I recently wrote an article on Company Morning Reports. People asked me several questions about them, so here is a little more information on these valuable reports.
What do all those codes and abbreviations mean?
There are many codes and abbreviations on Morning Reports. Here are a few resources to help you decipher what you are looking at.
Why doesn’t information show up on the day it happened?
It is rare for the information of a soldier’s wound, Prisoner of War (POW) status, Missing In Action (MIA) status, Killed In Action (KIA) status, illness, or transfer (among other things) to appear on a report the day it happened. Word had to move up the line from the source (hospital, Red Cross, soldier’s buddies, Graves Registration Service, etc.) to the clerk creating the records. Always look past the day an event happened. In the case of one soldier I researched in the 2nd Infantry Division, he and three other men were KIA on 15 June 1944 in France. They did not appear on a Morning Report as KIA until 11 July 1944.
We need to remember during certain times, think major campaigns or battles, that many men were changing status due to wounds, POW, MIA, or KIA. Men were also coming into the companies to replace those who were no longer part of the company. The clerk had a lot of work to do each day to record all these changes. Throughout the chaos of battle, information also may have been lost or taken longer to reach the man in charge of the records.
Why do some Morning Reports not exist?
There are many reasons WWII records do not exist. They may include but are not limited to the following.
Fire
Flood/water damage
Weather
Chemicals or other spilled on the records
Records were in a vehicle, plane, ship, building which was destroyed during the war
Left behind when a unit moved and never recovered
Purposely destroyed by a unit during the war
Purposely destroyed by the archives after the war
Why is the quality bad or almost impossible to read the Morning Report?
Records were typed on a typewriter or handwritten. There were no computers then to keep track of everything. Records may have not been in the best condition after creation, let alone years later when they were microfilmed to be used by researchers. Some are terribly faded and almost unreadable. Others are in ok condition, and some are fantastic. You never know what you will get until you start looking. When the record is too damaged or illegible to move your research forward, look at unit records for the journals which document things that happened each day. They will not replace Company Morning Reports, especially if you need to trace service of your soldier, but will provide a more detailed record of events than may be on the report. They should also trace where a unit was each day.
How do we access these records?
Updated November 2026 – you no longer need a researcher to pull these records, unless you don’t want to do it yourself. I take research clients so reach out to info@wwiirwc.com if you would like a free consult. You can also take a class on Morning Reports or military research to learn the 2-part strategy I created 16 years ago to research any veteran even if records burned in my online store.
The January 1940-December 1944 Morning Reports are on NARA Catalog. The 1945 Morning Reports are on Fold3 and then linked to Ancestry.
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.
having a hard time finding information on the 47th INF BN, 5 Armd Division. Most of 1944 the 5th was colorful and in many news papers fighting threw France….but once they hit Hurgin forest, there is nothing, almost like the hole division was wiped out. Any info on that division would be comforting and Cant find a picture of my Uncle Anthony G. Cotos, 47th INF BN 5 ARMD DIV from New Jersey DOD: Nov 25, 1944 in Hurgin Forest. Buried at Henri Chapel Belgium
Do you know what the CODE column is on the MR ??……..(your example shows a code Q) …. I am looking for the meanings of: E, A-1, 11, and J-4.
Also, my dad’s MR’s show MOS codes, but also MCO codes…….. What are those?
Lastly, I am still not clear on the Morning Report dates……….. It always made sense to me that, as you posted, the “a MR was created each day outlining events of the prior day” ———– But, I noticed that the heading of the MR form says “Ending 2400 (of the date)”, so doesn’t it seems like the MR are referencing the day that it is dated?? Perhaps they were just filed on the following day??
What a coincidence! I am researching my Great Uncle, a member of the 358th Inf, Co F and the example you used for the Morning Reports was from his Company!!!! What a small world. He was assigned from a 3rd Army Repl Depot, to Co F, on Dec 24th! So not in this report, but amazing none the less. Thanks for the info on these pages, really helped me decipher the Morning Reports that have to do with my Great Uncle and his fate. We were able to track his joining, leaving (wounded), returning and ultimately his death. Morning Reports can be invaluable to finding out the movements and fates of a soldier. The Company Clerk for F Company, 358th Inf, was obviously top notch!
My grandfather served in Company B, 357th INF of the 90th ID. On a morning report for 9 Jan 1945, my grandfather and 21 other EMs are coded 745. I do not know what that means? According to his discharge record, he was wounded on 10 January 1945. I don’t if the code and his wounding are related?
Thank you for commenting and asking the question. MOS 745 means he was a Rifleman. MOS is the Military Occupational Specialty. It has nothing to do with his wounding. Was your grandfather transferred into the 90th on 9 January or thereabouts to change his MOS? My cousin James Privoznik was transferred into 358th IR end of Dec 1944 out of the 90th’s Ordnance unit, to be a rifleman because Patton needed Replacements during the Bulge. If your grandpa was wounded 10 January, that info should show up on a Morning Report a day or more later. You almost never see that info the day it happened. Have you spoken to Norm Richards the 90th Division Historian? He has all the Morning Reports and is an independent researcher at NPRC in St. Louis. I have worked with him for over 13 years to help me get client records. His email is normrichards9@gmail.com if you haven’t spoken to him. TEll him I sent you.
Jennifer
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having a hard time finding information on the 47th INF BN, 5 Armd Division. Most of 1944 the 5th was colorful and in many news papers fighting threw France….but once they hit Hurgin forest, there is nothing, almost like the hole division was wiped out. Any info on that division would be comforting and Cant find a picture of my Uncle Anthony G. Cotos, 47th INF BN 5 ARMD DIV from New Jersey DOD: Nov 25, 1944 in Hurgin Forest. Buried at Henri Chapel Belgium
Do you know what the CODE column is on the MR ??……..(your example shows a code Q) …. I am looking for the meanings of: E, A-1, 11, and J-4.
Also, my dad’s MR’s show MOS codes, but also MCO codes…….. What are those?
Lastly, I am still not clear on the Morning Report dates……….. It always made sense to me that, as you posted, the “a MR was created each day outlining events of the prior day” ———– But, I noticed that the heading of the MR form says “Ending 2400 (of the date)”, so doesn’t it seems like the MR are referencing the day that it is dated?? Perhaps they were just filed on the following day??
Thanks ! Anne
I am looking for my Father as well, he was stationed in Germany right after the War. I came to the US to look for him.
I have written my Memoirs.
What a coincidence! I am researching my Great Uncle, a member of the 358th Inf, Co F and the example you used for the Morning Reports was from his Company!!!! What a small world. He was assigned from a 3rd Army Repl Depot, to Co F, on Dec 24th! So not in this report, but amazing none the less. Thanks for the info on these pages, really helped me decipher the Morning Reports that have to do with my Great Uncle and his fate. We were able to track his joining, leaving (wounded), returning and ultimately his death. Morning Reports can be invaluable to finding out the movements and fates of a soldier. The Company Clerk for F Company, 358th Inf, was obviously top notch!
Hi John,
Happy the explanations are helpful. I sent you an email about this Company and the 90th.
Jennifer
My grandfather served in Company B, 357th INF of the 90th ID. On a morning report for 9 Jan 1945, my grandfather and 21 other EMs are coded 745. I do not know what that means? According to his discharge record, he was wounded on 10 January 1945. I don’t if the code and his wounding are related?
Hi Robert,
Thank you for commenting and asking the question. MOS 745 means he was a Rifleman. MOS is the Military Occupational Specialty. It has nothing to do with his wounding. Was your grandfather transferred into the 90th on 9 January or thereabouts to change his MOS? My cousin James Privoznik was transferred into 358th IR end of Dec 1944 out of the 90th’s Ordnance unit, to be a rifleman because Patton needed Replacements during the Bulge. If your grandpa was wounded 10 January, that info should show up on a Morning Report a day or more later. You almost never see that info the day it happened. Have you spoken to Norm Richards the 90th Division Historian? He has all the Morning Reports and is an independent researcher at NPRC in St. Louis. I have worked with him for over 13 years to help me get client records. His email is normrichards9@gmail.com if you haven’t spoken to him. TEll him I sent you.
Jennifer