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504th PIR

WWII Education – Company Morning Reports

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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 I Co 504th PIR Morning Reports-3A Morning Report was created each day outlining events of the prior day for the events of a Company. To locate information in Morning Reports you must know the Company in which your soldier served. It is not enough to know in which division or regiment. The Company can be found on a discharge paper or IDPF or any other letter or document that has a unit listed on it. Morning Reports can be traced in any direction based on the information you have. Morning Reports listed many details about the company which include:
  • 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.
The companies were required to report numbers of men at each meal, which provided information to the Army, who then was able to provide food and appropriate supplies for the soldiers. These numbers also alerted headquarters when the ranks were depleted and replacements were needed. Morning Reports are useful because they can help you track a soldier’s service from start to finish, as long as the company clerk included all the details of the entrance and exit of a soldier, showing where he came from, and where he was going. Not all company clerks did this or had the time to do this. If you cannot find detailed information within a Morning Report, consider the battle conditions under which the clerks were trying to compile reports.

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.

How do we access these records?

You can hire a researcher to pull the records or you can visit the National Personnel Records Center yourself and go through the microfilm. To learn more about Morning Reports, see my books Stories from the World War II Battlefield, which provide a more in-depth look at these records. You can also see several examples at the 134th Infantry Regiment 35th Infantry Division website.

Can I help you with your research?

Are you ready to learn the bigger picture of your family member’s military service? Email us at info@wwiirwc.com to set up your free phone consultation today to discuss project options, fees, and time. You can also sign-up for our free newsletter and receive the Start Writing Your Military Story Today free! ©  2016 WWII Research & Writing Center

Traveling in their Footsteps – 22 October 2015

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Overassault Monument (7)
Overassault Monument

Friday, 22 October, I planned to meet my friend Frank, who teaches history and is a historian and author for the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR.) The plan was to meet in Overasselt near Arnhem. I was almost over my cold, and the next day I was going to give my first World War II program in Europe. It was a rainy, foggy day when I set out to meet him at 9:00. The only problem was I, I didn’t double check my itinerary (which had changed so often) to see we were actually meeting at 10:00.John Thompson Bridge Monument (2)

I arrived an hour early and after I realized what I had done, Frank suggested I go see the John Thompson Bridge at Grave. I took a drive and didn’t realize I had already driven over it on my way. I stopped at the monument which honors the Airborne. The energy there was so intense as if every Airborne soldier had shown up. My body was vibrating from all the energy. I stood at the monument and cleared a lot of energy before taking another drive to find a cup of hot tea before I met Frank.

Frank and I visited the Nijmegen Bridge and Airborne Monument at that location. He told me a lot of history about what happened in that area during the war. After lunch we went to Oosterbeek to visit the cemetery. I wanted to visit the grave of British soldier Ivor Rowbery, who I had become aware of about a week before I flew to Europe. Ivor wrote a beautiful letter to his mother prior to the Operation Market Garden mission, knowing he was likely to die.

Arnhem Cemetery (23)The rain began falling heavily when we arrived at the cemetery. Thankfully we had cover near the front of the cemetery where the Memorial Book is kept. The energy at the cemetery was not as intense as it had been earlier in the day. It was beautiful and peaceful to watch the rain fall over the cemetery with tall, colorful trees lining the edges, and listen to the acorns fall.

When the rain subsided we walked through the cemetery. Frank knows the stories of most of the men buried there. HeIvor Rowbery (1) brought them back to life as we walked. We located Ivor Rowbery’s grave and took a few photos then walked through the cemetery gate and walked along the forest edge to the field where the men had been.

When we exited the field we walked along a magical fairy road, along the city cemetery, as light fog hung in the air. I’m quite sure the fairies hang out in this area and magic abounds. Frank had no idea the cemetery which was laid out across from Oosterbeek, extended that far beyond the main area. After we found a gate to get into the far end of the cemetery, we saw some interesting Russian grave stones. It was quite a walk in a beautiful area.

Our afternoon ended with hot tea and a gigantic piece of apple pie that was impossible to eat in one sitting! Delicious.

As I drove home the energy was crackling. I was soon to meet someone I knew a thousand years ago and give my first talk in Europe. The question was, how would life change in the morning?

© 2015 Jennifer Holik