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Tales from Morning Reports: From Duty to Death
Although it was not directly about my father’s service in Greenland, I learned a lot about the place reading Greenland’s Icy Fury by Hansen, who was part of the Ice Cap Detachment stationed in Greenland during WWII. These brave few men battled the elements and topography to provide weather information to the Allied Forces about the north Atlantic and Europe. In the book there was a mention of a soldier taking his own life in Southern Greenland (p. 3). I wondered about the circumstances, how these isolated men might have come to...
read moreUK Outgoing Passenger Lists
Passenger manifests for those coming into the United States can be easier to locate than the outgoing passenger lists from the country of origin. I was able to confirm the ship that brought Bridget (Delia) McMahon to the United States, and know the date as described in the blog post Finding Single Irish Women Immigrants to New York City . Recently, during a free period of access to Ancestry UK, I decided to find Delia’s record in the Outgoing Passenger Lists. It proved to be a slight challenge, with a reminder to be flexible and...
read moreGreenland in WWII (Background)
As part of researching my father’s WWII military service, I have been doing a lot of reading about Greenland, especially its WWII history. Greenland was the site of amazing stories of the US Coast Guard, the Sledge Patrol and weather observers who were isolated for months on end. There are stories of heroism, survival and loss. Greenland has a strategic location in the North Atlantic. It was a advantageous stopping point for aircraft traveling between North America and Europe, and could provide a prime location for a sub...
read moreWWI Classification Lists Part 2: What’s in Them
Classification Lists show the results of the examination of the draftees, as well as where they were to be sent. Classification Lists are the Provost Marshal General’s Office (PMGO) Form 1000, that are found in NARA’s Record Group 163, the Records of the Selective Service System (World War I). As of this blog post being published, the Classification Lists at NARA are not available online. The sections shown in each column header of the Classification List refer to the applicable instructions in the SELECTIVE SERVICE...
read moreWWI Classification Lists Part 1: How to Order
Thanks to Classification Lists, I now know about events during several days in my grandfather’s life. Why you might want this record: to learn more about the process between an ancestor’s registration for the draft and induction, which might include indication that an appeal or deferment was made. What you need to know before ordering: the draftee’s name and local draft board identification number, which can be found on the WWI Draft Registration Card for your ancestor. Groups of men who registered for the draft and were...
read moreBook Review: The Complete Guide to Lineage Societies
The first thing that intrigued me about this book was how such a thin tome was titled “complete.” It is a thin book that packs quite a punch! I learned that in this thin volume, Dr. Nagy provides readers with information about lineage societies, how to find them, how to learn about their missions, why you might want to join one, and how apply for membership. Rather than a detailed how-to about how to join one society, the book shares general information appropriate to any type of membership application, for any type of...
read moreWWII Orders of Battle
Since my father’s personnel file burned at the NPRC leaving nothing behind, learning about a military organizations is important so that I can reconstruct his service using organizational records. The Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) digital library is home to an important collection for beginning research into military organizations. This massive collection was donated by George Nafziger to the Library. The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle contains detailed information about military organizations spanning...
read moreReference from the Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs offers a useful and interesting resource that can be downloaded. It is titled “America’s Wars.” As the title suggests, it contains a list of US Wars, as well as the years of the conflict. It goes beyond the dates to include the number of service members who were involved and the number of battle deaths. For most wars the number of non-mortal woundings is also reported along with other statistics. Notes that document estimated values are included. The second page of the reference includes...
read moreMore WWII Morning Reports using the NARA Catalog
While hunting for the rest of the Morning Reports for Battery A, 500th AAA Gun Battalion, I located a different format of the original roll, that offered a different option for downloading. (You can read how I searched for and download the Morning Reports of the 500th AAA Gun Battalion for September 1943’s at WWII Morning Reports using the NARA Catalog). The interesting thing about these Morning Reports is that June and July for the same organization were filmed sequentially. This makes me curious if the reason may be related to the...
read moreWWII Morning Reports using the NARA Catalog
WWII Morning Reports up to 1943 are now available on the NARA website and can be located through the NARA Catalog. (More Morning Reports are being added, as I have located ones for 1944, too.) For those wishing to research WWI Morning Reports, I recommend using them on Fold3. Why search for the Morning Reports? These organizational records can tell us where all the assigned soldiers were on a specific day, and the activities being done. They tell us when and how soldiers moved from place to place. They show when there were...
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