New book - unit info request for 2 men

Hello All. I visited this forum last year when I as I was completing my first book, "Small Town, Big Sacrifice." The book is about the men from Hawthorne and North Haledon, NJ who died in military service WWI - Vietnam. It is contains 77 extensive biographies, is almost 500 pages and includes over 250 images. I am now working on a second book about the 46 men from Midland Park and Wyckoff, NJ. I am usually able to complete my research through the Internet, books and NARA. However I get stumped once in a while. I have two men I am researching and I can't find out what there unit was doing when they were KIA. The men are:


PFC Frank Hopper, Jr. (s/n 20250980) Company E, 165th Infantry, 27th
Infantry Division KIA August 6, 1944 Saipan

PFC Martin Lewis De Heer (s/n 42018656) 339th Infantry, 85th Division
KIA September 26, 1944 Italy

Last summer I have requested the IDPF file on both men and have yet to receive it. If anyone can tell me what the units of each man were doing the day they were KIA I would great appreciate it. Below is a photograph of each man.

 

I'm sure you've already come across this, but here is generally what the 339th was doing at the end of September 1944:

excerpt from The 339th Infantry Regiment by Patrick Feng, found at www.armyhistory.com

 

I did see that and thank you TD.

 

Thank you, this is helpful, although it is for Company A, 1st Battalion and I am looking for Company E, 2nd Battalion.

 

If you're looking for company level information, then your best bet would be the Morning Reports for the respective companies. That means either a trip to Saint Louis, or hiring someone to get them for you.

 

I thought the morning reports were at the US Archive in College Park, MD.

 

College Park has the unit records (AARs, histories, journals, etc). The MRs are in St Louis. Perhaps because their purpose was to track personnel changes in the unit, someone decided they should be kept with the personnel records.

Unlike the unit records, the don't take requests for copies of MRs. One has to go there in person, or hire someone to do it. We've had a couple members go the DIY route. Others, like myself, have hired a researcher to do it.

 

The morning report maybe helpful for another man I am tracing, Pfc Edward F. Drews., KIA December 18, 1944. A newspaper article dated January 24, 1943 places him in the 399th IR 100th ID. Another article states that he went overseas in June 1944. The 100th did not arrive in Europe until October 1944. I have been told that men from the 100th were used to fill out other divisions so I believe he was transferred out of the 399th. Would the morning reports tell me what unit he was transferred to?

 

First, I want to say that I am a big believer in utilizing period newspaper articles as avenue for researching WWII service. I usually get a rather cold response when I suggest it to folks just starting to research a family member. While they can have wrong or misleading info, they are usually more helpful than not. In this case, I think your assessment may be correct. I checked the 100th Division records held by the Marshall Foundation and found no record of him in the 100th. Of course, that does not mean he was not in the 399th stateside. However, it is good evidence that he was not with them when they went overseas.

Since the purpose of Morning Reports was to document the personnel status of each unit (for infantry, that would be company level), they should show transfers from one unit to another, KIAs, WIAs, duty status, etc. Here's a sample I've posted elsewhere:

View attachment 22366

 

This probably won't help a lot, but I found the QMC form 14 for the repatriation of PFC Edward F. Drews' remains:

View attachment 22367

It indicates he was buried at the cemetery at the Epinal American Cemetery in France before being returned to the United States.

I found it while looking for the application for his military grave marker. Only about 70% have been digitized, so his may be one of the 30%. The grave marker application often has the regiment & company indicated.

 

Thanks TD. For all of the men I write about the research starts with searching for their Interment Card because it gives their unit. If they were interned in a National Cemetery the unit is usually not noted. For the first book I wrote I must have spent a 100+ hours going through local newspapers. They are help for basic information but rarely give a man's unit. About the only way to get it is with the IDPF. I have a picture of his gravestone and it does not have his unit on it. I also heard back from my research at St. Louis and his file has gone up in smoke. I just have to wait for his IDPF which was request last July.