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
A 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.
Want More Resources?
Visit the WWII Education Website and explore my military research webinars. This pack comes with 14 pages of questions, checklists, and resources to help you start your military research (WWI – Vietnam).
Also explore my military research books.
© 2016 WWII Research & Writing Center
Jennifer,
Do you also explain to your readers, how they can locate the Morning Reports when visiting the NARA in St. Louis ?
Morning Reports were filed in different orders for the years 1943, 1944 and 1945. If you are not aware of this and get any help, researchers will be loosing a lot of time during their visit. I copied all the Morning Reports of a particular Bomb Group and took me about two full weeks to copy the HQ and 4x Squadron MR’s. Some of the copies on microfilm are of extremely poor quality or missing. Taking photo’s with a digital camera from the micro reader screen is not really an option, that is the reason I printed them on hard copy, also immediately in positive form. If people plan a trip to St, Louis they needed to be well prepared and hiring a researcher will cost you a lot of $’s.
St. Louis requires people to go through an orientation and rules there change so I do not inform people how to do research on-site. They should check for any repository they wish to visit, what the current rules are and make arrangements to get help from the archivists. Rules and regulations change too often and that is not the focus of what I do. NPRC requests you tell them what you want to see, especially archival files they need to pull and possibly repair. Researchers should ask during that time or upon arrival at the repository (any repository) for finding aids or the best practices for viewing the desired records or film.
As to the quality of copies, in my books and website examples and lectures I provide examples of all types of record images. I explain that they are not all “brand new off the printer” beautiful. Some are unreadable, light, or damaged for a variety of reasons. Microfilm isn’t always great depending on the condition of the record at the time of filming or the age of the film. Researchers have to be prepared for all states of condition, and the possibility records do not exist because they were destroyed during the war or later.
In response to the cost of hiring a researcher, many people cannot go to St. Louis or have the knowledge (or desire) of how to do the research. Hiring me (and the man I work with there to pull records and the man I work with in College Park) is often the best option for them. WWII research isn’t free no matter how you slice it – you can go there and you’ll pay hotel, meals, transportation, copy fees, etc. Or you can hire me to pull records, analyze them, write the report, provide things you might not otherwise find and be connected with other researchers you may not know about. Either way there is a cost.
I have the Morning Reports from my father’s company (Co L 417th Regt, 76th Div). When soldiers are being transferred in there is a notation which appears to be “MCC” or “MCO” or “MOO” or some variation, followed by a number such as “MCC 345” or MCC 499. Any ideas as to the meaning of this or the numerical code? I can send you some examples if that helps
Hi,
Thanks for commenting.
MCO – Main Civilian Occupation (as categorized by U.S. Army) but are you sure it doesn’t say MOS – military occupational specialty (job)? 345 is Clerk/Typist. I’m not finding a code for 499.
Jennifer
My dad was also in the 417 cannon company. Would love to see some of reports. My husband can translate the abbreviations
Eileen,
David did not say 417 Cannon Company. His dad was in L Company 417th Infantry Regiment 76th Infantry Division. Two different units – Cannon Company and this Infantry Regiment.
You would need the Morning Reports which are at NPRC in St. Louis. You would need to go there or hire a researcher to trace your dad through that company and any other companies he was part of during his military service. If the Cannon Company is listed on his discharge paper it is possible he didn’t see combat with that unit – sometimes that is just a unit in which someone was at the end when they had enough points to go home. I did a client project where a Cannon Company was listed on discharge but the man was in it a few weeks only for discharge. He saw combat in Europe with a different unit. So you have to do the research to know where someone really was. One document never tells the whole story. If you would like to explore the research options, feel free to email me at info@wwiirwc.com and we can discuss project options, costs, and time to complete. But as I said in my articles – you can also go to NPRC and trace your dad through the units yourself.
Jennifer
My grandmother, in her daily journal in 1942, recorded that she went to the Report Center (she lived in Danielson, CT) for several hours several times a week. I am trying to figure out what this center was and what she might have been doing there.
HI Carol,
You might check with the library or historical society or groups like that to see what newspapers and records they have from the 1940s. There should be some record of official war related groups/buildings, etc. there were. Also the State Archives might have information if records were transferred to that level out of the local level after the war.
Jennifer
Jennifer, just curious if you know about USMC records, and if the USMC used morning reports. I’m researching a marine whose file I have but seems to be missing some info. I have newspaper articles saying he fought on Iwo Jima, but his official file makes no mention of him being there. Just wondering if they would accidentally forgot to notate his being there. That’s why I’m asking about morning reports or some equivalent the Corps would have had. Thanks for any help. Mike.
Hi Mike,
The USMC has Muster Rolls which have been digitized on Ancestry.com. When you search for an individual you’ll get four month results – January, April, July, October. Ancestry only indexed those months but all months of the year are there. You have to go through the dropdown menu with the roll number and hunt and peck to find the next month you wish with the correct unit. Also, USMC Muster Rolls say “in the field” rather than a specific location. Sometimes you’ll find the location within the footnotes. Otherwise you have to look at other unit mission reports, histories, journals, etc. to find the locations. The Muster Rolls though will document month by month where your Marine was and then you can go to Unit records to learn more.
Newspaper articles do make mistakes and stories from family or veterans were not always 100% accurate. There are a lot of reasons for this. Start at the beginning and document where you find him in the OMPF (I assume this is the record you have?) Then Muster Rolls then unit records.
Jennifer
Thanks for your help Jennifer. I will research away.
Hi Jennifer. I have my the morning reports for my father’s unit during WWII. He served as a 1st Lt and served in the 204th Field Artillery Battalion. His MOS is 1193, which I understand to be “Field Artillery Officer”. But the next column after MOS is Code and his code is J1. Do you know what that code refers to and how I can find a listing of those code explanations? I already have access to MOS explanations. Thanks.
Betsy, I’m not sure about that code you are asking about. I’ve not seen explanation/abbreviation/glossary guides for those things online.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
My father was in a machine gun company in the 28th Division, 110th Infantry Regiment. It was M Company. They were assigned to other companies I believe.
I have been trying to get to St. Louis ti research his history in WW II. Do you have any idea if that would be possible to do because of being assigned to other companies?
He was in the hospital a couple of times from being wounded and for being sick. Recieved a purple heart, also.
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris,
I sent you an email about your question.
Jennifer
What does the code M6 stand for on the Company Morning Report under the code column at the top right hand side?
The code usually means the same thing as what is written underneath the soldier’s name ……
My grandfather was in the 82nd Airborne, 505th PIR, Company H. I’m debating going to St Louis (I’m 4 hours from there), and doing some research. Never been before but I wouldn’t even know where to start. Do I start by asking for Morning Reports of all 505th PIR, but then I would get possibly company a or c or g. Are they as specific as just asking for company H? Also besides Morning Reports, what else do I ask for that may indicate my Grandfathers actions. (I know what battles he was in, but no details; Normandy, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and Central Europe). Lastly, how much are we talking if I had you do this research instead? Thanks for your time. Kevin D.