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Seeking time Company B, 26th Infantry Regiment landed on D-Day

Eileen Molecavage

Seeking time that Company B, 26th Infantry Regiment landed on D-Day. Trying to find out if my information is correct. A private researcher has documented that the 1st Infantry Division, 26th Infantry Regiment, Company B landed on Omaha beach at approximately 19:00 hours. My father PFC Francis X Cooney was in that unit. However in a recorded interview with Arthur Staymates who was in that same company, Staymates keeps repeating that they landed in the first wave at 06:00 a m . Which is correct? Was some of 26th regiment attached to a different unit for the landing? Thank in advance . The purpose of hiring a researcher was to get accurate information. 

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    Dear Ms. Molecavage,

     

    Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

     

    We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - 1985 (Record Group 407) that includes files of the 1st Infantry Division as well as records of the 26th Infantry Regiment.  The files that contain the most information about the D-Day landings are:

     

    • 301-0.13 Operation Neptune;
    • 301-3.20 Assignment Orders and Landing Tables, May 1944;
    • 301-3.2 1st Infantry Division G-3 Journal File June; and
    • 301-INF(26)-0.3 Reports of Operations, 26th Infantry Regiment, June 1944.

     

    We reviewed the 1st Infantry Division G-3 Journal for 6 June 1944. It indicates that the 26th Infantry Regiment landed at approximately 19:30.  The 26th Infantry Regiment Headquarters Unit Journal in 301-INF(26)-0.3 indicates that the first elements of the regiment, the “Command CP,”  arrived on shore at 18:24, with further elements landing through 19:30. The file also includes the regiment’s field order covering their plans for D-Day. A cursory examination of the order did not see any indications that elements of the regiment were detached and assigned to other units to assault the beaches earlier. For more information about these non-digitized records, to include information on how to order copies, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at Archives2reference@nara.gov. There also may be additional records that are relevant. We were unable to locate specific records of Company B. Information about individual companies is sometimes incorporated into the files of the regiment.

     

    If individual officers were assigned to other units during this time period, the assignment may be indicated in the morning reports.  We located the Morning Reports, ca. 1912 - 1946 of Army units that may include rosters and morning reports of the 26th Infantry Regiment. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) at stl.archives@nara.gov. Rosters for units serving in World War II from 1944 - 1946 were destroyed in accordance with Army disposition authorities.

     

    You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2 and RL-SL. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic.  Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.

     

    We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!

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    The 26th Infantry participated in every amphibious landing by the 1st Infantry Division during WWII.  They were the assault unit at Oran and at Sicily.  Is it possible that Mr. Staymates confused his landings?