Norman Adolph. Foster
Norman A. Foster was born 25-Oct 1921 Broseley, Missouri. His parents were Clyde Marvin Foster (1898-1956) and Myrtle Ellen Brown (1898-1983). According to the 1940 Federal Census, the family lived in St. Louis at 1604 S. Thirteenth Street. According to the census, Norman was 18 years old, and classified as a “New Worker”, and had completed Elementary school, 8th grade.
Norman enlisted in the Army on 8-Mar 1941. His service number was 37053466.
Norman was at Fort Bliss Texas for his anti-aircraft training in August 1941. At Fort Bless he served with the 79th Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft). During its time in Texas, the 79th Coast Artillery (AA) was involved in anti-aircraft defense and training, as Fort Bliss was a major training center for anti-aircraft units during World War II. The US Army Coast Artillery Corps was responsible for both coastal and anti-aircraft defense, and many units shifted focus to the anti-aircraft role during the war.
In the summer of 1944, the 556th AAA AW Battalion went from Fort Bliss to Camp Jackson, South Carolina. From Camp Jackson, the next stop was the European theater of Operations. The 556th AAA was an independent U.S. Army unit during World War II, which included A Battery, B Battery, C Battery, and D Battery. It was commonly referred to as the 556th AAA AW BN (Mobile). Foster’s Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) was 763 “SEARCHLIGHT CREWMAN.” His army record states he was a “TRUCK DRIVER LIGHT 7-36.260” as a civilian.
As a searchlight crewman, Norman operated searchlights for illumination of enemy targets, including the following duties: connected light to power source, threw switch to turn on light, check dials for amperage, and focused lights. Cleaned and serviced glasses and equipment.
The 556th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (Mobile) arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) around mid-September 1944.
The 556th AAA AW Battalion saw its first action during the Battle of the Bulge, which primarily took place in southern Belgium and northern Luxembourg from December 1944 to January 1945. The battalion later saw its first significant combat action during New Year’s Eve and New Years Day 1945. In a 48-hour period 260 enemy planes were over the Army harassing raids by fighters and bombers started at dark New Year’s Eve and continued all night.
For more of Norman’s story, click on the the pdf below.
