Some of the most important sources for my research are the Company Morning Reports (M/R) of the different units. You can find the M/R that I have collected under the Units Pages. With this guide, I would like to provide you with the information you need to read and understand them.
The TM 12-250 Administration 1942 , paragraphs 77–87 deal with the M/R. We can read that the M/R are the basic organizational record of a company. It is both statistical and historical in character. They are recorded on a form called WD AGO Form no. 1.
When we look at a page of these forms we can see that it is divided into four sections. From the top to the bottom they are:
General section: Here a clerk would record the date the report was made. The name and location of the company are also recorded here.
Location is often recorded in coordinates (using the British Modified System. For more information on this use this link: British Modified System and Translator) and/or as a location relative to a nearby town or road (for example, “2miles SW of Hwy CG1”)
Remarks sections: this section shows all the personnel changes. They can be changes in rank, transfers in or out of a company (including casualties), and sometimes medals awarded.
Clerks use many abbreviations in the M/R. For a good explanation of these abbreviations click on this link: Army Morning Reports SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) June 1, 1944.
The remark in the M/R can be a wealth of information. I have used the M/R for the creation of all the personnel documents that you can find under the Units Pages and Personnel Pages.
Depending on the company clerk that created the M/R they can also show a lot of information on the events of the day(s). Anything from movements, medals awarded, rumors circulating and the weather can be found here.
This also means that sometimes the events could not be recorded on one page. This can be seen at the bottom of a page where it will say that this page is part of a group.
Strength section: this will show the strength of the company at 2400 hours at the end of the day of the M/R.
Rations section: this is used to calculate the number of rations the company would need to feed the men. Medical companies often had men attached “for administration and rations only”. They would often be the ambulance personnel send from the Third Army to evacuate the casualties from the medical company’s Clearing Station to the Field Hospitals or Evacuation Hospitals. These men would eat in the mess of the medical company while they were attached, so the mess would need extra rations to feed them.
For more information on the M/R I have included these links and documents:
WWII Research and Writing Center: this is the site of Jennifer Holik. She is a great researcher, has a wealth of knowledge on Military Record and I am proud to call her my friend.
On this site, you can also find all the books Jennifer has written. If you are interested in researching the military service of a relative these books are essential reading in my opinion. So I highly recommend buying them.
You can see Jennifer explain the usefulness of M/R here: US Military : Morning Reports.
Army Morning Reports SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) June 1, 1944: This PDF can be found on this website: www.NICOM.com
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