1945 WWII Personnel Memorandum/Historical Document
I have in my possession an original 1945 World War II U.S. Army personnel memorandum connected to postwar operations in Italy. The document references troop redeployment, unit consolidation, and reassignment of African American enlisted personnel within segregated Army support units during the demobilization period following WWII.
The memorandum includes references to:
- the 1934th and 2041st Quartermaster Truck Companies (Aviation)
- the 645th MP Company
- the 549th ASG
- ASR redeployment scores
- the 7th Replacement Depot
- and planned reassignment of “colored EM” to Engineer Battalions and MP Companies
It is signed by John O. Marshall, Captain, AGD, Executive A1.
This document was found folded in an Italian book of poetry with the dated signature of John O. Marshall (please see pictures). There is a second book that also belongs to the same man and is currently in storage.
Because of the document’s historical context involving postwar troop transitions and segregated military administration, I thought it may be of interest to historians, collectors, or institutions focused on African American military history or WWII archival material.
T. Gilmore