What are Morning Reports?

 

Morning Reports are created each morning, as the name implies. They are an "exception based" system, only containing information on those individuals who are not "Present and Accounted for". Among the reasons for being listed on a morning report are:

• Promotion or demotion
• Being killed, wounded or missing in action
• Being assigned to a unit, or leaving a unit
• Going to a hospital for treatment, or to another activity for training

Every day of World War II, whether in training or during the most explosive warfare, a 3 1/4" by 7" Morning Report was issued from each company to higher headquarters. They are still preserved at the National Archives in College Park, MD.

Morning Reports list the unit location, killed-and-wounded in action, brief wound descriptions, evacuations to hospitals as a result of combat or weather-related causes; the captured, as well as missing in action, plus new assignees (known as replacements); promotions and transfers to and from other units with their rank and other information. All this plus the soldier’s Army Serial Number and
MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) were packed into the report.
Note: This Company used both "SSN" (Service Specialty Number) and "MOS" in the morning reports.

Please note that when you see a soldier "dropped fr rolls" due to evacuation to a hospital, he will sometimes be found in a later report when he rejoined the unit.

Abbreviations Often Found in Morning Reports:

 

AGF – Allied Ground Forces

APO - Army Post Office
aptd - appointed
ar – arrest

ASF – Army Service Forces
asgd or assgd - assigned
asgmt - assignment
atchd - attached
BC - Battle Casualty
Bn – battalion

Clr Sta – Clearing Station
DP - disbursement point
det - detached
disch - discharged
D/D - dishonorable discharge
DOI - Died of Injuries
DOW - Died of Wounds
DS - detached service
dy – duty

EDCMR – effective date concerning Morning Report
EM - enlisted men (both draftees and enlistees were designated as enlisted men)

EPTI – Existing Prior to Induction
FOD - Finding of Death
Fr – from

gr - grade
hosp - hospital
IIA - Injured in action
jd - joined
LD - Line of Duty
LIA - Lightly Injured in Action
Lv - leave
LWA - Lightly Wounded in Action (not believed life-threatening)
MIA - Missing in Action
MOS - Military Occupational Specialty (This is same as SSN)
NBC - Non-battle Casualty
nco - non-commissioned officer
NLD - not in the line of duty
PAR - paragraph
Pers - personnel
Plat or Plt - platoon
qrs - quarters
reld - relieved
Repl - replacement
reptd - reported
rd – reduced

RDU – Restricted Duty
RTD - Returned to Duty
SIA - Seriously Injured in Action
sk - sick
SWA - Seriously Wounded in Action (believed life-threatening)
td - temporary duty
trfd - transferred
unasgd - unassigned
Vic or vic - vicinity
W - wound
WIA - Wounded in Action