Morning Report codes...what do they mean?

WWII "Morning Reports" had codes across from some of the soldier's names
(on the right hand side). Does anybody have a list of what the codes mean?
For instance on the third page of a 1944 'Morning Report' some service members
are listed as a " 7 " ........what does that mean?

 

That's a good question. I've tried to find something online that explains those codes, but so far I've come up with nothing. I recall seeing the letters "M" (deceased) and "K" (sick), but I'm stumped on the numeric codes. I'll keep at it. Maybe someone else will stop by with the answer sooner.

 

Thanks TD-Tommy776, I'm not saying it's not on the Internet *somewhere*(!!!)....bound to be - but even before I had asked the question here, I likewise had looked fairly extensively and couldn't find anything.

And yes Slipdigit, I've attached an example from a Morning Report for Company G, 134th Regiment, 35th Division for the morning of 14 November 1944. On this specific Morning Report there were four pages but I had to delete three of them in order to meet the file size restriction to post it here. This page shows the code "7" I had mentioned earlier but the entire Morning Report had these other codes: E, 6, A, M6 and T. View attachment 20997

 

I have a 23-page PDF with abbreviations used in organizational records. Feel free to download it, it may or may not be of help. No numerical codes.
Let me know if you have any trouble with this link.

EDIT: This wasn't the doc I had in mind, it doesn't have many morning report abbreviations. I'll look around, see if I have it in my files at home.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-15mpuUkThFYzBVc1FNcTQ5Q00/edit?usp=sharing

 

Thanks guys for your research... the help is much appreciated.

McCabe - I had looked at a list like yours (perhaps it was your list?) in the 'Pinned' (sticky) area if this forum, again before I even posted my question and noticed it didn't include any numerical codes.

Slipdigit - I asked my dad about those codes and he didn't know what they meant but he was an NCO (not an officer) and obviously never wrote or had any input to a "Morning Report." I'm guessing (and that's all it is) that code "7" meant either WIA (wounded in action) or MIA (missing in action). The most common (numerous) code on that morning report was "E" and I'm guessing that meant a "replacement" was received/assigned to the company (again, that's just a guess on my part and could be entirely wrong).

 

Looking at MR's from my Dad's unit (battalion), they show an "A" or "B" for replacements assigned, sometimes the letter only, other times with a 1, 3 or 9 behind it. Can be any combination of this for officers or enlisted personnel. A and A1's all indicate replacements from a Replacement Battalion. A3's and 9's are from a Reinforcement Bn. There are also a few replacements from Inf. Regiments and Artillery Battalions which are listed as A1's. As I look through more reports, I'm finding "E" used for replacements joining from 9th ID Replacement Depot.

Wounded, injured, KIA have an "M", sometimes with a "1" behind it.

I don't see a pattern with any of this coding. Makes me wonder if units came up with their own systems?

 

I did a pretty extensive search as well (at least I like to think I did). I found a number of lists, one of which I am sure is the 23-pager that McCabe mentioned. None of them had anything addressing this particular question. I did find a couple of inquiries (one was a thread on this Forum) where the "MR code" question was raised, but it got lost in the discussion.

That may be the case. I tend to doubt it though, since the first 2 men listed on the MR you posted were LWA and have no "7" next to the entries. Also, it seems a bit redundant to have a code to indicate what has been clearly written out on the MR.

That's what I was beginning to wonder. I noticed that the MRs are usually typed, most likely by the clerk. Perhaps the company CO makes the written notations while reviewing the MR. The codes may mean something to the CO.

This is a bit of a stumper. :huh:

 

Natman - thanks for your comment on the "E" code - that pretty much confirms what I was thinking it meant (i.e., some kind of "replacement"). I don't mean to take this thread in a different direction but I'm wondering what the difference is between a "Replacement" Battalion and a "Reforcement" Battalion (....seems like they both exist for the same end purpose)?

TD-Tommy776 - I do see the LWA (Lightly Wounded in Action) you mention - I've also seen that on a MR from my dad's bother who was classified as that after D-day (he was with the 29th ID). My guess of what the "7" code means is based on knowing two of the soldiers listed there and what happened to them on that date. As it turned out, both were "heavily" wounded during an attack on a French village on 13 November - thus their names showing up on the MR of the 14th. And while I've seen a LWA nomenclature, I have never seen a "HWA" abbreviation (only a 'KIA' nomenclature). And since this happened during an attack (with all it's attendant confusion of combat), the only real question in my mind was, did the "7" code mean "Missing" or WIA (which I would take to mean, "severely" wounded in action but not actually "missing"). Does that make sense??

I'm not sure at what level of command MR codes would have become standardized or commonly used; one would think it would have been at the Army level (as opposed to being left to lower level units to define - seems like that could cause *real* confusion). But then again, we're really confused aren't we? (...or, at least, I am!).

 

The standard usage I have seen is SWA (seriously wounded in action). Here's a MR (on right) from Company E, 129th Infantry. The MR has two groups of men who are listed as SWA. In the first case, there is no code. In the second case, there is a 'K' written next to them. The only difference I can see is that the first group were sent to the 112th Clr Sta (clearing station of the 37th Division's 112th Medical Bn), and the second group were sent to the 71st Evacuation Hospital. Presumably, those going to the Division's medics were expected to return. Those going to the Evac Hospital, not so much.

Perhaps the 'K' indicates that the personnel would not return to the Company. The codes could be a way for the CO to track the loss (or gain) of personnel.

View attachment 20999

 

TD-Tommy776 - Your MR was very interesting to see. I had never even seen "SWA" before. Obviously I see the "M" code was used for a soldier KIA; so I suppose we know at least what the "M" code stands for. I would venture to say there were a lot of unknowns or uncertainty on any given MR (due to the nature and timing of when they were compiled). And again, obviously due to their nature, some relatively quick assessment on the part of a platoon leader reporting the information back up to the company CO, could have been mistaken or underestimated (...I'm not sure how you do it at all IF you're under fire!). I know I've read where some Morning Reports were re-typed days or weeks later in order to make them legible. Again, thanks for your help with this question.

 

It's my understanding that the First Sergeant (and Platoon Sergeants) compiled the data reported to the battalion adjutant or regiment S-1. The clerks would type the forms and the company commander would sign-off. I don't think the company commander would be entering the codes. More likely the Adjutant or S-1 and he seems to be categorizing short-term, long-term, permanent losses and gains for roll-up reports.

This website references a TM 12-250 that might have some answers. Copies were available on ebay. I also see AR 345-400 on the sample form, not sure if that is accurate though.

I'm surprised the re-enactor community doesn't have guidance available on the web.

http://wardepartment.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/companymorning-report/

 

Ah, that makes sense. The source I remember reading only mentioned the CO, but it seems logical that the senior NCO would make the notations and the CO would review and sign off on it. Found a description of First Sgt. duties here which sources TM 12-250 and TM 12-255.

 

I just used the Forum image upload (500kb limit applies) and it creates a link instead of a thumbnail image. If you are uploading a PDF with more than one page, that might be a problem though I haven't actually tried it.

 

You could convert it to a JPEG.

 

Upload it to Photobucket and then post the link here. That's how I do it.