Company Morning Reports
As the name suggests, Company Morning Reports were reports produced every morning in Army units relating to personnel matters. These morning reports were usually written by the company clerk who signed off on them by the company commander. These reports detail on a daily basis who is present for duty, army personnel who are on leave, detached duty, in the hospital, those who have been promoted or disciplined and offer much more information.
The reports detail soldiers (by name, rank and serial number) evacuated to the hospital, enlisted men promoted to Private First Class, the Battery’s position, strength, record of combat and weather conditions that day. These reports are an excellent means for learning about the day-to-day activity of Army units and can fill in a lot of gaps of information about an individual soldier or officer.
The company morning report below is a an example of the daily activity documented. In this case the A-Battery of the 319th Field Artillery on January 9, 1945.
Example Morning Report
(slideshow, side controls to next image)
Interpreting the morning reports entails a little deciphering, as abbreviations are frequently used, including the following:
