Earlier this month I wrote an article about Codes as Locations in Army Morning Reports. Today I would like to share with you some information on locating code names in unit histories and other unit-level records.
Not all unit histories, After Action Reports, or other G# or S# reports have code names in them. When they do though, it can be a bear to figure out whether or not your soldier was part of a group that participated in a campaign or battle and which one, if you don’t have the information.
It’s important to make sure when you request any unit records, that the person copying them for you makes sure to read through them quickly to see if there are code names. If there are codes, make sure that the researcher copies the key.
I completed a 7th Infantry Division project earlier this year and the set of reports for the Kwajalein Campaign were filled with codes. It was important to figure out which group the soldier I was working on was in (ABLE). Then I could track what islands he was on during the campaign. Even with the code names, after a little while reading the report, look at the code names to make sure you are reporting the correct information, it does start to do your head in as my husband says.
This particular report that was doing my head in had something unexpected. A set of pencil drawings done by one of the men who participated in the assaults. If you download the PDF below, you can read the first three pages of this report plus see some of the drawings. This will give you an idea of what I mean by code names in unit records. This particular unit history was over 30 pages long.
Download the PDF example of this Summary and Observations Report for Kwajalein and figure out which island was code named CARLSON.
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