Seeking records of the 47th Reinforcement Battalion, 5th Retraining Regiment

During WWII in the European Theater in late 1944 black Soldiers from support units were asked to volunteer to retrain as Infantrymen due to severe personnel shortages in Infantry units. Approximately 4,500 volunteered and 2,221 were selected. Those men were retrained as Infantry, organized into platoons with white officers, and attached to several Infantry divisions. In the 7^th Army they were organized into Provisional Rifle Companies and attached to the 12^th and 14^th Armored Divisions. The volunteers were to report to the 16th Reinforcement Depot at Compiegne, France not later than 10 January 1945.

I’m seeking the personnel and training records of the 47th Reinforcement Battalion, 5th Retraining Regiment, the 16th Reinforcement Depot at Compiegne, France for the period 1 Jan-1 Apr 1945.

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Robert Scherer 9 months ago in reply to Rachael Salyer +1

Thanks very much Rachael! I will be making a trip to both College Park and Carlisle. You’ve made my job much easier! Thanks again!!!

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0 Rachael Salyer 10 months ago

Dear Robert Scherer,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Unit Histories, 1943-1967 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that includes the file 47th Reinforcement Battalion: Unit History. The series World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 407) also includes a history of the 47th Replacement Battalion for April 1943 - October 1945 (file REBN-47-0.2), as well as two histories for the 16th Reinforcement Depot for February 1944 - October 1945 (files REDE-16-0.1 and REDE-16-0.2), after action reports (REDE-16-0.3), general orders for 1944-1945 (REDE-16-1.13), and a report of medical activities for July-October 1945 (REDE-16-Med-0.2). The file 97-USF1-RECD-0.1 for the U.S. Army Forces in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) may also contain some relevant information related to the 16th Reinforcement Depot. We were unable to locate specific records of 5th Retraining Regiment; however, records of lower echelon units sometimes were incorporated into the files of higher level units. The Unit Histories in Record Group 338 and the WWII Operations Reports in Record Group 407 contain records related to the 12th and 14th Armored Divisions as well. In addition, we located the series Inspection and Investigation Reports and Related Records, 1943–1946 in the Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army (World War II) (Record Group 498) that contains 2 files related to the 16th Reinforcement Depot. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these and similar records.

Plus, the series Index to Personalities in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Photographic Files, 1940–1981 in the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (Record Group 111) contains 9 references to the 47th Reinforcement Battalion that might be of interest to you. The index has been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. For access to the photographs that it relates to or to request a search of the other photographic holdings in the custody of the National Archives in College Park - Still Pictures (RRSS) reference branch, please contact RRSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov.

You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Finally, the U.S. Army Center of Military History provides some resources related to the 47th Reinforcement Battalion, the 5th Retraining Regiment, and the 16th Reinforcement Depot. We suggest that you contact them and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, which has a large collection of published unit histories, directly for additional assistance.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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0 Rachael Salyer 10 months ago

Dear Robert Scherer,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Unit Histories, 1943-1967 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338) that includes the file 47th Reinforcement Battalion: Unit History. The series World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office (Record Group 407) also includes a history of the 47th Replacement Battalion for April 1943 - October 1945 (file REBN-47-0.2), as well as two histories for the 16th Reinforcement Depot for February 1944 - October 1945 (files REDE-16-0.1 and REDE-16-0.2), after action reports (REDE-16-0.3), general orders for 1944-1945 (REDE-16-1.13), and a report of medical activities for July-October 1945 (REDE-16-Med-0.2). The file 97-USF1-RECD-0.1 for the U.S. Army Forces in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) may also contain some relevant information related to the 16th Reinforcement Depot. We were unable to locate specific records of 5th Retraining Regiment; however, records of lower echelon units sometimes were incorporated into the files of higher level units. The Unit Histories in Record Group 338 and the WWII Operations Reports in Record Group 407 contain records related to the 12th and 14th Armored Divisions as well. In addition, we located the series Inspection and Investigation Reports and Related Records, 1943–1946 in the Records of Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, United States Army (World War II) (Record Group 498) that contains 2 files related to the 16th Reinforcement Depot. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these and similar records.

Plus, the series Index to Personalities in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Photographic Files, 1940–1981 in the Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (Record Group 111) contains 9 references to the 47th Reinforcement Battalion that might be of interest to you. The index has been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. For access to the photographs that it relates to or to request a search of the other photographic holdings in the custody of the National Archives in College Park - Still Pictures (RRSS) reference branch, please contact RRSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov.

You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Finally, the U.S. Army Center of Military History provides some resources related to the 47th Reinforcement Battalion, the 5th Retraining Regiment, and the 16th Reinforcement Depot. We suggest that you contact them and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, which has a large collection of published unit histories, directly for additional assistance.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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0 Robert Scherer 9 months ago in reply to Rachael Salyer

Thanks very much Rachael!
I will be making a trip to both College Park and Carlisle. You’ve made my job much easier!
Thanks again!!!
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