What are the US equivalent to war diaries & how are they obtained?

Discussion in 'US Units' started by Justin History, Jun 1, 2013.

  1. Hi All

    Please excuse my lack of knowledge in this area. I know all about UK and Commonwealth war diaries and have used them on school trips to Normandy and the First World War battlefields. Just wondering what the US equivalents are and how are they obtained from the US National Archives?

    Thanks

    Justin
     
  2. idler

    idler GeneralList

    'Unit Journal' is the term.

    I don't know how lucky I was but I managed to get a positive response to a very precise email request after failing to find anything of any use in the online NARA catalogue.

    I think I'm right in saying that Lee (psywar) has been there recently so there is some experience on ther forum.
     
  3. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    You can also request After Action Reports and Morning Reports.

    The AAR is a short summarization of each days activity. It will provide map coordiates and numbers of men lost, but no names. It is submitted at the end of the month.

    Morning Reports are a bit more detailed and are prepared each day, detailing the previous day's activities. It usually provides names of those promoted, demoted, wounded, sick, killed or missing.
     
  4. MLW

    MLW Senior Member

    US Army unit journals (intelligence, operations, personnel, etc.) vary greatly in content and quality from unit to unit. I understand you can request copies directly from NARA, but I do not know how responsive they are or what price they charge for reproduction. It may be easier and more cost effective, especially if you want quality copies, to hire a professional (private) researcher.

    Regards, Marc
     
  5. Thank you for all for the replies which have really helped me understand what to look for and given me some idea of how to go about getting copies.

    Best


    Justin
     
  6. Pak75

    Pak75 Member

    If you can define your request by unit, type of report and date, you can order copies through NARA website.
    The frustrating thing is that they will snail mail you a quote which has to be mailed back before they do your copies.
    Ok if you live in US but very time consuming elsewhere; took at least 3 months to Australia to get one order.
    Copy prices are negligible, 20 c per page.
    If your request is vague or cannot be found, they will also suggest alternatives which is helpful

    If you want something in a hurry best use a researcher but that potentially opens a can of worms if you do not know if what you want exists.

    Cheers
     
  7. Pak75

    Pak75 Member

    Now 80c per page
     
  8. MLW

    MLW Senior Member

    I really think if you find the right private researcher you will get what you want cheaper and faster. In the last few months at NARA there as been a serious reduction in staff knowledge, and becuase of the budget woes - their morale is now at an all time low.
     

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