If you are researching the military service of a specific individual, we suggest you start by requesting their military personnel records. 1906, These have also been digitized through our partnership with Ancestry, and can be viewed on their website at: U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958. The other. Muster Rolls of Coast Guard Ships and Shore Establishments, 1941 - 1949. are arranged by type of ship or station, thereunder by year, and consist of printed forms giving, for each person on board, information concerning his enlistment and whether he was entitled to honorable discharge; a personal description; the date he was received on board; and data concerning his transfer, discharge, desertion, or death. 1225, Very useful, WWII Military Unit Records at the National Archives, Although there are a few exceptions (e.g. In 1997, Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for action in France in November 1944. An example of the closer look we can get from Unit Records is the case of Captain George Oliver. The WWII Marine Corps muster rolls list both officers and enlisted. Lance Cpl. Other nations recognized their effectiveness and eventually followed suit. repairs, maintenance, encounters with other ships, search and rescue operations). Although we do not have an official index to the records, there is a private website. Abstracts of War Diaries, 5/1942 - 9/1945. Information about the missions, the men and the planes of the U.S. Army Air Force 94th Bomb Group (Heavy) in World War II. Also shown are unit strength, the location of the unit, and sometimes a Record of Events. These have also been digitized through our partnership with Ancestry, and can be viewed on their website at: U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958. . Marine combat engineers move the nosepiece of a bridge into place in Mirmandab, Afghanistan, March 25, 2012. A brief History of the 472nd Engineer Maintenance Company. The series Ship and Shore Unit War Diaries, 5/1942 - 9/1945 series consists of war diaries submitted by District Coast Guard Officers (DCGO) and ship officers during World War II. Also included among the Coast Guard records is a series of Merchant Vessel Information Files, 1939 - 1952, which is arranged alphabetically by name of vessel and contains information about merchant vessels that entered U.S. ports during World War II. Company A, 1517, 1873 A number of deck logs have been digitized and are now available online in the National Archives Catalog. 3829 0 obj <>stream Whether one is a member of Special Forces, wears the Sapper tab, or simply holds the military occupational specialty of a combat engineer, there is no question that the soldiers and Marines who serve in this highly important and often very dangerous role are exceptional. 1321st Engineer General Service Regiment, 1322nd Engineer General Service Regiment, 1323rd Engineer General Service Regiment, 1324th Engineer General Service Regiment. for the US Marine Corps. repairs, maintenance, encounters with other ships, search and rescue operations). 13th Engineer General Service Regiment 38th Engineer General Service Regiment 41st Engineer General Service Regiment - to Liberia as part of U.S. Army Forces in Liberia under United States Army Forces in the Middle East. Two US Army Reserve combat engineer soldiers from the 374th Engineer Company (Sapper) cast from a CH-47 Chinook into Lopez Lake, California, during a two-week field exercise known as a Sapper Leader Course Prerequisite Training. [1] 2013 2023 WW2 Research Inc. All rights reserved. More detailed information about muster rolls and personnel diaries is available on, NARAs Text Message Blogs Know Your Records: U.S. Navy Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries, . Camp Claiborne was also home to the Engineer Unit Training Center (EUTC.) Division files usually include historical reports, general orders, directives, journals, memos, circulars, bulletins, and policy records. This Command built, repaired and defended airfields in the European theatre during World War II beginning with the Normandy invasion on D-Day. h_`'O`k,2X3xHo]Lr]CR6c22+*NUPON'Za;)4seX[aVOao-1G1z18R64|ea8SqGljqZ8am*S+)#oiZ#F\Q2FkG\;b44bwD1/}gG-y[q}Vs)nyg.FqiyGR1eh>m-3Fey1Ra9NAa6NkDYVcE;9mJyh>mbmb}^e1z+fm"DX& series consists of war diaries submitted by District Coast Guard Officers (DCGO) and ship officers during World War II. You may search the file titles in this series by clicking on Search within this series., There are additional unit histories and supporting documents of Army Air Force and Air Force units that are still in the custody of the Air Force at the, Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), , Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Box 19 T/5 Company C Survey . The Marines in the Sapper Leader Course conducted demolition training to familiarize themselves with explosive breaching and develop proficiency in mobility support to infantry units. Washington , They are exception based reports, meaning that a soldiers name will on appear on the report only if his status has changed from the previous report (e.g. While British engineers were perfecting their tunneling skills in World War I, German engineers were forming experimental units of combat engineers known as pioneers. Armed with explosives and flamethrowers, these pioneer units specialized in destroying enemy fighting positions. These included, but were not limited to: [1] Bridge ( mobile, floating, fixed), rail, & road construction and maintenance Conducting river crossings by pontoon/raft, motor-powered assault boats Demolition Placing/de-arming munitions, including mines The records are not yet described at the file-unit level in the National Archives Catalog, but you may request a search of the records by e-mailing the reference staff at. They followed in his footsteps as he walked the lonely road so often traveled by combat engineers, knowing, as he did, that if there were a hidden bomb waiting for them hed probably be the one to trigger it. US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. , which are arranged by year and thereunder by unit, and include highlights of outstanding activities and operations by Coast Guard ships and shore units during World War II. Muster rolls list personnel attached to a unit or command, while personnel diaries list significant personnel status changes, such as transfers, promotions, leave, or temporary duty. World War II , muster rolls and personnel diaries), typically unit records contain little or no information regarding individuals service and we do not have a name index to the unit records. Captain Oliver was, in fact, killed by a concussion, but the actual cause of his injury was that he that he stepped on one of the mines. h0[9wBI!nDb\3x World War II Action and Operational Reports: this series consists of narrative and form reports, mostly submitted by Navy commands, although documents by other commands are also interspersed. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. It served in the Middle East (Tobruk, El Alamein), New Guinea and Borneo from 1940 to 1946. Also known as "Combat Engineer Battalions" (CEB), they were typically divided into four companies: A, B, C, and Headquarters and Service (H&S). Hurley, Charles F. Box 19 SSGT Company A Survey of AFHRAs records in the Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations (Record Group 342), Entry (UD) 1006-B1. hlj1WnEKA XKv3Kkf-MDz*oHP/`*6c"zqo\6z These highly trained operators provide Special Forces teams with any and all engineering support, usually in extremely austere environments and without the aid of heavy equipment. An Engineer Combat Battalion was a designation for a battalion strength combat engineering unit in the U.S. Army, most prevalent during World War II. 25th, There are copies of, of the monthly rosters from 1912-43 and 1947-59 for Army units (including Army Air Corps) in the custody of the National Archives in St. Louis, MO. Records of organic units (units that were permanently attached to a division) typically contain unit histories, general orders, and other administrative records. The two primary record groups are the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24), which includes World War II-era deck logs and muster rolls and the Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1875 - 2006 (Record Group 38), which includes War Diaries and Action Reports. The two primary record groups are the, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (Record Group 24), , which includes World War II-era deck logs and muster rolls and the, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1875 - 2006 (Record Group 38). during WWII ], Original webdesign Also included among the Coast Guard records is a series of, Merchant Vessel Information Files, 1939 - 1952, , which is arranged alphabetically by name of vessel and contains information about. 099: A World War II Officer's Sketches Depict Life in a Black Engineer Unit : No. has been digitized through a partnership with Fold3 and is available on the Fold3, World War II Marine Corps records are also in the custody of the Textual Reference Archives II Branch, National Archives at College Park, MD, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127). 2011, All of the reels are not available, so please be sure to contact the reference staff (email: archives2reference@nara.gov), if you locate a document of interest. Army and Army Air Forces Morning Reports and Unit Rosters: We frequently get requests for unit rosters from World War II. during WWII ], [ 19th Infantry Division - Did not exist Please improve this article by adding a reference. from present for duty to ordinary leave, or from present for duty to sick in quarters, etc.). From its activation at Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi through the end of World War II . Within each record group, records are divided into numbered series or entries, which are grouped based on the creating office and type of record. . newspaper . Related Topics / Keywords / Phrases: : this series consists of narrative and form reports, mostly submitted by Navy commands, although documents by other commands are also interspersed. Each record group comprises the records of a major government entity (e.g. More detailed information about muster rolls and personnel diaries is available on NARAs Text Message Blogs Know Your Records: U.S. Navy Muster Rolls and Personnel Diaries. Tracing the men who fought in the Burma theatre of WWII. Ledo, A paper file list is available for use at the National Archives at College Park, MD. This is a list of known United States Engineer Regiments in existence at the time of World War II. Combat Engineers ferried infantry and special forces troops in craft such as this M2 assault boat boat in Europe in World War II, Infantry support bridge over the Saar River erected by 289th Combat Engineers at Volklingen, Germany, A WWII era combat engineer battalion had possessed both combat and combat support capabilities. Another large series that contains WWII Army unit records is Unit Histories, 1943-1967 in Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338). Ship and Shore Unit War Diaries, 5/1942 - 9/1945. The series World War II Command Files, 1918-1945, includes a variety of records, including select action reports, war diaries, rosters of officers, unpublished histories, correspondence, and more. There are several records groups containing WWII Navy records in the custody of the Textual Reference Archives II Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Reports typically contain narratives about unit activities, descriptions of facilities and locations, and a narrative about organization and administration. This is written up the in the book "Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II." Reports typically contain narratives about unit activities, descriptions of facilities and locations, and a narrative about organization and administration. 01.03.1944 = March 1st, 1944], [ 12th Infantry Division - Did not exist He died leading the way. 6/1/1946, has been digitized through our partnership with Fold3 and is available on the Fold3 World War II Diaries website. They are arranged in several subseries, by command, and then roughly hierarchically. Please select any of the units below to submit a research inquiry to WW2 Researcher Bill Beigel. This post highlights and describes the primary series of World War II unit records in NARAs custody for each branch of service, with links to the series descriptions in the. He was a bombardier in the 571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group and his aircraft "Decatur Deb" was shot down on May 28, 1944. The entries show the name of service member, service number/SSN, and rank. This is a list of known United States Engineer Regiments in existence at the time of World War II . This series consists of the files of division-level organic and non-organic US Army units. The grunts behind Buenagua were his friends. 105: Engineers Played an Important Role in Europe During the Cold War : No. Many records relating to the Coast Guards participation in wartime operations during World War II are dispersed among the Navy records (see above), however, there are additional series of WWII Coast Guard records in the, Records of the United States Coast Guard (Record Group 26). 1519, The 1317th was activated in Camp Ellis, Illinois on Aug 25, 1943 and staged through Camp Shanks, NY, starting on March 2 of 1943. Copyright 1996-2023 Cyndi Ingle, CyndisList.com. 1918, The records are arranged according to an alphanumeric filing system based on military hierarchy. This link points to an archived copy]Contains rolls for 35th Battalion, 3rd NZ Division in the Pacific, World War II. Deck logs consist of journal-style entries of the ships administrative activities; location and course of travel; disciplinary procedures; and any unusual events. . As a professional researcher and World War II historian, Bill Beigel provides research services to genealogists, historians, authors, and civilians who are looking for information found in WW2 military unit records. Thanks for putting this together. Combat engineers are also the go-to experts when enemy obstacles need to be cleared or destroyed. 3rd Division, Combat engineers are among the most versatile, reliable, and misunderstood troops in the United States military. The muster rolls for WWII only include enlisted sailors - officers of ships are listed in the deck logs. The site includes rosters, photos, memoirs and unit histories. 1311, 6/1/1946, , has been digitized through our partnership with Fold3 and is available on the Fold3, World War II Action and Operational Reports. Unit records are useful if you would like to learn more about a units movements and operations. WWII Navy muster rolls and personnel diaries comprise the series, Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 1/1/1939 - 1/1/1949, . As a professional researcher and World War II historian, Bill Beigel provides research services to genealogists, historians, authors, and civilians who are looking for information found in WW2 military unit records. 3RD DIVISION , 93rd, a bureau or an independent agency). DNA research has led to Wilson family in South Carolina, just hoping to try to piece together more information. This article does not contain any citations or references. Unit records are useful in piecing together stories about a unit or group, as well as about individuals who served in them. My take is the WAFS/WASPS deserve a bit more of history's 'time in the books'. Sramek, Frank J. !1N|@mT||i SB9lv4=n1B6yxQxpV(X In this role, engineers cleared paths for other soldiers, sailors, and Marines to follow on foot and in vehicles and engage the enemy without their movement being restricted by the additional risk of concealed bombs. In fact, engineer-soldiers have been integral to armies since at least 1884 BC, when the Greeks used their famous giant wooden horse to infiltrate the city of Troy and deliver the deathblow that finally ended the 10-year Trojan War. endstream endobj 3830 0 obj <>stream %PDF-1.5 % Thank you for your efforts here. Cody D.J. The 254th Engineer Combat Battalion was one of the engineer units that fought with distinction in the Ardennes. US Marine Corps photo by Cpl. The main series of WWII Army unit records is the, World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948, in Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917- (Record Group 407). A California Marine remains in the brig, accused of threatening to chop up his wife with a machete. While Army and Navy records for the World War II period are dispersed across a number of record groups, smaller branches like the Marine Corps, Army Air Forces, and Coast Guard, are generally limited to a single record group each for the WWII period. Records of organic units (units that were permanently attached to a division) typically contain unit histories, general orders, and other administrative records. The series is arranged by organization and includes records of naval commands, and select naval units and ships, as well as records of other non-Navy agencies, including Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Army Air Force, among others. Combat Engineer: The Unsung Hero of the Battlefield, Troops Who Refused COVID Vaccine Still May Face Discipline, New Statue Will Pay Tribute to Vietnam-Era Military Wives Who Took on the US Government, Heroism & Guts What It Takes To Earn the Navy Cross, From the Silent Service to the Presidency: The Life of Jimmy Carter, Nolan Peterson, Coffee or Dies Ukraine Reporter, Addresses DC, Prosecutors: Marine Threatened To Chop Wife With Machete, Eddie Rickenbacker: Americas Most Decorated World War I Ace. Nearly 2,000 years later, British engineers tunneled across no-mans land and set off a series of bombs underneath the German trenches. Before and after his presidency were some of the greatest contributions Jimmy Carter made to the world we know today. , which can serve as a finding aid to the records. 1395, ^j,0R| Marine combat engineers rush toward an obstacle with a Bangalore during Sapper Leader Course, Oct 31, 2017. Some record groups have thousands of entries, so it can be daunting to try to figure out the best place to start. The 339th Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Army, raised for service in World War I, that served in the North Russia Intervention and World War II. 2012, While Army and Navy records for the World War II period are dispersed across a number of record groups, smaller branches like the Marine Corps, Army Air Forces, and Coast Guard, are generally limited to a single record group each for the WWII period. If you have additional questions after reviewing this post, we encourage you to contact the reference staff at the NARA location that has custody of the records you are interested in. A separate series of War Diaries, World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, ca. World War II recruiting poster for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. HIGHER UNITS. The 1st Battalion, 39th Combat Engineer Regiment, received its baptism of fire during the fight for Gela. When they werent conducting route clearance, combat engineers deployed to the battlefields of the War on Terror often filled in as explosive disposal experts. My grand uncle, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Woolfolk attended UCLA and I believe he graduated in 1936. during WWII ], [ 16th Infantry Division - Did not exist In addition to being experts in explosives, demolition, and construction, combat engineers are also trained warfighters. Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships and Stations, 1941-1983, . Bonnyman who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and eight other pioneers were also killed. Without troops like Buenagua to lead the way, there would be no clear path to victory. The lineage of the 254th dates back to 8 August 1881 with the organization of the Calumet Light Guard, which was mustered into Michigan state service as Company B, 2d Battalion of Infantry. 858th, 1361, Muster rolls are lists of naval personnel attached to a ship, station, or other activity. They include logbooks from U.S. Coast Guard cutters, tenders, light ships, lighthouses, lifeboat stations, light ships, and other installations. DC, A paper file list index for this series is available at the National Archives. This series contains copies of reports of Army medical units and facilities, as well as reports from medical components of regular Army units. Another large series that contains WWII Army unit records is. Mel Brooks Was a Combat Engineer in World War II : No. The Navy Cross the branchs second-highest award for valor in combat isnt handed out to just anybody. Also shown are unit strength, the location of the unit, and sometimes a Record of Events. Memorial website to the crew of RAF Lancaster bomber ED627 (EM-N) of 207 Squadron who died when they were shot down over Germany on August 28, 1943. during WWII ], [ 20th Infantry Division - Did not exist *hU@TQDTx' . The reports do not contain patient medical records. Related: How the Special Operations Combat Medic Course Provides Real-World Training. The National Archives has custody of accessioned microfilm copies of some of AFHRAs records in the Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations (Record Group 342), Entry (UD) 1006-B1. This series consists of the original mission reports pertaining to specific targets. The Muster Rolls of Coast Guard Ships and Shore Establishments, 1941 - 1949 are arranged by type of ship or station, thereunder by year, and consist of printed forms giving, for each person on board, information concerning his enlistment and whether he was entitled to honorable discharge; a personal description; the date he was received on board; and data concerning his transfer, discharge, desertion, or death. and initiative, [ 39th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 47th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 49th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 51st Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 52nd Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 53rd Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 54th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 56th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 57th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 58th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 60th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 61st Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 62nd Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 64th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 67th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 68th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 72nd Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 73rd Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], [ 74th Infantry Division - Did not exist during WWII ], Leo van Bussel (from Holland) & Ron Villegas. More detailed information about deck logs is available on NARAs The Text Message Blog, Know Your Records: U.S. Navy Deck Logs and 1941-1959 Deck Logs, including World War II and the Korean War. The casualties suffered by a typical American infantry regiment serving in World War II were horrendous. Hawaii, We also tend to have more records for higher-echelon units and fewer for lower-level units. They include logbooks from U.S. Coast Guard cutters, tenders, light ships, lighthouses, lifeboat stations, light ships, and other installations. Records of non-organic units (units not permanently attached to a division) generally consist of historical reports and some administrative records. Many records relating to the Coast Guards participation in wartime operations during World War II are dispersed among the Navy records (see above), however, there are additional series of WWII Coast Guard records in the Records of the United States Coast Guard (Record Group 26). World War II War Diaries, 12/7/1941 - 12/31/1945. They are arranged in several subseries, by command, and then roughly hierarchically. Muster rolls are lists of naval personnel attached to a ship, station, or other activity. The detonations, which initiated the Battle of the Somme, were so massive that they remain among the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. William Farrar landed with his engineer combat battalion on Omaha Beach on D-Day - June 6, 1944 - at the beginning of the largest seaborne invasion in history that left about 4,500 Allied soldiers confirmed dead.After spending the first night, The News Stories page of the Sacramento District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The site contains a list of battalion members, and some information on many of them. UNITS, COMMANDERS, STAFF MEMBERS, AND MEMBERS OF UNITS MENTIONED IN THIS NARRATIVE . 28th, These included, but were not limited to:[1], Pontoon bridge built by the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion across the Rhine, downstream from the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. They are a component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The WWII muster rolls have been digitized through NARAs partnership with Ancestry, and are available to search and view on Ancestrys website at, US World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949. , includes a variety of records, including select action reports, war diaries, rosters of officers, unpublished histories, correspondence, and more. All of the reels are not available, so please be sure to contact the reference staff (email: We frequently get requests for unit rosters from World War II. For example, by the end of January, 1945, the 47th Infantry Regiment (which fought in France and Germany) had lost well over 100% of their strength to battle casualties, where men were either killed, wounded, missing, or taken asprisoner of war.