Looking for After Action Reports, morning reports or any other information for Bravo Company, 51st Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th armored division.

The following information is from the WWII Hospital Admission Card for Alvin J. Elsbernd, Army Service Number: 35123758

Full Name:  Elsbernd, Alvin J
Race:  Unknown
Admission Date: Jul 1944
Admission Type of Injury:  Casualty, battle
Military Service Number:  35123758
Rank:  Enlisted Man
Branch:  Armed Forces (not Elsewhere Classified)
Length of Service:  Unknown
Injured in Line of Duty:  In line of duty
Medical Diagnosis:  First Location: Thorax, generally; Causative Agent: Bullet, Missile Not Stated
Discharge Type:  Died
Discharge Date:  Jul 1944
Conflict Period:  World War II
Served for:  United States of America

The 12th Army Group Situation Map from July 19th, 1944, show the location of the 4th Armored Division, circled in red:

Below are excerpts from the 51st AIB and 53rd AIB After Action Reports:

Jo Shipley, thank you so much! I found those after action reports. But I could not find any information on his injury. That hospital admission card is HUGE. May I ask where you found that? Thank you again it really means a lot!

The US, WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, are part of Record Group 112: Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775 - 1994. The files contain records pertaining to some 5.3 million patients, mostly U.S. Army personnel wounded in battle during World War II and the Korean War. The World War II records include only Army personnel treated at Army facilities, but the Korean War records include a few records (approximately 5 percent) for non-Army personnel and non-Army treatment facilities (approximately 4 percent). The records contain various medical treatment information about each patient including diagnoses, operations, and dates and places of hospitalization.

The original records do not contain the name of the hospital patient, but list military service number, age, race, sex, place of birth, rank and unit. The records were digitized by Ancestry.com from National Archives and Records Administration data files. The digital card version is available on both Ancestry.com and Fold3.com. The 1944 Public Use Hospital Admission Card Files are available here from NARA as a 49Mb zip file with this footnote: The electronic records in this file unit include raw data file(s) and technical documentation. Users should review the documentation before using the data.  

Both Ancestry.com and Fold3.com are subscription services but Ancestry.com is available at no charge to library patrons in many libraries across the U.S.

Nicholas0709 

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 unit records for the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion during WWII. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Morning Reports, ca. 1912 - 1946 for Army units during WWI and WWII. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RRPO) via email at stl.archives@nara.gov. For more information, please see Access to Morning Reports and Unit Rosters | National Archives.

Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPF) may have additional information about the circumstances of his death and burial.  These files were NOT affected by the 1973 fire. IDPFs from 1940-1976 for U.S. Army personnel with surnames that begin with A-L are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RRPO). For more information about these records, please contact RRPO via email at stl.archives@nara.gov. 

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

Sincerely,

Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR)

RR2RR 24-14515-LR

Nicholas,

I can tell you that the Battalion Aid Station of the 51st AIB on July 19th, 1944 was located 1.1 mi W of Sainteny, France. The medical company (Company A) of the 46th Armored Medical Battalion that was providing second echelon medical care for the 51st AIB had its Clearing Station located at Cantepie, France on that date.So, your Great Uncle was most likely evacuated via these locations.

Reinier

Nicholas,

I just stumbled across this thread after doing a google search on the 51st Arm Inf Bn.  While cleaning out my in-laws house for sale last month I came across a typed document (I believe a copy) of the Combat History of the battalion, starting July 11 1944 on their embarkation from England.  I remember my father-in-law showing me this document about 15 years ago before he died.  He was with the 4th Arm Div in Germany in 1961, and somehow someone gave this to him.

From the document, it is clear that it did not take the men of this battalion long to see action after arriving on Utah beach.  Your great uncle is mentioned in the battle log on page 3, 19 July 1944.  He was the first KIA of the battalion.  Circumstances seem to imply he died during an enemy artillery attack.  The history is also clear that the men were still very green at this point - scared, nervous and easily confused by combat.  The previous day's entry mentions the unit being about 1 mile west of Sainteny.  Here's what the document says the day your great uncle was killed:

Wednesday 19 July 1944

"Everybody was awake all night and the mean searched for infiltrating enemy.  There was great fear of snipers.  Instructions were passed around for the men not to use ranks of "Sir" in addressing officer's or NCO's.  Service Co picked up a load of ammunition -- the first in combat.  The Bn CP moved back up the road about a thousand yards at 0630.  Co "A" also was pulled back in the rear of the CP.  Co "B" spent the day in moving into defensive positions behind Co "A", 10th Armd Inf Bn at 0630.  Then they were ordered to move back to protect the left flank and rear.  All this took place under heavy shelling and the company suffered five casualties that morning.  They remained in support of co "A", 10th.  Sgt Elsbernd, Co "B", was the first men (sic) to be killed in the battalion, and Sgt Pralle, Co "B", received the first Purple Heart awarded by the Battalion Commander.  Service Co trucks returned with ammunition at 1230.  The Bn CP was strafed at 1500 by an ME 109.  Co "A" was also strafed.  There were no casualties.  Co "C" saw a pilot bail out of a German plane 3/4 of a mile south of their bivouac area.  A patrol was sent to investigate and reported the pilot had been taken prisoner by the 4th Cavalry.  At 1630, Co "A" was alerted and moved up on foot at 1900 to take up a position behind Co "B".  The Bn Comdr returned from CC "B" from a meeting at 1905, and the Bn CP was alerted and moved up a short distance at 1945.  The CP closed in at new area one mile West of Sainteny at 2010 in an orchard near a group of farm buildings.  Co "B" suffered 8 casualties for the day and that was the total for the battalion."

I would be happy to scan this page(s) for you.  I'd actually like to get the whole document scanned.  It's a 114 pages of real history.

Nicholas,

Based on your original post, I should have also included the document's entry from the day before your great uncle was killed.  I'll that now:

Tuesday 18 July 1944

"Brg Gen Dager visited the Bn CP in the morning.  Th men worked to improve their positions and to dig in deeper.  A dead American soldier was found in the area and the Graves Registration Officer had his first evacuation job.  Later in the evening word was received that the 53rd Armored Inf Bn was being attacked in its positions and the Bn was alerted to move into the front lines to help them.  At 2315, the unit moved out hastily and up to a position one mile West of Sainteny.  There was a great deal of confusion and member of the 53rd were coming to the rear telling stories about their unit being wiped out.  Co "B" moved up to support the 10th Armored Inf Bn, which was taking over the 53rd positions.  Co "A" followed Co "B" but was in reserve.  Co "B" remained in support of the 10th.  Casualties were evidently heavy in the 53rd and the 10th, but the 51st was in the rear and not subjected to much fire.  Still the men were frightened after hearing the weird tales from the soldiers returning to the rear from the other two infantry battalions.  Capt Marshall, Hq Co CO, was the first battle casualty of the battalion.  It was believed that he was hit by a stray bullet."

Oh wow! What luck and what a document! Thank you so much! If you wouldn’t mind scanning that for I would greatly appreciate it!! Thank you so much!!

Hi Nicholas, sure, here the first 6 pages.  Getting the whole thing scanned is going to be an effort, and probably take some time.  But here's the beginning as a starter.

51stInfArmBn_History_1_6.pdf