80th Division Veterans Association

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Note: There are more than 150,000 documents, images, and pages on this 80th Division site. Many of the Morning Reports, General Orders, Unit Histories, and Miscellaneous Reports are scanned as PDFs. Some of these reports are difficult to read. Google indexers can't convert many into searchable text. Your results will not pick up every Report that is on the site.

World War II Research

DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH

There are hundreds of locations to conduct your own research, depending on what you are looking for. There are various types of information to look for, including:

  • Personnel Records
  • Unit Histories, Unit Journals
  • After Action Reports
  • Historical Reports
  • General Orders

The Modern Military Records Unit (NWCTM) has custody of the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - (Record Group 407) and Records of U.S. Army Commands, 1942 - (Record Group 338). Military unit files among these records consist mostly of historical reports, after action reports, unit journals, and general orders. Because the files are arranged hierarchically, identification of the specific unit (i.e., division, regiment, and battalion) is necessary before a search can be conducted. The Modern Military Records Unit is located at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, near the University of Maryland-College Park campus. Research room hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday; 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; and 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, except legal holidays.

Unit Rosters are in the custody of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. You may contact them, but for most of the war, these files are no longer extant. Their mailing address is the Military Personnel Records, National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

The U.S. Army Military History Institute, 22 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA 17013-5008, has a large collection of published unit histories. Unit histories may also be available in bookstores, in libraries, from the publishers, from the units themselves, or from various veteran's associations. They are often published in limited quantities, however, and are frequently out of print. These works may be borrowed by libraries through the interlibrary loan service. You may wish to contact your local library concerning this service.


MILITARY HISTORY RESOURCE LINKS - General Resources
  • US Army War College (Carlisle Barracks, PA)
    Great site for researching military history. Includes manuscripts, maps, photos, oral histories, reference biliographies, etc.

  • US Army Center for Military History - Online Bookshelf for ETO
    Published Materials as well as online materials.

  • Master Index of Army Records - US Army Center for Military History
    Listing of various repositories of various US Army records, including Personnel Records, Morning Reports, Unit Operational Records, Unit Rosters, Photographs, etc.

  • Online Military Indexes & Records
    A directory of various indexes to WWII (and others) records. NOTE this also includes "state-specific" resources.

  • Wesley Johnston's "Dad's War" Web site
    A wonderfully laid out site, detailing a step-by-step plan for finding more information about your Dad's war. Includes links, snail-mail addresses, phone numbers.

  • American World War II Association Historians Consortium (AWAHC)
    A voluntary consortium of the officially designated historians (or other representatives) of World War II military unit associations and other World War II-specific associations.

  • World War II Database - WWII Timeline
    This massive site provides a vast number of resources to WWII researchers. Of particular interest to me is the WW2 Timeline, which provies a Yearly Chronology of Events during WWI and WWII.

  • Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library
    Another great resource of digital materials: WWII Operational Documents.

  • Bangor Public Library - World War Regimental Histories
    Another great resource of digital materials: WWII Regimental Histories, full downloads.

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Library - US Army Unit Records, 1917-1950 [finding aid]
    The U.S. Army Unit Records collection (formerly: U.S. Army, U.S. Forces, European Theater: Selected After Action Reports, 1941-45) primarily spans the period from 1917 to 1950, with the bulk of the material covering the World War II years (1942-45). The collection is comprised of organizational and operational records and miscellaneous historical material from the files of army units that served in World War II.
    Note that this is a "finding aid," not online repository of documents.

  • World War II European Theater - West Point
    Another excellent resource with info & links & maps; from the United States Military Academy, West Point.

  • World War II Troopships
    Troopships of World War II, by Roland W. Charles, Naval Architect, 1947. 381 pages (46.5mb).

  • WWII Troop Ship Crossings
    This site provides a vast number of troop ships that carried soldiers overseas, both ETO and PTO. Cudos to Shayne E. Wallesch and Wendy J. Hochnadel for their research and continued updates.

  • Master List of Personnel Forms & Examples
    Hardscrabble Farm provides reproduction copies of standard personnel forms, including Soldier's ID Card, Paybook, Immunization Record, Printed & Typed Passes, Bus & Train Paperwork, Ration Cards, and Clerk's Forms (i.e., Parachute Log Record, POW Tag, Authorization for Allotment of Pay, and Company Morning Reports).

  • OSS Glossary of Terms, Initialisms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms
    From the Naitonal Archives. This glossary lists initialisms, abbreviations, and acronyms that are found in the Office of Strategic Services records.

  • The Cars, Tanks and Airplanes of WWII
    Written by Bonnie Gringer, this is a great resource for information about vehicles and transportation used during WWII. In addition to the transportation resource links, this site also include additional WWII research links.

  • WWII Archive
    A collection of public domain World War II books, radio broadcasts, V-discs, films, and other ephemera. Curated by a librarian. This valuable resource provides a ton (almost 5,600 items), searchable by Metadata as well as Text contents. Hat tip to Benoit Bilmans.

  • Military Research Service "Freebies"
    A listing and links to PDFs of Tables of Organizations in WWII for Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Air Force. Also a few of WWI, Civil War.

  • APO (Atlantic Post Office) Locations: 1942-1947
    A numerical listing of APOs from January 1942 - November 1947.

  • Paratrooper Research Team
    Another resource for reports, newspaper clippings, stories, and photos of the 80th Division in WWII.

  • The Controvich Library
    Jim Controvich, a military history collector, has created one of the most useful databases of World War I and World War II memoirs and unit histories online.

  • Virginia Holocaust Museum
    Founded in 1997, the Virginia Holocaust Museum (VHM) is a place for Holocaust remembrance, preservation and education. The Museum uses its unique exhibits, programming, and outreach to teach about the dangers of hate, prejudice and indifference. Their Digital Archives collections include documents, photographs, and oral histories.



  • U.S. Army Personnel Replacement System
    From the Defense Media Network...

    Replacing soldiers killed and wounded in combat units during the war was done on an individual basis, as has been the practice for most American wars. In World War II, except for those soldiers who arrived as a unit at the beginning of the war, men were sent individually to units to replace casualties.

    Rather than pulling battle depleted units off the line and replacing them in combat with a fresh, rested unit, Army Chief of Staff George Marshall and Gen. Leslie McNair, Commander of Army Ground Forces, implemented the individual replacement system. The American Army strategy was to create replacement depots, called "repple-depples" by the GIs. These depots were located near the battle fronts, so that individual soldiers could be sent by generals to companies and battalions to replace the men lost.

    This practice of sending individual soldiers to depleted infantry companies was often a disadvantage to both the soldier and the company. Obviously the replacement was not battle tested. In certain situations in the latter part of the war, the soldier had completed basic training, but had not been trained for infantry.

    Because of heavy casualties, especially in the Battle of the Bulge, attrition required that men be pulled from noncombat units and placed in combat because the numerical need was so great. The new soldiers sometimes had difficulty assimilating. They felt alienated and unwelcomed and at first resented by the battle-hardened men because they were replacing buddies who had been killed or wounded.

    Because the new men were not always properly trained, they sometimes caused extra risk for the others, due to their lack of awareness of the reality of combat. If a replacement proved to be capable, then he would be accepted and become part of the tightly knit group. However, some replacements quickly became casualties, so there was wariness among the old-timers at first, a reluctance to even learn the name of the newly arrived soldier.

    In order to mitigate the failings of the replacement system, some leaders would implement an unofficial policy to protect both the incoming soldier and the group. The unit commanders would deliberately hold the replacements back until there was a break in active combat. This was done so that the new soldiers could at the very least get some infantry training with the group in a more relaxed setting, where lives were not on the line.

    Once a soldier in World War II was sent to a combat division, he was not replaced unless he became a casualty. Unlike the practice in later wars, the World War II combatant remained overseas and ready for combat until the war ended.

    Depot Location Purpose(s)
    Training Center No. 1 Shrivenham, England Retraining of limited assignment men for new duty
    2nd Replacement Depot Thaon, France US Seventh Army direct support depot
    3rd Replacement Depot Verviers, Belgium US First Army direct support depot
    9th Replacement Depot Fontainebleau, France Officer and officer candidate retraining center
    10th Replacement Depot Lichfield, England Processing of hospital returnees
    11th Replacement Depot Givet, Belgium US First Army intermediate depot;
    US Ninth Army intermediate depot
    12th Replacement Depot Tidworth, England Theater reception depot; Enlisted retraining center
    14th Replacement Depot Neufchâteau, France US Third Army intermediate depot;
    US Seventh Army intermediate depot
    15th Replacement Depot Le Havre, France Theater reception depot
    16th Replacement Depot Compiegne, France Enlisted retraining center
    17th Replacement Depot Angervilliers, France US Third Army direct support depot
    18th Replacement Depot Tonges, Belgium US Ninth Army direct support depot
    19th Replacement Depot Etampes, France Processing of hospital returnees
    51st Replacement Battalion Charleville, France US Fifteenth Army direct support depot
    54th Replacement Battalion Marseilles, France Theater reception depot

    Changes in Location of Reinforcement Units on Continent (ETO)
    Thanks to Christine Law

    The Army's Orphans: The US Army Replacement System in the European Campaign, 1944-1945
    Dissertation by Eric William Klinek (Temple University)


MILITARY HISTORY RESOURCE LINKS - State Specific Resources
  • Delaware
    Delaware's World War II Fallen
    Lowell Silverman is a historian based in Delaware and is currently compiling biographies for the American troops from Delaware who made the ultimate sacrifice.

  • Florida
    The University of Central Florida Department of History provides several resources for veterans' research.
    • Veterans History Project
    • Created in the fall of 2010, the Community Veterans History Project (CVHP) honors American war veterans by giving them the opportunity to share their stories. The histories of our wars will not be complete without the voices of those who were involved.

    • Veterans Legacy Program
    • UCF's History Department contracted with National Cemetery Association to tell the stories of our nation's veterans memorialized at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, St. Augustine National Cemetery, in St. Augustine, Florida, Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida, Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Lucy-le-Bocage, France, and the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, France.

      The project harnesses UCF student research efforts to create biographies of veterans buried or memorialized at the cemeteries. These biographies form the basis for this website, which features the veterans' stories, a mobile application for cemetery visitors, as well as an interactive K-12 curriculum. The project also included a yearly field trip to one of the cemeteries near Memorial Day. K-12 students join teachers, UCF faculty, staff, and students, government representatives, and the media to share veterans' stories and learn about our nation's history.


MILITARY HISTORY RESOURCE LINKS - Personnel Resources
  • "The 1973 Fire, National Personel Records Center"
    You may or may not have heard about the NPRC (St. Louis) Fire in 1973 that destroyed approximately 80% of U.S. Army personnel records. This National Archives page provides information about that fire.

  • U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
    A partnership between the National Archives at St. Louis and Ancestry.com. The complete series of draft registration cards for the WWII era (1940-1947). Scanned & transcribed. Requires an Ancestry.com account, but for this project, it's free.

  • National Archives - Access to Archival Databases (AAD)
    Searchable databases for enlistments, prisoners of war (American) and much more. More than just WWII databases.

  • National Archives - Individual Deceased Personnel Files
    This series consists of materials related to the deaths of individuals who served in the United States Army. It includes both active duty personnel stationed overseas and in the United States, and veterans who died in military hospitals after leaving the service. The documents may include lists of deceased individuals, certificates of death, autopsy reports, descriptions of the cause of death, lists of personal effects, medical records, and information on funeral arrangements and payment of benefits to the next-of-kin.

    Note that this is a new project and only a portion of the files have been uploaded (as of DEC 2023).

  • How to Decode a WWII US Army Serial Number
    Amy Johnson Crew provides a concise article about determining what the ASN (Army Serial Number) means.

  • National Archives - How to Request Military Service Records
    Reserved for next-of-kin or immediate family, here is the first stop to requesting information about your veteran's service.

  • Home of Heroes - Obtaining Citations for Military Records
    A step-by-step (with example letter) to obtain Military Records from the National Personnel Records Center.

  • FamilySearch: Finding a WWII Veteran's Records
    This "wiki" site provides a list of resources many geneologists and WWII Researchers use.

  • American Battle Monuments Commission
    "The World War II Honor Roll" - An online search directory for locating burial and memorial information for WWII soldiers.


  • Fields of Honor Database
    This digital memorial is a tribute to those who sacrificed their own lives for the freedom of others during World War II. At this moment, you will be able to find personal memorial pages in this database for about 38,000 American soldiers who have been either buried in or listed at the Walls of the Missing at the overseas American War Cemeteries Ardennes, Epinal, Henri-Chapelle, Lorraine, Luxembourg, and Margraten. We honor their service and sacrifice by continuing to tell their life stories and preserve them for future generations. After all, each cross and Star of David represents an individual like you and me. This website is a project of the Dutch non-profit Fields of Honor Foundation.

  • U.S. Army Awards of the Silver Star for Conspicuous Gallantry in Action During World War II
    The pages linked represent more than 55,000 General Orders citing Silver Star Awards to members of the U.S. Army during World War II. This work is based largely on the unprecedented hard work of the late Colonel Albert Gleim to index G.O.s for Silver Star awards. The list includes all names from Volumes I, II, and III of Colonel Gleim's 1991 compendium, and includes additional recipients not identified in Gleim's work. This index does NOT contain ALL awards of the Silver Star, though we believe that 80% or more of the Army awards of the Silver Star are represented herein. Posting these indexes are our initial step in the much larger effort to identify ALL recipients, and eventually to post their citations.

  • World War 2 Family History
    An excellent page/article with links to researching your WWII family history.

  • Reading and Understanding the WWII Discharge and Separation Papers
    If you've ever wondered what all those designations mean on your father's or grandfather's WWII discharge papers, the 6th Corps Combat Engineers put together this document with detailed explationtions.

  • World War 2 Enlistment Records (Search for Laundry Numbers)
    This WWII US Army Enlistment Records website was started in order to assist historians and researchers in their task of researching individual service personnel of the US Army during WWII. One of the major advantages of this project is that it allows militaria collectors to research personnel by searching our records via laundry numbers. Laundry numbers were special identification codes that were introduced by the US Army in order to allow service personnel to quickly identify their individual equipment. The laundry number consisted of the soldier's last initial, followed by the final 4 digits of their Army Serial Number. These numbers were then applied to personal equipment so that they could be easily identified when stored with others' items. While laundry numbers are not unique to the soldier, they were sufficiently specific within a soldier's unit.


MILITARY HISTORY RESOURCE LINKS - Medical/Hospital Resources
  • WW2 US Medical Research Centre
    An amalgamation of the efforts by Alain Batens and Ben Major, the WW2 US Medical Research Centre includes unit histories of medical units, oral histories, articles describing the Med-Dept and medical items, and various aspects of the US Army Medical Department in WW2.

  • Card Register of Burials of Deceased American Soldiers, 1917 - 1922
    An ongoing project using volunteers to enter data from burial cards of U.S. servicemen and women from WWI into a searchable database.

  • Patton's Best Medics: 4th Armored Division
    An awesome website of information regarding the Medics of Patton's 4th Armored Division, developed by Reinier Groeneveld, a Family Doctor, General Practitioner in the Netherlands. Here, you'll find Personnel & Unit lists, rosters, and reports. Recently added: 1942 Yearbooks with scanned photos.

  • 39th Evacuation Hospital - Unit History
    Many 80th Division Infantry troops found their way to the 39th Evac Hospital. This resource provides an excellent background in the makeup and the history of the 39th.

    • Medical Units attached to Third United States Army during operations in the E.T.O., dated 1 August 1944
      • Convalescent Hospital: 6th, 7th, 8th
      • Evacuation Hospital: 12th, 32d, 34th, 35th, 39th, 100th, 101st, 102d, 103d, 104th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th
      • Field Hospital: 16th, 30th, 48th, 53d, 54th
      • Medical Group: 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 69th
      • Auxiliary Surgical Group: 4th
      • Medical Battalion: 34th, 37th, 107th, 167th, 168th, 169th, 171st, 172d, 173d, 174th, 240th, 427th, 436th, 437th
      • Medical Gas Treatment Battalion: 92d, 94th, 95th
      • Motor Ambulance Company: 383d, 548th, 573d, 580th, 581st, 584th, 585th, 586th, 587th, 588th, 589th, 590th, 591st, 593d, 594th, 595th
      • Medical Clearing Company: 610th, 613th, 614th, 623d, 635th, 647th, 648th, 650th, 659th, 664th, 666th
      • Medical Collecting Company: 428th, 429th, 431st, 432d, 433d, 434th, 435th, 436th, 437th, 438th, 439th, 461st, 462d, 465th, 494th, 495th, 496th
      • Medical Depot Company: 32d, 33d
      • Medical Laboratory Company: 7th

    • 39th Evacuation Hospital, E.T.O. - FRANCE
      • Bricquebec: 19 July 1944
      • Ste-Mere-Eglise: 21 July 1944 - 31 July 1944
      • St.Sauveur Lendelin: 1 August 1944 - 6 August 1944
      • Vitre: 8 August 1944 - 15 August 1944
      • Arrou: 18 August 1944 - 28 August 1944
      • Nogent-sur-Seine: 29 August 1944 - 7 September 1944
      • Vertusey: 8 September 1944 - 29 September 1944
      • Toul: 3 October 1944 - 15 November 1944
      • Morhange: 23 November 1944 - 20 December 1944

    • 39th Evacuation Hospital, E.T.O. - BELGIUM
      • Virton: 24 December 1944 - 25 January 1945
      • St. Hubert: 27 January 1945 - 26 February 1945

    • 39th Evacuation Hospital, E.T.O. - LUXEMBOURG
      • Vianden: 5 March 1945 - 21 March 1945

    • 39th Evacuation Hospital, E.T.O. - GERMANY
      • Bad Kreuznach: 25 March 1945 - 3 April 1945
      • Hersfeld: 6 April 1945 - 22 April 1945
      • Weiden: 24 April 1945 - 30 June 1945
      • Amberg: 5 July 1945 - 7 September 1945
      • Closing of the 39th Evacuation Hospital

  • 101st Evacuation Hospital Booklet - "The Way That we Went"
    The story of the 101st Evac Hospital's eventful 10 months' journey across the continent of Europe.
    "There were 15 moves in all.. soem were long, hot and dusty; on others we got lost or rained on or nearly frozen to death."


MILITARY HISTORY RESOURCE LINKS - WWII Researchers

ONLINE BOOKS - WWII ETO
  • Center for Military History - Online Books (Complete Text) Includes:
  • U.S. Army in World War II Series (The "Green Books")
    The United States Army in World War II series describes the organization, plans, and operations of the War Department and the Army, in the zone of interior and in all of the Army's five theaters of operations from 1939 to 1945. Since the Army authorized the project in 1946, seventy-eight volumes have been or are being published representing an organized treasury of knowledge on the world's greatest conflict.

    Behind them lies one of the largest masses of records and recollections ever produced. These documents, including those of the enemy, have been explored by professional historians, with the cooperation of a host of participants and with all the facilities and assistance that the Office of the Chief of Military History and its successor, the Center of Military History, could provide to ensure that this endeavor was as comprehensive, accurate, and objective as possible.

    The final result has provided commanders and staff officers, historians, and students-military and civilian alike-with an unprecedented professional guide to past experience as they seek light on the uncertain path ahead.

    All of the titles in the U.S. Army in World War II series (the Army's official history of World War II - commonly referred to as the "Green Books") are available online through the U.S. Army Center of Military History. Note there are 79 books in the Green Book collection. Below is a list of the categories of books, all linked through the above URL.

    • THE WAR DEPARTMENT
      • Chief of Staff: Prewar Plans and Preparations
      • Washington Command Post: The Operations Division
      • Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1941-1942
      • Strategic Planning for Coalition Warfare: 1943-1944
      • Global Logistics and Strategy: 1940-1943
      • Global Logistics and Strategy: 1943-1945
      • The Army and Economic Mobilization
      • The Army and Industrial Manpower
    • THE ARMY GROUND FORCES
      • The Organization of Ground Combat Troops
      • The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops
    • THE ARMY SERVICES FORCES
      • The Organization and Role of the Army Service Forces
    • THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
      • The Framework of Hemisphere Defense
      • Guarding the United States and Its Outposts
    • THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC
      • Strategy and Command: The First Two Years
      • The Fall of The Philippines
      • Guadalcanal: The First Offensive
      • Victory in Papua
      • Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul
      • Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls
      • Campaign in the Marianas
      • The Approach to the Philippines
      • Leyte: The Return to the Philippines
      • Triumph In the Philippines
      • Okinawa: The Last Battle
    • THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS
      • Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West
      • Sicily and the Surrender of Italy
      • Salerno to Cassino
      • Cassino to the Alps
    • THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS
      • The Supreme Command
      • Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume I: May 1941-September 1944
      • Logistical Support of the Armies, Volume Ii: September 1944-May 1945
      • Cross-Channel Attack
      • Breakout and Pursuit
      • The Lorraine Campaign
      • The Siegfried Line Campaign
      • The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
      • The Last Offensive
      • Riviera to the Rhine
    • THE MIDDLE EAST THEATER
      • The Persian Corridor and Aid to Russia
    • THE CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER
      • Stilwell's Mission to China
      • Stilwell's Command Problems
      • Time Runs Out in CBI
    • THE TECHNICAL SERVICES
      • THE CHEMICAL WARFARE SERVICE
        • Organizing for War
        • From Laboratory to Field
        • Chemicals in Combat
      • The CORPS OF ENGINEERS
        • Troops and Equipment
        • Construction in the United States
        • The War Against Germany
        • The War Against Japan
      • The MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
        • Hospitalization and Evacuation, Zone of Interior
        • Medical Service in The Mediterranean and Minor Theaters
        • Medical Service in The European Theater of Operations
        • Medical Service in The War Against Japan
      • The ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT
        • Planning Munitions for War
        • Procurement and Supply
        • On Beachhead and Battlefront
      • The QUARTERMASTER DEPARTMENT
        • Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume I
        • Organization, Supply, and Services, Volume II
        • Operations in the War Against Japan
        • Operations in the War Against Germany
      • The SIGNAL CORPS
        • The Emergency (to December 1941)
        • The Test (December 1941 to July 1943)
        • The Outcome (Mid-1943 through 1945)
      • The TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
        • Responsibilities, Organization, and Operations
        • Movements, Training, and Supply
        • Operations Overseas
    • SPECIAL STUDIES
      • Chronology: 1941-1945
      • Buying Aircraft: Materiel Procurement for the Army Air Forces
      • Civil Affairs: Soldiers Become Governors
      • The Employment of Negro Troops
      • Military Relations Between the United States and Canada: 1939-1945
      • Rearming the French
      • Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt
      • The Women's Army Corps
      • United States Army in World War Ii: Reader's Guide
      • Manhattan: The Army and the Atomic Bomb
    • PICTORIAL RECORD
      • The War Against Japan
      • The War Against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas
      • The War Against Germany: Europe and Adjacent Areas

WWII ONLINE MAPS