maintained the post telephone system, Army training film library, post photo lab, and other essential equipment. The Signal Corps detachment were the last troops to leave Fort Clark when it was closed on August 28, 1944.