This timeline reconstructs John's World War II service from
his enlistment record and the Morning Reports, orders and unit records held by the National Archives, searched
by service number. Each entry cites its source; items marked
Newly discovered were recovered from the records.
Map of Service
Route reconstructed from confirmed locations.
Service stops
Cleveland, Ohiohome, 4133 E. 127th St.
Fort Hayes, Columbusreception center, Sept 1943
Camp Crowder, Mo.Signal Corps training, Sept 1943 - May 1944
Fort Monmouth, N.J.Eastern Signal Corps School, June - Sept 1944
Route notes
1 → 2Ordered to active duty, 16 Sept 1943
2 → 3Convoy to Camp Crowder, 22 Sept 1943
3 → 4Departed 27 May 1944; joined 29 May 1944
First time here?
How to read this service timeline
This page brings together records created for different purposes. The labels below tell you what kind of evidence supports each entry; open either guide when a record or military term is unfamiliar.
?
Confirmed — Service record
A personal military record supports the entry.
Confirmed — Unit record
A record created by his unit names him or documents the unit’s activity.
Context
Helpful background, clearly separated from personal evidence.
Newly discovered
Information recovered during this research, rather than supplied at the start.
How to read a Morning Report
Morning Reports were daily administrative records prepared by individual Army and Army Air Forces units. They generally recorded changes—such as arrivals, transfers, promotions, illness, or return to duty—not a complete list of everyone present.
MORNING REPORT · SAMPLE
1Organization Company A, 123rd Infantry
2Station or location Camp Example, Virginia
3Date 14 September 1944
4Section Personnel changes
5Pvt Smith, John A., 35123456 6asgd fr Hq Co per SO 187, Hq 123d Inf
In plain English
Private John A. Smith, identified by Army Serial Number 35123456, was assigned to Company A from Headquarters Company under Special Orders No. 187.
1Organization: the company, hospital, squadron, or other unit filing the report.
2Station or location: where that unit reported from on that date.
3Report date: the date of the report, which may differ from the effective date of a change.
4Section: the part of the form containing personnel changes or the unit’s record of events.
5Soldier entry: usually rank, name, and Army Serial Number.
6Change and authority: what happened and the order authorizing it.
asgd
assigned
atchd
attached
trfd
transferred
fr
from
aptd
appointed
EM
enlisted men
SO
Special Orders
GO
General Orders
orgn
organization
sta
station
Common military and research terms
Army Serial Number (ASN)
The unique service number used to distinguish one soldier from others with similar names.
Discharge or separation paper
The document issued when a service member left active service. For many WWII Army enlisted soldiers, this is WD AGO Form 53-55. It summarizes service but is not a day-by-day history.
Morning Report
An Army unit’s daily administrative report. It usually lists people whose status changed, not every person in the unit.
Unit record
A document created by a military organization. It may name the soldier directly or provide context about his unit; the timeline states which applies.
OMPF or “201 file”
The service member’s Official Military Personnel File. Many Army and Air Force files were damaged or destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire.
Unit and final unit
A unit is the organization in which someone served. The final unit is the organization shown at separation; it may not be the only unit in the service history.
Rank or grade
The service member’s level in the military hierarchy. A timeline may show changes in rank over time.
MOS
Military Occupational Specialty—the Army’s classification for a soldier’s primary military job.
Assigned and attached
Assigned means formally placed in a unit. Attached usually means serving with a unit temporarily while belonging administratively elsewhere.
Special Orders and General Orders
Official directives used to authorize personnel actions, awards, organizational changes, and other decisions.
Campaign credit
Official recognition for service connected with a named campaign. It does not, by itself, describe a service member’s individual actions.
Station or location
The place from which a unit filed a report. It does not automatically prove that every member was physically present there.
Source citation
The note beneath a timeline entry identifying the record or records that support it.
Service Timeline
9 min
Family record
May 16, 1921
Born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
John Joseph Hennessy is born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Confirmed — Service record
December 10, 1942
Enlists in the Enlisted Reserve Corps
John enlisted in the Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps at Chicago, Illinois, assigned to the Signal Corps. A reservist stayed a civilian until the Army called him to active duty. His record lists two years of college and a civilian trade in the manufacture of radios and phonographs. Newly discovered. This record carries his Army Serial Number, 16 171 195.
Special Orders No. 206 of the Fifth Service Command called a list of reserve privates to active duty, effective September 16, 1943. Each man was to travel from home to the Reception Center at Fort Hayes, Columbus, for processing and assignment to the Central Signal Corps Replacement Training Center at Camp Crowder, Missouri. John's line gives his name, his serial number and his home address: 4133 E. 127th St., Cleveland. Newly discovered.
Special Orders No. 206, 26 August 1943. John J. Hennessy, 16171195, 4133 E 127th St, Cleveland. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Hq Fifth Service Command, Fort Hayes, Special Orders No. 206, par. 30 — NARA document 449581582, Roll 0092, image 01192 (26 August 1943)
Confirmed — Service record
September 16, 1943
Entered active service
Reported for active duty at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio.
Source: Enlistment record (NARA AAD) and induction orders
Confirmed — Unit record
September 22, 1943
Leaves Fort Hayes for Camp Crowder
Orders from the Fort Hayes Reception Center released John and the other Signal Corps men from the center's Receiving Company on September 22, 1943. They were assigned to the Central Signal Corps Replacement Training Center and sent to Camp Crowder under a convoy detail. Newly discovered.
Special Orders No. 225, paragraph 22: "Hennessy, John J., 16171195" assigned to the Central Signal Corps RTC. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Hq 1524th Service Unit, Reception Center, Fort Hayes, Special Orders No. 225, par. 22 — NARA document 449581582, Roll 0092, image 01236 (21 September 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 23, 1943
Reports at Camp Crowder, Missouri
The reserve privates from Fort Hayes reported to the training center's headquarters on September 23, 1943. John was attached to Company C, 29th Signal Training Battalion. Newly discovered.
Special Orders No. 231, paragraph 64: "HENNESSY, JOHN J, 16171195". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Hq Central Signal Corps Replacement Training Center, Camp Crowder, Special Orders No. 231, par. 64 — NARA document 449622436, Roll 0107, image 01309 (23 September 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 1943
Assigned to the Repeaterman Course
A Camp Crowder course list filed in November 1943 places Private First Class John J. Hennessy in the Repeaterman Course and moves him from Company C to Company M. Repeater stations boosted telephone and telegraph signals along long wire lines, and a repeaterman kept that equipment working. Newly discovered.
Under REPEATERMAN COURSE: "70. Hennessy, John J. 16171195 Pfc Co. C — Co. M". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Company M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, recorded John and one other man as transferred to the Air Corps. The order came from the post's Aviation Cadet Examining Board, which screened soldiers for flight training. That suggests John had applied to become an aviation cadet, though the entry does not say so. Both men stayed with the company. Newly discovered.
"16171195 Hennessy Unasgd Pfc — trfd to Air Corps unasgd remaining atchd unasgd". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, 1712th Service Unit, Central Signal Corps School, Camp Crowder — NARA document 461378774, Roll 0417, image 02357 (17 January 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
February 9, 1944
The Air Corps transfer is revoked
The company marked the January entry incorrect. The Aviation Cadet Examining Board had revoked the transfer by its own order of February 3, 1944, and John stayed in the Signal Corps. Newly discovered.
"Incorrect entry in M/R 17 Jan 44 ... revoked per par 2 SO 12 Hq Avn Cadet Exam Bd". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, Camp Crowder — NARA document 462787330, Roll 0071, image 01945 (9 February 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
February 26–28, 1944
A second Air Corps transfer, also revoked
The February 28 Morning Report says John and three other men had been listed as transferred to the Air Corps on February 26 under Special Orders No. 48 of the Central Signal Corps School. It then calls that entry incorrect and revokes it. Newly discovered.
28 February 1944: "Above 4 EM trfd to AC unasgd ... revoked". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, Camp Crowder — NARA document 462787330, Roll 0071, image 01964 (28 February 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
April 10–18, 1944
Eight days of furlough
John went from duty to an eight-day furlough on April 10, 1944, and was back on duty on April 18. The reports do not say where he spent it. Newly discovered.
13 April 1944: "Dy to Fur 8 days 10 April 44". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.20 April 1944: "Fur 8 days to Dy 18 Apr 44". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, Camp Crowder — NARA document 467430952, Roll 0011, image 01087 (13 April 1944) and image 01108 (20 April 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 23, 1944
Promoted to Corporal
The Morning Report of May 23, 1944 records John and two other men, Glanz and Ginsburg, promoted to Corporal under paragraph 36, Special Orders No. 122, Central Signal Corps School. Newly discovered.
"Above 3 EM promoted to Cpl per par 36 SO 122". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, Camp Crowder — NARA document 473278392, Roll 0158, image 00683 (23 May 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 27, 1944
Ordered to Officer Candidate School, Fort Monmouth
Four days later Corporals Hennessy, Glanz and Ginsburg were transferred to Officer Candidate School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and left Camp Crowder. Newly discovered.
"Above 3 EM trfd to Officer Candidate School Ft Monmouth, N.J. per par 25 SO 122 Hq CSCS departed". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Co. M, 804th Signal Training Regiment, Camp Crowder — NARA document 473278392, Roll 0158, image 00690 (27 May 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 29, 1944
Joins the Eastern Signal Corps School as a student
Detachment No. 6, Eastern Signal Corps School, at Fort Monmouth recorded ten corporals from Camp Crowder, John and Glanz among them. They were assigned on May 27 while en route, joined on May 29, 1944, and went on duty as students. Newly discovered.
"16171195 Hennessy, John J. cpl ... jd and to dy (stu) 29 May 44". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment #6, Eastern Signal Corps School, Fort Monmouth — NARA document 476917171, Roll 0184, image 00060 (2 June 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
August 25, 1944
On the Fort Monmouth rosters
Two rosters of assigned men dated August 25, 1944, one for Detachment No. 5 and one for Detachment No. 6 of the Eastern Signal Corps School, each list Cpl. John J. Hennessy among the same group of corporals. The Detachment No. 5 roster gives every man on the page, John included, job code 625. The Army's 1944 classification manual, TM 12-427, defines 625 as Officer Candidate. Newly discovered.
Detachment #5 roster: "Hennessy, John J. 16171195 Cpl 625". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Detachment #6 roster: "Hennessy, John J. 16171195 Cpl". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Detachments #5 and #6, Eastern Signal Corps School, Fort Monmouth — NARA document 565282695, Roll 0283, image 02023 and image 02184 (25 August 1944); code 625: War Department TM 12-427, Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel (1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 22, 1944
Still a corporal at Fort Monmouth
The Detachment No. 5 roster of September 22, 1944 lists John as a corporal. It is the latest digitized Morning Report page found in this research that clearly names him. Digitized reports continue through December 1944, but no later page identifying John has been found. The records found so far do not show whether he finished the officer course or received a commission. Newly discovered.
"Hennessy John J 16171195 Cpl". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment #5, Eastern Signal Corps School, Fort Monmouth — NARA document 567922511, Roll 0082, image 03240 (22 September 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 27, 1944
Two Corporal John Hennessys
Fort Monmouth had two corporals named John Hennessy that fall. An earlier transfer memo had printed John's serial number, 16171195, against a man sent to Officer Candidate Company No. 3. A memo of September 27, 1944 corrected it to name the other soldier, Cpl. John C. Hennessy Jr., 16146974. The transfer was the other man's.Newly discovered.
Paragraph 11: "Cpl John G. Hennessy, 16171195" amended to read "Cpl John C. Hennessy Jr., 16146974, Co OCS#3". The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Transfer Memo #3, Hq 15th Signal Training Regiment, Fort Monmouth, par. 11 — NARA document 567916671, Roll 0080, image 02834 (27 September 1944)
Confirmed — Record
1945–1946
Family account of Pacific service
His family's account, printed in his 2013 obituary, says John served in the Pacific Theater with the Signal Corps. This research found no service document naming his unit or where in the Pacific he served. The Army's Morning Reports for 1945 and 1946 are not online.
The Department of Veterans Affairs service file records John's Army service ending on October 13, 1946. The same file gives his entry date as September 23, 1944, a year after the War Department orders on this page put him on active duty; the records found so far do not explain the difference. No copy of his discharge has turned up; it would show his final rank, last unit and awards.
Source: VA Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) death file
Family record
June 22, 2013
John Joseph Hennessy passes away
This timeline is offered in the service member's memory.
Confirmed — Record
June 2013
Laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery
John is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park, Ohio, Section 41, Lot 231, Grave 2.
