Seeking my uncle in the 970th CIC Detachment in Germany 1945-1946 WW2

I have been able to discover only a small number of records for my uncle's service as a  Counter Intelligence Corps Investigator in Europe in World War II. I know he was initially part of the 99th Div CIC Detachment during the War, but at the end of War, the 99th Div was returned to the States while my uncle remained throughout the remainder of 1945 for the first couple of months of 1946 before being able to return himself to the US. My searches for records showing his activity in the 99th have turned up nothing to date, but I'm hoping there might be a chance his name appears somewhere in the post-War records.

As far as my understanding goes, it is likely he would have been transferred from the 99th to the 970th CIC Detachment in 1945. My uncle spoke French and some German. Can you recommend where I might search to find the names of people who served under the umbrella of the 970th CIC, hopefully stating any additional details that would be available about that individual's assignment or place of service in Germany? I was able to follow the movements of the 99th as it made its way through the War, but now I would love to delve into his post-War service and discover where he may have been stationed, and what operations he may have taken part in.

I would consider it a great success just to find his name in a personnel listing, even if there was nothing else to find.

Thank you so much for any suggestions or direction you might be able to give me. If I can clarify or provide more details before you can advise me, I would be happy to do so.

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  • Hi Jim: According to "In the Shadow of the Sphinx" (reference below, p. 87), on 10 May 1945 all officers and agents from 55 CIC detachments were folded into the post-war 970th, which included 323 officers + 1100 agents “on paper”, but “small teams continued in support of divisions and corps”, and each subregion had 1-4 “slash” teams designated by 970/[team #]. So it appears that your grandfather in 970/44 and my cousin in 970/52 were on different teams in different locations.

    Gilbert, James L., Finnegan, John P., Bray, Ann. In the Shadow of the Sphinx: A History of Army Counterintelligence. U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command: Fort Belvoir, Florida, 2005. [GovInfo.gov]

  • Thank you! Another puzzle piece. I have a few of the names from his teams - two in France (Granville and Cherbourg) and Bavaria. Just wanted to cross reference to make sure they didn’t work together somewhere.