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 have this knowledge, and if perhaps this might have been a story that changed as it was repeated until it reached them at a later time. I also wondered if this soldier had been in my father’s Battery (Battery A, 500th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion).

Using the NARA Catalog, I searched for the Morning Reports of the 500th AAA Gun Battalion (shown in WWII Morning Reports using the NARA Catalog). Remember that when you traverse these records in ascending image order, you travel through them in reverse chronological order. In other words, as you go forward through images using the arrows next to the image number, you go backwards in time.

When I download Morning Reports, I typically download all of the Morning Reports for a whole military organization for each month, rather than just focusing on certain days or just when an ancestor’s name appears. There are common experiences within the units that may be expressed differently or in a different level of detail.

Going through the Morning Reports for the 500th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, I located a report about the funeral service and burial of a soldier from Battery B. Battery B was stationed at Ivigtut [now Ivittuut], Greenland. Battery A, the battery to which my father was assigned, was stationed was stationed farther south in Narsarssuak [now Narsarsuaq]. Both are in the southwest of Greenland.

The story in Morning Report was very moving, describing the solemn ceremony that laid PFC Peter Golya Jr’s remains to rest in Greenland. The battery traveled to the the Green Valley Cemetery by barge for his funeral services for “Peter Golya Jr a well known and liked member of this organization.” The Green Valley Cemetery was listed as near Ivigtut in a finding aid for Cemetery Plat Maps in Record Group 92 (RG92) prepared by the American Graves Registration Service.

The next image sequentially was the Morning Report for the previous day, 25 September 1943, when not long after arriving in Greenland, PFC Peter Golya’s status had changed from duty to deceased.

I did more research into this soldier and found several records online with supplemental details. PFC Golya died as a result of a machine gun bullet perforating his head. He was 36 when he died. The hospital admission card recorded his death as being in the line of duty. In the hometown newspaper articles, his death was reported as accidental.  

The hometown local newspapers contained his obituary, accompanied by a photo, and the text of the telegram his mother received. The telegram contained the date of his death, and the fact that he died in the North American area. His obituary was titled: “Dupont Man Dies Serving His Country: Soldier Last Reported Stationed in Greenland Passed Away Sept 25. In Service 7 Months.”  When his remains were returned to the US, they arrived by train in 1947 escorted by a Staff Sergeant from the local area. Members the VFW Post, the American Legion, and Catholic War Vets met the train and escorted them to the fallen soldier’s father’s home. There was a military funeral, followed by a mass of requiem at his Catholic Church with the burial being in the parish cemetery.

As I located records, I added pieces of the story where I could. On FindaGrave.com I uploaded the Morning Report to the Memorial. I also created a subject page on Fold3 to collect the documents Fold3 had about him.

The records that were found pieced together a story of what happened to him and where. The Morning Reports were the only records containing details of the movement of the battery to bury him in Greenland. From the few words the reader learns about the soldier being well known and liked, and can imagine that cold barge ride, and march to the Green Valley Cemetery to bury a comrade who suffered an accidental death in the line of duty.

Resources that were located online (Note: some records can be found on multiple websites.)

NARA

• Access to Archival Databases (AAD)

Fold3

• US, WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
• US, WWII Draft Registration Cards, 1940
• US, WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954
• US, Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945

FamilySearch

• Military • United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946

Ancestry.com

• U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985
• U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945
• U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
• U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files
• Pennsylvania, U.S., Veteran Compensation Application Files, WWII, 1950-1966

Findagrave

• A memorial for his burial in the United States

Google

• A finding aid for World War II Cemetery Plat Maps in Record Group 92 (RG92) prepared by the American Graves Registration Service listing the cemeteries in Greenland

Newspapers.com

• Hometown newspapers contained his obituary, and articles about the repatriation of his remains for funeral and burial in his hometown

American Battle Monuments Commission

I searched ABMC, but did not expect to find any record of his passing in this database, as there is no American Cemetery in Greenland. Through a FindaGrave.com search, I did find that his remains had been repatriated, and reinterred in the United States.

The WWII Hospital Admission Card Files are available on Ancestry.com and Fold 3. They contained only transcriptions of the Admission Cards, which including only summary data. Digging deeper into records from the hospital might not be helpful as it appears he died quickly after the injury.

A next step might be to look for his Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF). These records are separate from the personnel files that burned in the 1973 fire. As of writing this blog post, a small fraction of them are online at NARA, and PFC Golya’s is not among them. You can search at: https://catalog.archives.gov/search-within/297287480?sort=title%3Aasc

Greenland 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 refueling base. It is also where the weather for Europe originates, making weather observations there critical for operations in the North Atlantic and Europe. Ivigtut (now Ivittuut) also had the largest commercial cryolite mine in the world. Cryolite was used in making aluminum for building aircraft.

Greenland has had an interesting history of settlement and colonization. Greenland was under Norway’s control until the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway joined together in 1380. In 1821, the Kingdoms separated and Greenland remained as a Danish colony under the Treaty of Kiel. In 1931, Norway made a claim to Eastern Greenland, which the Permanent Court of International Justice decided against in 1933.

The Nazis occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940 and exactly a year later, the US-Greenland Defense Agreement was signed with the Danish Minister in Washington DC. Even though the US had not yet entered WWII, the protection of Greenland was necessary under the Monroe Doctrine. That same day the agreement was signed, the US Marines and a surveyor party landed ashore. In July and August of 1941, US ships arrived in the fjords.

Prior to the Nazi invasion, Denmark had sent two years of supplies to Greenland. After the occupation of Denmark, 200,000 Greenlanders had to rely upon America for food and supplies. The US and Canada both provided supplies to Greenland, and both established Consulates there. During WWII, Greenland became self-governing, fueling a greater democracy for itself.

As strategically important as Greenland was to the Allies, it was just as important to deny it to the Nazis. That’s where my father and the 500th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion entered the story. They traveled in secrecy mere months after the disastrous sinking of the troopship USS Dorchester by a U-boat, notable for the heroic actions of the “Four Chaplains.” The AAA Battery to which he was assigned was stationed at the main US base at Narsarssuak (now Narsarsuak), which was the home of the Air Forces base codenamed BW-1 (Bluie-West 1).

WWI 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 REGULATIONS, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1917. Although these regulations are not needed to use the Classification List, but they can be found at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Selective_service_regulations_prescribed/6lB8dUkQtYIC?hl=en. Part X (ten) of this document contains blank forms.

Left-hand page of the ledger appears below.

The order number 2 is abbreviated, and is really 1792.

Right-hand page of the ledger shown is below:

0Going through a few highlights of the document.

The serial number shown in Column 4 (787) matches the one shown on the draft registration card.

The order number is shown in Column 1. It was the number in the national lottery for the draft assigned to that serial number.

The questionnaire to Joseph McMahon was mailed out on 2 Jan 1918, and was returned on 3 Jan 1918. (My reading suggests that these questionnaires no longer exist.) The notice of his physical exam of Class IA was mailed out on 29 Jan 1918. The notice to appear for a physical examination was mailed on 30 Mar 1918. He appeared for the exam on 1 Apr 1918, and the decision based on physical examination was mailed on 4 Apr 1918. He was told to report to his Local Board on 28 May 1918, at 8 a.m., for military duty and entrain for transportation to a mobilization camp. He was accepted at the mobilization camp on 30 May 1918. In the notes, were notes that may correspond to the fact that he was a Clerk in civilian life, he was inducted under General Call #385 and would be going to Camp Wadsworth. From columns without entries, I learned that he had not filed an appeal. He was not rejected or discharged at the mobilization camp.

After the Classification Examination, the registrant received a notice of their classification by mail. Note that they could file an appeal, and that would be recorded in the Classification List.

The registrants also received proof of their classification.

Thanks to Classification Lists, I now know what my grandfather was doing during several days of his life: filling in the questionnaire, going through a military medical physical, being notified of his date and place of induction, and his acceptance at the mobilization camp (and the fact that he was not rejected or discharged from there).

Since transcribing a document can make you engage with its data, you can download a blank Excel worksheet to transcribe the record for your soldier. After adding the data, remember to save the file and include your soldier’s name in the filename.

Special thanks to Peggy Ash and Michael Strauss for their informative, detailed, and motivating presentations about the US Drafts.

WWI 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 determined to be in the Classification I category (based on filling in a questionnaire), were called in for physical examinations.

Classification Lists show the results of the examination of the draftees, as well as where they were to be sent. These lists are found in NARA’s RG163, and as of this blog post being published, the Classification Lists at NARA are not online.

I searched FamilySearch.org for Joseph McMahon’s WWI Draft Registration Card at https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1968530

The identification code for Joseph McMahon’s local draft board is circled. This number is used by the NARA archivist to identify the book for the Classification List containing Joseph McMahon’s entry.

Courtesy of FamilySearch.org

I emailed this information with an attached image of his draft card to the NARA branch in Atlanta at: atlanta.archives@nara.gov

An automated response was sent to my email in reply. Shortly after that, a response from an archivist followed with confirmation that the record had been found, and how to pay for it. The cost was $20. The scanned record was emailed to me after the archivist confirmed the payment.

Human archivists are involved in the process of lookup, scanning, and communicating. That means the timeline for responses may vary based on archivists’ workload. Also know that payment must be verified before the record is emailed.

In the next blog post, we will take a look at the Classification List itself.

Special thanks to Peggy Ash and Michael Strauss for their informative, detailed, and motivating presentations about the US Drafts.

WWII 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 from 1600 to 1945¸all of which can be downloaded from the website.

The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle is available at: https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15040coll6

The finding aid can be downloaded from by clicking on the link to its page, or from: https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll11/id/1277/rec/1

To locate information about WWII, I clicked on the button

This brought me to a search page for the collection that already had the “World War II” filter selected.

There were many results to browse, so in the search bar, I entered the terms: 500th AAA

The results narrowed down to a small number of relevant documents. The first result was the one I wanted, “American antiaircraft artillery, barrage balloon and coast artillery battalions, 1941-1945.”

I clicked on the result and was brought to a page where I could view, download and print the document.

I downloaded this PDF file, and copied the source information into a document where I keep links and annotations about what I locate.

The document is a long table, listing information about all these WWII Battalions.

The first page contains the column headers (slightly misaligned):

Page 5 is the Battalion I am interested in:

What does this mean:

The 500th AAA Gun Battalion (Semimobile) was raised (began on) 20 January 1943. It was disbanded on 20 September 1944.

What to do with this information:

This information about this organization becomes part of the timeline of my father’s service. It will also be combined with information gathered from other sources.

When reconstructing records of my father’s service, this is key information for looking for military organizational records. This will help to unlock the data found in the Morning Reports. Since the Battalion was disbanded in September 1944, I will have to look to those Morning Reports for that month to find out what happened to the men of the organization after that. My father was still in Greenland until November 1944.

Combining this date information with my other reading, it may be that my father was in this Gun Battalion at Camp Davis, NC.

An interesting point is that the 500th AAA Gun Bn was redesignated (renamed) from the 500th CA Bn in June 1944. The redesignation was noted in the Morning Reports. This previous name was not reflected in the list, but combining the date with the older designation will help me locate the appropriate Morning Reports.

Reference 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 dates of death for the last veteran, the last widow and the last dependent of earlier wars. The U.S. Veterans and Dependents on the VA Benefits Rolls as of 2023 is included. There is also predicted estimates of the number of living WWII veterans until 2039. This is a reminder to interview those who are still among us!

This is a reference you will want to download https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf