All the records burned and I cannot tell my soldier’s story!
How many times have you heard that phrase uttered by Army, Air Forces, and National Guard WWII researchers? I’ve heard it more times than I can count. What people do not realize is there is a hidden gem in the records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO. A record set that will provide the foundation researchers need to reconstruct service history from start to finish, especially if they are creative with their research. What is the gem? Company Morning Reports
- The location of the company for the date of the report.
- Strength of the unit in numbers of men
- Details of those entering and leaving the company
- Names of those declared AWOL, Missing In Action, Killed In Action, or wounded.
- The reports also provided information on the day’s events. Some clerks reported weather conditions, in addition to the usual information on where the unit was fighting, and other enemy encounters.
Analyzing a Morning Report
The Morning Report shown in this post is for I Company 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Infantry Division. What can we learn from this report?- Date of the report
- Location (but be careful with Airborne reports because their station is reported as being in England, but if you keep looking at the reports, you will end up at month’s end learning the company is really in Holland and has been there several days.) Always check other records to ensure your soldier’s company was where you think it was.
- We see Robert Wagner listed as going from duty to slighting injured in action. We have his serial number and rank. Knowing he was injured adds to his timeline of service we can create. Had he been removed from the company, that would have been noted.
- We know how many men are in the company this date.
- We have a record of events which helps us locate additional histories and records.