Are there records for a particular days casualties WWII Brest France?

Question

My grandfather died from wounds on September 12 1944. 23rd Infantry, Co E. 
 We don't know if he died instantly or if he was originally hospitalized. Do I share his name publicly?

Grace Yuhasz · Accepted Answer

If you feel comfortable you could post the name, which may enable us to make more specific suggestions. If you do not wish to do so, there are other ways to locate broad information. 
 The following list would give your grandfather&rsquo;s type of casualty` for instance, if he were listed as Killed in Action versus Died of Wounds. 
 WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/army-casualties 
 --Select the state. --Select the county. --Search for the name. --The &ldquo;Forward II&rdquo; page is found on the page where you select the county. Make sure to read the Type of Casualty abbreviation key on the top right side. 
 Some other possible locations: --Newspapers from the time may give information. --A unit history or similar document/website may reveal something. --Some states may have a book/website about their WWII casualties. 
 All of these sources would need to verified, but they might give you good information. 
 Good luck!

Patti Schulte · Answer

Great, Martha 
 Would love to hear that you found the information you were looking for. 
 Patti

Patti Schulte · Answer

Martha Moser, 
 23rd infantry link : https://www.7tharmddiv.org/23aib.htm There are a couple of different links. 
 Link: https://www.7tharmddiv.org/23deaths.htm 
 Hope this is what you are looking for. 
 Patti

Jo Shipley · Answer

Died of/from Wounds has a specific meaning in casualty reports and is different from Killed in Action: 
 Died of Wounds (DOW): A casualty category applicable to a hostile casualty who dies of wounds or other injuries received in action after having reached a medical treatment facility 
 Killed in Action (KIA): A casualty category applicable to a hostile casualty who is killed outright or who dies as a result of wounds or other injuries before reaching a medical treatment facility. 
 From "THE BULLETIN OF THE U. S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT #83": 
 The company aid man renders the first emergency treatment for the soldier where he finds him and then directs or carries him to the battalion aid station in a protected area which may be 300 to 500 yards behind the fighting line. Here the soldier is given emergency medical care under the supervision of a medical officer, his emergency medical tag is started, and, if he cannot be returned to duty, he is prepared for immediate movement to the rear. The second echelon, which takes over when the man leaves the aid station, generally includes all of the remaining service furnished by the division. Collecting companies evacuate the aid stations to the division clearing station. There are three collecting companies in the medical battalion, and each may evacuate two or more aid stations. A collecting station is generally located a mile or so behind the front and is merely a stop-off where dressings can be checked, morphine given, or emergency procedures carried out which will prepare the casualty for the ride back to the clearing station, which is usually 4 to 7 miles on to the rear. The divisional clearing station receives casualties from the entire division. Here there are greater medical facilities and more medical officers. If the man can be returned to duty within a few days, he is kept here, but if not, he is prepared for further evacuation to the rear. Ambulances transport casualties from the division clearing station to the third echelon of medical service, i. e., an evacuation hospital which is generally several miles behind the division rear boundary, out of range of enemy artillery. The evacuation hospital has equipment and personnel qualified to carry out difficult surgical procedures, also nurses and x-ray, laboratory, bathing facilities, cots, and other equipment necessary to make a casualty comfortable. In this general area there may be also a convalescent hospital to which casualties can be sent from the evacuation hospital if they can be returned to duty within a short time. 
 If you have access to ancestry.com, you can search the WWII Hospital Admission Card Files to see if he is listed: U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954 | Ancestry&reg; . As the original records did not contain the name of the soldier, a search by service number would yield better results. Ancestry.com is available at no charge at many public libraries. If you don't have access to either, you can post his service number and I or someone with access to Ancestry.com can search for the record. The soldier's name may show up in the record as the names of some patients were added by Ancestry after comparing the service number to other military record collections 
 U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954

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....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 names of some patients were identified and added to the record by comparing the service number to other military record collections available on Ancestry. 
 
 These state-by-state lists from the National Archives and Records Administration, WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties , will list the official type of casualty.

Jo Shipley · Answer

Aral R Moser 
 in the U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954

Name 
 Aral R Moser

Rank 
 Enlisted Man

Admission Date 
 Sep 1944

Discharge Date 
 Sep 1944

Military Branch 
 Infantry, General or Unspecified

Diagnosis 
 Causative Agent: Artillery Shell, Blast Effects

Type of Injury 
 Casualty, battle

Injured in Line of Duty 
 In line of duty

Type of Discharge 
 Died

Service Number 
 33773014

The hospital admission card is not very conclusive. The Individual Deceased Personnel file for your grandfather may contain more information. 
 Your grandfather's Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) may have additional information about the circumstances of his death and burial. These files were NOT affected by the 1973 fire. 
 At this current time (as of 22 days ago), 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 the National Personnel Records Center at NARA/St. Louis via email at stl.archives@nara.gov . 
 In the event the U.S. Army has the record, you may request a copy of the IDPF and use the sample letter provided here and fill in as much information as possible. 
 U.S. Army Human Resources Command ATTN: AHRC-PAO (Dept. 103) 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue Fort Knox, KY 40122 
 Dear Staff: 
 Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby make a request for the IDPF for my below listed family member who died or was killed-in-action while serving in the military during World War II. 
 Soldier&rsquo;s Name: Branch of Military: Military Service Number: Division: Date of Birth: Date of Death: Burial site in U.S.A.: Buried: Relationship to deceased: 
 Please be advised that I will be responsible for any costs incurred for photocopies over the allowed limit of free photocopies. 
 My contact information is: Add name, address, and email. 
 Very truly yours, 
 As an alternative, you may try this email address for your request: usarmy.knox.hrc.mxb.foia@mail.mil

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

Martha Moser 
 Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 
 The Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) has custody of the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917- (Record Group 407) and the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) (Record Group 338). Military unit files among these records consist mostly of historical reports, after action reports, unit journals, and general orders. These records do not include personnel information, nor do we have a name index to these records. 
 The 23 rd Infantry Regiment was part of the Second U.S. Infantry Division during World War II. Regimental (S-1) and divisional (G-1) records can provide casualty information, but this information is typically statistical in nature and generally does not provide the kind of information you seek. 
 We do have casualty lists for the Second U.S. Infantry Division, which includes lists of casualties (by name) which generally indicates if a service member was &ldquo;killed in action&rdquo; (assuming a more or less immediate death as the result of the wounds received) or &ldquo;died of wounds&rdquo; (indicating that the service member died some time after having been initially wounded). We would need your grandfather&rsquo;s complete name to determine if his name is on this list. 
 Military service personnel files and individual medical reports for the period in which you are interested are in the custody of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO. To submit a request via Postal Mail please use the Standard Form 180 (SF-180): Request Pertaining to Military Records to submit your request. You should complete and mail the form to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. You may also apply online on our Request Military Service Records webpage. Please be aware that there was a fire at the Records Center in 1973 and some records were destroyed. 
 Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) for the U.S. Army for the period 1940-1976 for U.S. Army personnel with surnames that begin with the letters A-L are in the custody of the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL), 1 Archives Drive, Room 340, St. Louis, MO 63138; Phone: 314-801-0850; Fax: 314-801-9187; email: stl.archives@nara.gov . 
 Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) for the U.S. Army for the period 1940-1976 for U.S. Army personnel with surnames that begin with the letters M-Z are in the legal custody of the Department of the U.S. Army. Requests for these files must be made using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and submitted to the Department of the Army, US Army Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-FOIA, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Department 107, 
 Fort Knox KY 40122. Requests may also be submitted via email to the following address: usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.foia@army.mil . When submitting your request please be sure to include the following: (1) State that you are requesting access to the file under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; (2) Provide the full name of the individual, their date of death, and service number, if available; (3) State your willingness to pay applicable fees; (4) Include a daytime telephone number in case they need to contact you. 
 We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research! 
 Sincerely, 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) [24-44002-PBB]

Are there records for a particular days casualties WWII Brest France?

Top Replies