The St Louis branch only has morning reports and personnel files.

The Maryland branch carries unit documentation. That's where we obtain our information.

Please see our RESEARCH section for the appropriate links.

The St Louis branch only has morning reports and personnel files.

 

The Maryland branch carries unit documentation. That's where we obtain our information.

 

Please see our RESEARCH section for the appropriate links.

Yup. that's the other one I mailed last week. So the morning reports for the 280th are gone, destroyed. That's really sad. I'm waiting on Maryland. Maybe I'll drop a note to Carlisle, PA for any more historical records they might be hiding as well.

I never heard of records being destroyed. That's a new one on me. I've never had any problems procuring any types of data from either any NARA branch, other than some personnel records which were destroyed in the 73 fire.

How was your letter worded (the one to St Louis)?

Morning report requests have to have exact dates, etc.

The one I requested was for my dad's unit, with specific data listing his company and the exact date, May 24, 1944.

I requested the unit by name and by date as well. I also included why I wanted the data. The letter they shot back is exactly - St. Louis stating, " Unfortunately, roster for all organizations for the years 1944 through 1946 were destroyed in accordance with the General Records Schedule."

They included a phone number, so while I'm stuck here waiting on the dishwasher man tomorrow, I'll call.

Holy cow Caryl. I'll have to ask my historian profs about that one. That just astounds me. Why the heck would they destroy pieces of history??? Man if they did that, then it's another reason to shake our finger at the federal government!!!!

This is what I'm sayin'! I'll call around lunch and get back on here to update.

OK, so I called St. Louis. The man on the phone said that EVERY MORNING REPORTS for every organization Prior to 1946 has been destroyed ! OMG! REALLY?!?!?! At the peak time when these veterans and their children are just now digging into past events, they've BEEN SHREDDED?!?!? Who does that?

Have they been transcribed? No

Saved to digital? NO

OMG!?!?!?! I'm gong to be sick.

Thought I might chime in on this one. The unit rosters for all units are theoretically intact(the thoroughness on this varies from unit to unit)for 1943 and before. Rosters for '44,'45, and '46 were apparently discarded. We run into the same issue with records like special orders showing when individual soldiers were transferred from unit to unit. Copies were placed in in the individual serviceman's personnel file, but because of the fire most of these records were destroyed. Unfortunately, many of the original special orders were also discarded by the military. So, in many cases the only remaining special orders showing the transfer of individuals are photographed on microfilm where company clerks inserted them with the morning reports when they submitted them. The issue was really one of space, and not having the room to store all of these records, they were in many cases, burned. Very, very frustrating. Believe it or not the modern military is starting to experience a similar problem today-but with providing DIGITAL space for all of their records! Hopefully, they will not throw away(or delete) documents that will be vital to understanding the experience of our veterans serving today.

I should stress: this does not apply to the morning reports. The reports from WWI through Korea are just fine and were not thrown away-just the rosters for the 3 years noted above. After this they pick up again(into the 1950s).

Hope this helps.

Geoff

Caryl, on a unrelated note, I noticed you are coming up as a guest for some reason. Am trying to correct this. Don't know what happened. I know we ran into a problem because you had two accounts, so merged them, but this shouldn't have affected your status. Am working on it.... Sorry!

Caryl, you said everything is okay now (with name), so looks like we are good to go.

I skimmed this posting, but i wanted to say,.... I sent a request to the St Louis office asking for any records that can be released to me about Grandad. They sent me a form letter and a buncha forms stating that most of the information was destroyed in the 1970s by fire but will send what they can and needed more info, which i dont have which was why i was asking in the first place. So i send what I had all over again, and then pulled what I could from Derrick of Dauntless, some info from ancestry about his enlistment (if that is in existence, wouldnt the rest of his file be also?) and some bits and pieces from family folklore. Hoping for the best now. But, I see here you say that an office in MD has more information? Where in MD?? I live in MD and might plan an little field trip.

Also, kind of wondering how your searches ended up?

I skimmed this posting, but i wanted to say,.... I sent a request to the St Louis office asking for any records that can be released to me about Grandad. They sent me a form letter and a buncha forms stating that most of the information was destroyed in the 1970s by fire but will send what they can and needed more info, which i dont have which was why i was asking in the first place. So i send what I had all over again, and then pulled what I could from Derrick of Dauntless, some info from ancestry about his enlistment (if that is in existence, wouldnt the rest of his file be also?) and some bits and pieces from family folklore. Hoping for the best now. But, I see here you say that an office in MD has more information? Where in MD?? I live in MD and might plan an little field trip.

You can find all the answers to your questions about NARA, etc., in our Research section:

https://ww2combatengineers.comengforum/index.php?showtopic=23

Smiles, M1

THANK YOU!

I recieved a letter from a lovely gentleman who was in the unit with my grandad and they knew each other, tho they were not together. He said my grandfather was on the front lines in Krinkelt while he was at Headquarters in Elsenborne. He sent me a roster of the unit as well as replacements with addresses for these men in 1945. It also has a brief history of where the company (co A, 324th combat engineers 99th infantry) was, and approx dates. I have not scanned this into the computer yet, I dont know if he is ok with me posting it yet, I will have to ask but I am sure if he is sending it to me-- a total stranger-- he will probbaly say its ok to post here. He also directed me to a video that he is in talking about the Battle of the Bulge and it documents a reunion in Belgium. I am late in finding my information, so forgive me if this video is common knowledge, however you can order a copy of it here: http://www.wetbirdproductions.com/films-mom.php

He said many vets took part in the making of this film including himself.

Marching Once More

When WetBird Productions learned that veterans of the Battle of the Bulge were returning to Belgium and Luxembourg for the 60th anniversary of that infamous fight, there was no question: we had to go. While the itinerary was well-scripted, we had many questions about what would happen once we arrived. Would the memories be too overwhelming? Would the people of Belgium and Luxembourg remember or even care about the events of 1944 and 1945? Could the veterans – now in their 80’s and 90’s - withstand such a difficult and emotional journey? It didn’t take long to find out.

In many cases, the memories were overwhelming – some had never really gotten over the horrors of that brutally cold winter when Hitler launched a massive surprise attack against a thin and often inexperienced American frontline. But thankfully, the people of Belgium and Luxembourg not only remembered, they embraced the American senior citizens – treating them like rock stars, complete with ceremonies, royalty, medals, autographs, fireworks and finally, a moving parade in Bastogne. We are proud to bring you their incredible journey.