Well, it’s been a long road gaining digital access to World War II Army Morning Reports but finally we have them all through 1945. Just not the way we expected.
I’ve been a bit angry about it quite honestly since I found out yesterday afternoon. Not only because the Morning Reports aren’t all in one place as people would intuitively think, but because there are issues. Plus, I just recorded my classes explaining how to search and now I have more work to do to record new lessons.
One of my business goals has always been to educate. If you know how to locate records, what they mean, and you’ve learned my 2-part research strategy – you can do a lot of this on your own before going to the archives or hiring a researcher. But I have to say – this is frustrating as a professional researcher and teacher.
If you have purchased pre-recorded classes for Army or Morning Reports or WWII Digital Detective (and soon the AAF Records) – I will be recording a new lesson to insert into all of those pre-recorded classes on navigating the 1945 Morning Reports. I have to figure out the best way to teach this so I can record the lesson. I will also be updating my workbooks. Plus, I will schedule another Live class so we can walk through searching 1945 Army Company Morning Reports on Fold3 for those who like the live interaction and ability to ask questions.
Why all this fuss and frustration? Because they are not FREE on NARA Catalog with the 1940-1944 Morning Reports.
Fold3 has them, I think behind the paywall, and they have some issues.
Issues with Fold3 1945 Army Morning Reports
1. The reels are roughly 30,000+ images. If you use NARA Catalog you know they average around 5,000-6,000 maybe then broken out over 125 image PDFs. This is not the case on Fold3.
I am trying to verify if the 1945 reports were filmed like that or if the prior years were filmed in less pages on more reels. It just isn’t making sense why so many. Or did NARA break things down and the numbering system is different? This is an issue for those who want to cite the accurate source and roll number. I want to know and will investigate more so I can offer explanations when I teach.
2. To download the reports on Fold3, you can download each page individually. You also have the option to download the whole reel of 35,000+ images. I imagine that file would crash your computer.
3. It is incomplete even though Fold3 says 100% scanned. I’ve double and triple checked with my researcher who has all the 90th Infantry Division Morning Reports on paper. He takes huge binders to 90th Division reunions. I have physical copies of January 1945 reports that show my cousin’s MIA, death, etc. These are not on Fold3.
It appears that for C Company 358th Infantry Regiment, January 1945 stops at 12 January and the Fold3 image has that page sliced and diced next to a F Company 19 January report. Where did the rest of C, D, E, and the beginning of F go? I can’t find them on Fold3 but I know they exist on the microfilm at NPRC. I have physical copies from 15 years ago and my researcher has every single page.
So the question is – do we exhaust Fold3 for 1945 then go to NPRC or hire a researcher to verify we have it all?
Military research is challenging enough and when we have to search multiple sites to get what we need (think Navy Muster Rolls, WWII War Diaries, etc. on Ancestry/Fold3/NARA Catalog) it confuses people.
If you want to go search 1945 Morning Reports, I’d love to know what you discover or the issues you have. It will help me create better content for you in classes and articles if I have more information.
If you are ready to learn the 2-part research strategy, I now have pre-recorded programs. My online course site is the only place in the country you will find up to date and deep military research classes. Even Legacy doesn’t have current WWII research classes or the scope that I offer. In my Store you have the option to explore pre-recorded programs or take a live class. I will soon be scheduling live November classes. Plus by 25 October, the Army Air Force Records class and the USMC Records class will be recorded and available. There is also a new Military Research Report class coming in the next few days. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get a discount code.
© 2026 Jennifer Holik, World War II Research and Writing Center
Leave a Reply