A story here of the 30th M.P. Platoon. I have included part here and the rest is at: www.30thinfantry.org/history_docs/mp_30.doc Military Police in the 30th Infantry Division during WWII <o:p></o:p> by <o:p></o:p> Brett Bondurant<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The start of military police in the United States Army began in January 1776 when General George Washington appointed a Provost of the Army with a small provost guard to conduct executions of soldiers who had deserted. With this beginning, the U.S. Army would at various times raise military police units in times of war as needed, but had no separate unit until September 1941, when The Secretary of War established the Corps of Military Police as a separate branch of the Army.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> During W.W.II, M.P.’s served various duties, from combat to assisting in riot control in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to prison guards at the Nuremburg Trials. Some of various duties include:<o:p></o:p> 1. Preserving order among personnel of the Armed Forces and enforcing military laws and regulations.<o:p></o:p> 2. Apprehending absences and stragglers.<o:p></o:p> 3. Investigating and preventing crime.<o:p></o:p> 4. Enforcing uniform regulations.<o:p></o:p> 5. Escorting, processing and guarding prisoners of war.<o:p></o:p> 6. Coming to the aid of civil authorities in domestic disturbances and enforcing civil law.<o:p></o:p> 7. Controlling traffic.<o:p></o:p> 8. Guarding headquarters and the billet of commanders.<o:p></o:p> 9. Taking into custody military personnel appearing in public drunken or otherwise in a discreditable condition.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> M.P.’s were generally not well thought of in the army because even on a weekend pass it made it impossible for the soldier “get away from the God damn Army”, and at least one imaginative G.I. found a new meaning for the initials M.P.- ”miserable prick!”<o:p></o:p> By 1945, there were thousands of M.P.’s serving in combat, patrolling in foreign countries and in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and riding the trains keeping peace. <o:p></o:p> A few untrue rumors circulated about the M.P.-service: a M.P. who let a prisoner escape had to serve out the prisoners term and if an M.P. shot a fleeing prisoner, he was fined $1.00 and presented with a carton of Cigarettes!<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Organization of M.P. units<o:p></o:p> M.P.-units of different sizes, were all headed by a provost marshal of different ranks. <o:p></o:p> In a division, in the pre-war days of a square four regiment national guard division, the M.P. unit was a company of 185 enlisted men and two officers, the commander being the captain.<o:p></o:p> When the division structure was changed to a 3 regiment organization, the M.P. company was changed to a platoon, with a 1st. Lieutenant as the platoon commander, and a 2nd Lieutenant as the executive officer. 70 enlisted men made up the platoon with 1 staff Sgt., 8 Sgts., 1 Tech Sgt., 4th grade, 24 Privates First Class and 30 Privates. The platoon was normally attached to the division headquarters for mess and administration. The Table of Organization and Equipment for the division M.P. platoon allowed for 55 Carbines, 17 Rifles, 1 .45 caliber pistol, 15 jeeps and 3 Dodge Weapons Carriers.<o:p></o:p> The 30th M.P. Platoon<o:p></o:p> [FONT="] The 30th Infantry Division’s W.W.II Military Police unit entered service on September 16, 1940, when the Division was federalized............................... [/FONT]
I remember seeing a fim with Jack Nicholson playing a sailor escorting a prisoner acroos the country (can't remember the film). If I remember rightly, he was an ordinary sailor who had been made a temporary MP was this assignment. Apart from full-time MPs, were other soldiers, sailors co-opted occassionally for temporary MP duties?
It the British Army units have their own "police". Regimental Police - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IIRC, the U.S. Navy police are called SPs, or Shore Patrol. During WWII, many MPs favored the M1917 revolver to the M1911 pistol. 1. MPs during WWI. 2. MPs WWII, New Guinea JT
"MP: The Story of the Corps of Military Police" is a small booklet covering the history of the Military Police. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in1944-1945." Lone Sentry: MP: The Story of the Corps of Military Police -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet I found this interesting too: United States Constabulary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
