How to Research: Photographs Relating to World War II Army Units

by aarthur, posted in Photographs, Still Pictures, Uncategorized

This post was co-authored with Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez.

In this four part series, the Still Picture Branch will be introducing various methods that can be used while researching photographs of military units during World War II. The first part will focus specifically on Army photographs, but we will also cover Air Force, Navy, and Marine research in subsequent blog posts. We hope that researchers find this information helpful in the course of their own work.

Researchers who are looking for images relating to a single United States Army unit will find that a multi-faceted search returns the best results. The more a researcher knows about a unit, the more success he or she will have in searching NARA’s holdings. For effective research using Army photographs maintained by NARA’s Still Picture Branch, the most pertinent information to have includes:

  • Unit lineage
  • Campaign locations
  • Major battles in which the unit received decorations and honors
  • Names of historically significant personalities that were connected to the unit

Knowing where a unit was during a particular point in the war, or under what division(s) it was attached can widen the search and return those photographic gems that might be missed in a more narrow search. The Department of the Army Lineage and Honors  publications can be a useful first step in acquiring helpful information about an army unit. If a researcher is having trouble locating a copy of the army unit lineage, the Still Picture Branch holds a comprehensive collection that can be used for researcher reference.

To illustrate the search process, we have chosen to use the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment as an example. We first reviewed photographs that were indexed under the 505th Infantry Regiment and we were able to locate a variety of images. However, in order to enhance and broaden our research, we reviewed the army unit lineage (pictured below):

505th Lineage

505th Decorations

We can see that as of 1943, the Regiment was added as an organic element of the 82nd Airborne Division. We also find the locations that the 505th campaigned during the war, as well as what decorations the unit received. These various pieces of information are all valuable clues that guide well-rounded research using the photographic records here at NARA.

With this information on hand, it is now possible to widen our search in a number of ways. For example, knowing that the 505th Infantry Regiment was part of the 82nd means that we should search through images the were indexed under the 82nd Airborne Division, in addition to the images that were indexed under the 505th Infantry Regiment. After searching for photographs of the 82nd Airborne, we were able to locate additional photographs of the 505th Infantry.

111-SC-184014 “Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division entering a plane from which they will leap, during invasion training under direction of 5th Army, commanded by Lt. General Mark W. Clark, Oujd, Fr. Morocco, N. Africa. Also: 505th Infantry.” June 2nd 1943.
111-SC-190228-S “An American Medical Officer , who went to France with an Airborne Division, (82nd), lights a cigarette for a wounded American whose landing was less successful than that of the officer. St. Mere Eglise, France. 82nd Airborne Div.” June 12th 1944.
111-SC-324432 “Pvt. John C Rodrigues, Pawtuckett, R.I., gives two weary paratroopers their first taste of GI food in 37 days. They were captured by the Germans the latter part of D-Day, escaped after several days imprisonment during a night march , living off raw potatoes most of the time. They contacted US forces on July 15th 1944. Left to right: Sgt. Robert D. Henderson, Seattle, WA, and Sgt. Havrill W. Lazenby, Nashville, TN. 505th Parachute Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.” July 17th 1944.

In addition, the lineage states that the 505th Inf. Reg. campaigned in Sicily, Naples, Normandy, Rhineland, and Ardennes. With that information, we then searched for photographs indexed under the listed locations, which led us to additional photographs of the 505th.

111-SC-186263 “Parachute regiment, Headquarters company, entering the city of Naples, Italy. 505th Parachute Regt., Hdqrts. Co.” October 2, 1943
111-SC-574850 “Col T.C. Mataris, CO 1st Airborne Battle Group, 505th Infantry Regiment; Monsieur Couve de Murville , French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials look on as guest’s of honor Arms wreath laying ceremony commemorating D-Day at Normandy Beach. St. Mere Eglise, France.” June 6th 1960.
111-SC-254012 “American and British Airborne troops rest on the east bank of the Elbe river after crossing in assault boats and British-manned buffaloes. The Elbe river is the last water barrier to reaching Berlin. Co 1, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment 82nd AB division.” Bleckede, Germany. 04/30/45
111-SC-231596 “1st/Sgt. David G. Lemkowitz…battalion adjutant 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. 15th Army raises American flag atop 17th century castle somewhere in Germany…” 04/12/45

Series used to research and retrieve World War II unit photographs: