Graves Registration

SECTION II

CEMETERIES

7. RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTION. It is the duty of the commanding generals of each army, corps, division, or other command, to supervise the selection and location of the temporary cemeteries in the areas and sectors within which his command is operating. This responsibility will include the proper interment of the dead, the determination of identities, when possible, and the preparation and maintenance of the required burial forms and records.

8. PHYSICAL AND TERRAIN FEATURES. Cemeteries and graves should be screened from hostile ground observation and as nearly as possible be located beyond the range of hostile artillery. Local cemeteries may be utilized when suitably located, if no American military cemetery has been acquired. If circumstances permit, authorization of local officials should be secured. Cemeteries should be located in open fields where the soil is well drained and easy to dig and with or near good lateral roads leading from the flanks of the command which it is designated to serve. In any event, the ground should be suitable for the purpose. It should not be underlaid with rock, requiring blasting, nor should it be swampy, which causes the graves to fill with water. Sites near the banks of a stream should be avoided not only because of the possibility of pollution but also because overflow may cause grave markers to be washed away, thus removing valuable identification media.

9. LOCATION. Sites should be in such a position and of such shape as to interfere as little as possible with the use of adjoining land; for example, the corner and not the center of a field should be selected. The site should be selected with a view to economy, bearing in mind that the owners of the land must be compensated by the nation within whose borders the permanent cemetery is established. For example, as little frontage along the road as possible should be taken. Where there is any choice of land, the poorer quality should be cleared rather than the more fertile. In order that such parcels may not be carelessly divided, attention should be paid to parcel boundaries, which may usually be distinguished by difference of cultivation.

10. RELATIVE LOCATION. Other factors being favorable, cemeteries should be located in places convenient to the sectors where the heaviest fighting and casualties are expected.

11. DESCRIPTIONS. A description of the ground recommended or selected for use as a cemetery should be prepared and include such surface conditions as slopes, trees, prominent terrain irregularities and vegetation, available roads and other means of access. All map coordinates should be indicated to establish absolute means of location. The standard maps of the area available and in use at the headquarters of the particular theater of operations, should be referred to and cited in the description.

12. PLANS FOR CEMETERIES. In laying out temporary cemeteries the standard plan furnished by The Quartermaster General will be strictly followed, both as to plotting and numbering of graves, except when deviation is actually required by terrain conditions, in which case immediate report of the modifications and reasons therefor will be forwarded through military channels to the chief, Graves Registration Service of the theater of operations or defense command concerned (see fig. 2).

13. NUMBER OF CEMETERIES. This generally will be determined by the intensity of the action, the rapidity of advance, the location of field hospital groups, the length of haul in transporting bodies for burial, and the character of the terrain. There should be a cemetery established in the vicinity of one or two division hospital stations, and one or more, in the event of a wide envelopment, in the zone of action of the enveloping force.

14. USE OF ESTABLISHED LOCAL CEMETERIES. When provisions must be made for burial in local cemeteries, pending the necessary delay in acquiring land, an unoccupied plot should be selected with the view to providing and planning the maximum space for burials in regular order. If any graves are already included in the space, the size, spacing, and plotting scheme should be noted, together with necessary measurements.

15. INSPECTION OF CEMETERY. As soon as a cemetery is closed, a final inspection report and survey will be made by the local Graves Registration Service unit and forwarded to the chief of the Graves Registration Service of the theater of operations concerned. This final inspection report and survey will not be based on data or blueprints received from the office of the chief of the Graves Registration Service, but will reflect the actual position of each grave, at the time, and the name of the occupants as shown on the crosses or other markers. Sufficient space should be retained in the cemetery to provide the grave sites for bodies subsequently recovered in the vicinity.

16. MAPS. The Graves Registration Service unit commander must keep an accurate map of grave locations at all times. Topographic draftsmen and their assistants are included within the unit for this purpose. He should be active, conscientious and constantly alert to eliminate uncertainty as to such locations. Copies of all cemetery maps or sketches of all isolated burials should be furnished The Quartermaster General as soon as practicable, with complete information noted thereon as referred to in paragraph 11.

SECTION III

BURIALS

17. GENERAL Burials of the dead in a theater of operations may be considered to be of the following general types, the classification being predicated upon the urgency of immediate burial, the presence or absence of graves registration personnel with necessary burial forms and other supplies, and the time permitted to effect the burials:

a. Battlefield burials in active areas. In active areas, battlefield burials are imperative for sanitary reasons and for preserving morale where advance lines are practically stationary. They will be made under most hazardous conditions—usually at night—and a shallow grave with a light covering of earth must suffice. One or two men may constitute the burial party. There will be no time to search the body, to remove personal effects, or to verify and dispose of tags. A stick, or large rock, or a bayonet with a helmet superimposed will be used to indicate the grave of a soldier. There will be no records of burials and no grave location, but some sufficient marker must be found or devised to mark the spot definitely, so that burial parties of graves registration personnel will subsequently locate the body and make proper burial, complying with the requirements pertaining to tags, personal effects, reports, records, etc. These burials, however, will in most instances be made by order of the unit or higher commander; there may be no graves registration personnel available and the burial parties will not be equipped with the prescribed burial report forms, grave markers, safety pins, burial bottles, etc. The task of the burial party will be one of expeditious accomplishment but the necessity of locating all dead in the particular area, obtaining and maintaining individual identifications, grave locations and records pertaining thereto and the securing of all personal effects from the body and placing them in the possession of the officer or non-commissioned officer in charge of the burial detail will in no way be disregarded or slighted. In order to assure that, in these hasty burials, essential requirements are observed and basic records obtained, it is absolutely necessary that chaplains, company officers, noncommissioned officers, and all other personnel who are or may be engaged in this dangerous, serious, and solemn duty be thoroughly informed of the fundamental burial requirements, the great importance of accuracy in records and identification, the proper disposition of identification tags, and the placement of well embedded, substantial grave markers. In making these burials, shallow trenches, shell craters, and other ground indentations will be utilized. Time may not permit fixed depths, spacings and alignment. It should be understood that graves registration or other units will subsequently rework these hasty burials and concentrate them into established temporary cemeteries. This fact will account for the physical appearance of the burial plots but in no way will permit laxity or carelessness in observing the fundamental burial requirements.

b. Battlefield burials during forward movement. Battlefield burials in immediate areas where hostile activities are diminishing and forward movement continues would in most instances pertain to the dead who have fallen on the field of battle and, whose remains, due to the forward movement of the battle and lack of personnel and time for burial purposes, have been left on the battlefield. They may have been there for one or more days until troop, Graves Registration Service, or other service units can be assigned to bury these dead. Temporary cemeteries will be located and the dead brought in by hand litters and motor transportation. Searching parties should cover the immediate terrain thoroughly in an effort to locate all bodies. Graves will be dug and requirements for depth, spacing and alignment observed. Graves registration personnel may be present to supervise the burials and obtain complete records of same. If not, a qualified officer will be assigned as burial officer and it will be his responsibility to collect all required data pertaining to the individual bodies, to assign and record grave locations, to receive all personal effects and inventories thereof and to obtain full compliance with all burial requirements. Some of these graves may contain bodies buried hastily, as described in a above. If time permits, it would be sound policy to concentrate at this time all isolated and group burials (less than 12) that are accessible to the burial party and its newly established cemeteries. However, the burial data for those reburied cases should be maintained in sequence so that the history for each individual case will be complete. These newly established temporary cemeteries will, in general, remain until final disposition of oversea dead is determined. Their operation, maintenance and control will become a function of the Graves Registration Service.

c. Burials at or near hospitals in the theater of operations. Cemeteries are or will be established in the vicinity of hospitals in practically all instances and will be readily accessible by ambulance or other motor transportation. The burial of deceased patients, the preparation of required burial forms, disposition of personal effects and full compliance with all burial requirements should offer no unusual difficulty. There should be a graves registration representative available to supervise the burials and the accomplishment of burial records. If not, a chaplain, medical administration corps officer, or some other officer should be designated as a burial officer.

d. Burials at large installations. Cemeteries will be in locations accessible to ports, base, convalescent and general hospitals, depots, and railheads in the theater of operations. The availability of rail and motor facilities will permit transporting bodies for burial from extended areas in the rear of the active zones so that the number of cemeteries may be held to the minimum. Furthermore, in selection of location, accessibility to ports or railroad lines should be considered with a view to facilitating subsequent exhumation operations and the return of the dead to the United States.

18. REMOVAL OF DEAD. a. Unburied dead should be removed as rapidly as possible and buried. This removal should be done in a most considerate manner and with the least confusion in order to sustain the morale of the troops. Bodies should be covered, especially if they are mangled or in an unpresentable condition, when carried or transported to the cemetery or other place of interment. Routes should avoid contact with troops as much as possible, and places of interment should be screened from roads if the situation permits. The removal should be accomplished with a reverent attitude toward the dead, and any tendency toward improper handling of bodies should be corrected immediately. The removal of the wounded is the task of the Medical Department and troops detailed for that purpose. In all cases the bodies should be wrapped in blankets, mattress covers, or shelter-halves before burial, if possible. When burials are made by company commanders they will, as soon as possible, report the facts to the Graves Registration Service personnel operating in the sector, giving complete location and personal data on each case, and adding thereto such brief memoranda as will enable Graves Registration Service to maintain complete history and records of the burials.

b. The officer or noncommissioned officer in charge of the burial detail, in the absence of chaplains and Graves Registration Service personnel, will follow the prescribed regulations as to the manner and place of burial, and forward the prescribed reports to the nearest Graves Registration Service unit headquarters, or commanding officer of the area in which the burial is made, who will cause the proper records to be made and transmit them to the graves registration officer of the sector concerned. In addition, the organization commander of the deceased will be notified of the burial. In all cases, where possible, a chaplain of the faith of the deceased will perform the burial rites.

c. When it is necessary for personnel other than Graves Registration Service to accomplish the burial, a noncommissioned officer or well-qualified private of the Medical Department should accompany the burial party on the field of battle and prepare the WD MD Form 52b (Emergency Medical Tag) for each body not previously so tagged (see fig. 1).

d. The final and complete systematic search for bodies will be made as soon as the area is free from hostile fire action by Graves Registration Service units assigned to the area. Up to that time the dead will have been found, for the most part, at the location of the company, battalion, and regimental aid stations, the collecting stations, and at the clearing stations.

e. Careful searches will be made of battlefields to insure that burial of the dead and registration of graves have not been overlooked. Unburied dead will, if possible, be buried in the nearest established cemetery. Unmarked graves will be marked temporarily so that they can be relocated easily, and will be reported to the graves registration officer concerned, who will take immediate action toward identification, and will either remove the body to an established cemetery or so mark, register, and fence the grave that the body therein may be disposed of properly at a suitable time.

f. Battlefield burials will necessarily be made hastily, and quite often under fire. As a consequence, the grave markings will be temporary and the location of the burial places frequently unsuitable. The Graves Registration Service is responsible for reburials and concentrations thereafter made to provide proper disposition of these hasty battlefield burials.

g. At best, a human body is not particularly conspicuous on a modern battlefield, among trenches, shell craters, and resulting debris, stretching beyond the limits of vision. The clothing which is intended to make a man inconspicuous in life does likewise in death. Moreover, men are instructed and instinct prompts them to take advantage of every available means of shelter and concealment. Men conceal themselves behind banks, mounds, hedges, rocks, trees, fallen logs, arbors, in ruined buildings, or in any place offering the slightest degree of protection. Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and these actions spring from no lack of bravery—rather they are the result of the calm courage of good judgment and training.

h. In the search for bodies great care should be used to avoid booby traps, and anti-personnel mines which may have been placed under bodies by enemy forces.

19. DISPOSITION OF ORIGINAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL TAGS, WD MD FORM 52b. The emergency medical tag attached to the bodies of the sick or of those killed in action, including those prepared by any medical department personnel accompanying the burial party, will be removed at the time of interment either by the medical department representative or by a responsible member of the burial party and will be forwarded in either case direct to the Chief Surgeon, who will transmit them, after they have been used for any necessary purpose in his office, to The Surgeon General. The wire will be removed from the medical tag before forwarding. Carbon copies of the emergency tag will be assembled and utilized by the senior medical officer of each unit to compile for the organization commander such daily list of casualties as may be required in preparing or checking his reports. (See AR 40-1025 for additional use of carbon copies of emergency medical tags WD MD Form 52b.)

20. ATTACHED MEDICAL PERSONNEL. The medical personnel attached to the graves registration company are not intended for use in treating the wounded or in performing other functions of the Medical Department in the combat zone. Their function is to assist graves registration personnel in the establishment of cause and certainty of death and in the identification of the dead by means of technical inspections and notations. Their basic training has fitted them for the rapid and accurate execution of this task. They are familiar with medical terminology and to some extent with anatomical details. Inasmuch as the disposition of graves registration personnel for operations is somewhat similar to that of the Medical Department in the collection of the wounded, the medical personnel attached to graves registration units will serve as technical contact men with medical personnel performing their usual duties. Close coordination at this point will facilitate the separation of the dead from the wounded and the rapid burial of the former.

21. DISPOSITION OF IDENTIFICATION TAGS. One of the two identification tags worn as prescribed in Army Regulations will be attached to the remains when interred. This includes any and all interments in the theater of operations—the first battlefield interment, as well as the interment into a temporary cemetery for subsequent, final disposition. The duplicate tag will be removed at time of interment and attached securely to the grave marker about 2 inches from the top.

22. UNKNOWN INTERMENTS, a. A complete set of fingerprints (all 10 fingers) should be made on the report of interment, if possible, tooth charts, notation of anatomical characteristics and results of inspection of the body for other identifying media should be properly made or noted. No remains should be interred as Unknowns until every available means of identification has been exhausted. In battlefield burials, when identification tags are missing, identification should be made by members of the organization of the deceased. Positive identification obtained by these or other means should be made of record and a copy of same placed in a canteen, bottle or other container and buried with the body. When the absence of identification tags prevents positive identification by this means, members of the units, engaged in the area where the casualties have occurred, may take personal identification. The name, rank, and serial number of the officers or soldiers making the personal identification, and the date, should be noted on all burial records pertaining thereto.

b. Identification of unknown. Where bodies cannot be identified immediately, in order to obtain uniformity in the method and procedures to be followed in the burial of such unknowns so that every possible means may be taken toward determining their identity, the following procedures will govern:

(1) Group burials. (a) In cases of group casualties, either in airplane crashes or burned tanks, where individual identities were completely lost and only group identities could be determined by organizational lists showing the crew complement of the airplane or tank at the take-off or commencement of action, it has been possible occasionally to separate and preserve the individual remains of one or more and, in some instances, all the members of the crew. When identification tags or other positive means of identification are found upon the individual remains, the particular case offers no complication or doubt as to identity and this case will be buried in the prescribed manner. When individual cases have all evidence of identification completely destroyed by fire or otherwise, these bodies should be definitely marked Unknown x-6, x-7 etc., the numeral assigned to the first body being the next serial number to the last Unknown X-(Number) remains already buried in the temporary cemetery where these remains are to be interred. The grave likewise will be so marked that the remains will have a definite grave location. The importance of obtaining fingerprints and definitely affixing the proper X-(Number) to the remains, with name of cemetery and pertaining grave location noted on the report of burial will permit further identification research by the Office of The Quartermaster General with every possibility of eventually determining conclusive identity.

(b) In those cases where the remains of a crew or a certain number of its members are so consumed by fire, torn apart and scattered by explosive action, or mingled together so as to prevent segregation of individual remains, skulls with such anatomical parts which may be adhering to them or can positively be established as pertaining to them should be regarded as individual cases and buried in separate graves. These graves will be marked and recorded as Unknowns X-(Number), the number assigned being in accordance with the method prescribed in (a). Subsequent exhumation for identification purposes will permit in many cases preparation of complete tooth charts which, because of the small number of bodies in which possible identification is confined, should give much assurance of conclusive identifications.

(c) In those instances where it is absolutely impossible to segregate bodies in whole, or in part, offering possibility of subsequent identification, all recoverable remains will be gathered and buried in a single grave. The burial record will show the action taken and the names of the crew complement, if available. All identifying numbers on the airplane or tank, if available, should also be recorded thereon. The same information will be recorded on the grave marked by embossed plates and will also be placed on the burial bottle record.

(2) Individual unknowns. (a) Unknowns, such as water casualties eventually washed ashore, where all positive evidence of identification, have been lost due to prolonged immersion, decomposition and other causes, should when recovered be given an X-(Number) designation in accordance with instructions contained in (1) (a) above.

(b) In those cases where the complete dental chart can be obtained without mutilation of the jaws, this should be accomplished and a copy of the chart submitted to The Quartermaster General, together with such other information as to organization in action in this particular area at possible time of death, and other pertinent facts that might offer clues to identity.

23. INDENTIFICATION AND INTERMENT. a. Identification is an important function of personnel at every point down the route of evacuation, beginning with collecting identifying media by the graves registration personnel, through the actual identification. If identification is not at once possible, fingerprints of all 10 fingers and complete dental charts should be taken. This will facilitate identification later. The fingerprint files of The Adjutant General's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are based on mathematical formulae which require a complete set of thumbprints and fingerprints from both hands of the individual. With a complete set of both hands of the deceased person, these agencies are able to localize the search to the perusal of less than two hundred individual files. If, however, it is impossible to obtain a complete set, imprints should be made of any fingers or thumbs which will give a legible impression. When the bodies have been brought to the place of burial, the burial officer or his assistants should search them carefully to make sure that nothing of value or interest to those at home is buried. Careful and renewed search of pockets will often bring to light letters and cards that have been overlooked. If organization is known it may be possible to call some of the men of the same company who may personally identify the body or will have knowledge of effects found on the body and attribute same to a known member of the organization. After the bodies have been identified or are ready for interment they should be wrapped in blankets, mattress covers, or shelter-halves, which are fastened securely with safety pins (horse blanket size). The number of pins to be used is left to the discretion of the Graves Registration Service burial officer and will vary with individual cases. However, after all has been done, if some bodies remain nameless they should be buried in separate graves. These bodies will be designated Unknown X-1, Unknown X-2 and so on in numerical sequence for all unidentified bodies in the burial plot or cemetery. The records pertaining to these bodies will be similarly marked so that in subsequent disinterment for identification or concentration, the designation thus established will be preserved and identification research narrowed down.

b. In taking the fingerprints of a deceased person the first important matter is to cleanse the fingers either with soap and water or the cleaning fluid in the kit. The operator, standing just at the back of the shoulders, and with his left hand, lifts the arm of the deceased person as though extending it above the head. This movement automatically extends the fingers. While holding the arm in this position the finger is inked by bringing it in contact with the metal plate which has been prepared (inked with a minimum amount of ink). The fingerprint form which has previously been folded and inserted in the slots of the fingerprint shovel is then firmly gripped and the deceased person's thumbprint pressed in the hollow of the shovel. The same action for all the fingers is repeated. With the fingerprint shovel there is no necessity to roll the fingers as the placing of the finger in the hollow of the shovel gives the rolled impression. Fingerprint equipment must be kept clean, and free from dust and the screw cap kept on the tube of ink when not in use.

24. LOST IDENTIFICATION TAGS. The incidents of combat may cause identification tags to become separated from the person of the soldier. Intermediate officers of the Graves Registration Service should impress upon their subordinates the necessity of endeavoring to "match up" identification tags found on the battlefield with "Unknowns" or bodies on which are found other evidence of identity, in the area in which the identification tags were found. Inquiry may be made of the unit commanders in the area before proceeding further with the attempt to match up. The search may narrow down to a few unknowns in a particular area, and these lost tags, by the process of elimination, ultimately may be restored to the soldiers or the bodies to which they belong. Every means should be exhausted to accomplish this in the area in which the tags have been found before forwarding the tags to higher authority. If all such efforts have been unsuccessful, the tags should be forwarded to headquarters, Graves Registration Service of the theater of operations concerned, with a sketch of the location where found, and a factual statement of units and organizations represented by known dead recovered and buried in this particular area, and such other information which might confine the research for identification to a minimum group of missing in action possibilities. This headquarters will then endeavor to match up these tags with the burial reports of unknowns by using the anatomical characteristics of the deceased reported at time of burial as the main foundation of inquiry and the lost identification tag as secondary medium.

25. DISPOSITION OF IDENTIFICATION TAG WHEN NO MARKER IS AVAILABLE. In many cases where the erection of a marker is temporarily impracticable, the identification tag (to be attached to the marker when available) should be placed in a bottle, or if a bottle is not obtainable, in the most practicable container available, and buried six inches below the surface of the ground, centered at the head of the grave. A protruding stake or peg should be driven at least 18" in the ground to indicate the position where the grave marker will be subsequently placed so there will be no question as to whom the grave belongs. If one tag is missing, the remaining tag will be buried with the body and the marker, marked with the name, grade and Army serial number until a substitute tag is made. If additional or substitute tags are made they should be marked as such. If there is no tag (both identification tags being missing), all available identifying data should be recorded on two slips of paper, each placed in a separate bottle or other container as described above, one bottle buried with the remains and the other placed in the ground at the head of the grave. The information contained in the bottle at the head of the grave is later reproduced on a metal label by means of an embossing machine and attached to the marker by personnel of the Graves Registration Service. Each label has a capacity of five lines of type, and will be embossed as follows:

    First line: Name of wearer (first name, middle initial, last name).

    Second line: Army serial number.

    Third line: Rank and organization.

    Fourth line: Date of death; faith (P for Protestant; C for Catholic; H for Hebrew).

    Fifth line: Grave location (section, row and grave No.).

26. ENEMY DEAD. a. There will be established in the central records office, Provost Marshall General's Office, the Prisoner of War Information Bureau prescribed by the Geneva Convention. While the Graves Registration Service will maintain the same records on the enemy dead as on our troops, information on our people will be transmitted directly by the Graves Registration Service to The Quartermaster General and information concerning enemy dead must be handled through the Prisoner of War Information Bureau. To this end, it is brought to the attention of all concerned that insofar as identification measures are concerned when the identification tags are found on a dead enemy soldier the following procedure is followed:

(1) One half of the tag remains on the body and is buried with it.

(2) The information on the other half is copied (with the aid of an interpreter or a translation sheet) in English characters and either written in plain block letters by means of lead pencil, not indelible pencil or fountain pen --on the marker, or the information placed in a similar container as provided for the graves of American dead, and placed in the earth near the head of the grave. If the information is written on the marker, the marker is placed in the grave at a forward angle of 45° in order that the information will not be subject to obliteration by the elements. The same procedure will be followed in marking these graves with the metal label by means of an embossing machine as those of our American dead.

(3) The duplicate or other half of the identification tag is then forwarded to the Prisoner of War Information Bureau through channels prescribed by the commanding general of the forces in the field.

(4) Documents found on enemy dead, will be used for the identification measures prescribed, in the absence of identification tags on the dead, and will then be disposed of in accordance with regulations dealing with documents found on the enemy. See Field Manual 30-15 (Restricted).

(5) The procedures above assume that enemy dead will be wearing either two tags or a tag which can be broken in half, for example, the German type. Where only one tag is worn, graves registration personnel are confronted with a more difficult task. The requirements are clear that at least one tag or half of one tag be forwarded to the Prisoner of War Information Bureau. Under these circumstances the tag will be removed from the body and forwarded to the Prisoner of War Information Bureau. However, before the tag is removed, the characters thereon will be copied on a piece of paper and placed in a bottle; the bottle is then inserted in the clothing of the soldier. The same information is reproduced, with the aid of an interpreter or a translation sheet, in English characters and written in block letters on the marker. If time permits, the sheet to be placed in the bottle will likewise be translated into English.

b. Rules for burial of enemy dead. Enemy dead will be buried in separate sections apart from regular burial sites of members of our own or allied armies within the cemetery. Such graves will be properly marked and registered and will remain the custody of and be cared for by the Quartermaster Corps. A metal tag marked "ED" will be attached to the temporary grave marker.

27. ISOLATED BURIALS. a. When death occurs during an action, the remains of individual soldiers will be buried at or near the place of death, until further disposition becomes practicable.

b. Concentration. (1) Efforts will be made on the part of all concerned to avoid isolated interments. Every isolated burial renders likely the loss of a soldier's body, and makes registration and maintenance of the grave difficult.

(2) Groups of less than 12 graves will be considered as isolated burials. Circumstances and surrounding conditions will determine whether the remains are to be removed at once to an established cemetery or marked, registered, reported and properly safeguarded for the present.

(3) Groups of 12 or more graves should be established, marked, registered, and reported as a cemetery. These bodies should not be removed unless the location is unsuitable, or subsequent concentrations are decided to facilitate the maintenance of these graves or the exhumation operations for returning the dead to the United States.

28. BURIAL AT SEA. a. When death occurs at sea, the commanding officer of troops through the commanding officer of the transport, will make report to The Adjutant General and request instructions for disposing of the body. (Radio silence will not be broken for this purpose.) Burial will not be made in a foreign port or at sea in advance of receipt of such instructions, except when preservation or retention of the body is impossible. Should it be necessary to bury the remains at sea, the necessity, therefore, together with the latitude, and longitude of the place of burial will be included in the notification to The Adjutant General.

b. Except in case of death aboard ship and when specific instructions are issued to return the body to the United States, no bodies will be shipped to the United States from points outside the continental limits thereof until further instructions are issued (see par. 47).

 

SECTION IV

REPORT OF BURIALS

29. INSPECTION OF GRAVES. No grave will be considered as fully reported until a Graves Registration Service representative has visited the grave and is reasonably satisfied of its identity and markings (see par. 15).

30. ISOLATED BURIALS. All reports of isolated burial should note distances from landmarks, buildings, ruins, conspicuous stumps of trees, road crossings, etc., and other terrain features, by means of which graves may be located even though the markings thereon may have been destroyed. In all cases Graves Registration Service officers will mark graves, as soon as they are located, with a temporary name peg or marker, and will note on their reports that such name peg or marker has been made official by the signature of the officer or noncommissioned officer in charge.

31. REPORTS OF INTERMENTS. A report of interment (Symbol No. 24-40192 ABCD, GR Form No. 1 (see fig. 3)) should be made and forwarded through channels; the original, to The Quartermaster General (see par. 39). The number of copies and to whom they are sent will be established by higher authority. In all cases in reporting the place of burial, the name of the cemetery and the exact geographical location of the cemetery should be noted on the interment report, but not the A.P.O. number. The name of the chaplain or other person conducting the burial rites should be added if GR Form No. 1 is used.

32. WEEKLY REPORT. The weekly report, (GR Form No. 2 (see fig. 4)) should be forwarded through channels, the same as the reports of interment, at the end of each week showing the number of interments that have been made in a particular section. This report is used for a check against the records to see if a report of interment has been received for all burials during that particular period.

33. HANDLING OF GRAVES REGISTRATION SERVICE BURIAL REPORTS. Burial reports received by any intermediate officer, such as a Graves Registration Service officer of a company or a division, will be promptly subjected to a critical examination, and such memoranda taken therefrom as may be needed. The officer will then forward them to the chief, Graves Registration Service, as quickly as possible after receipt, by informal indorsement on the report itself, that is, by office stamp showing dates of receipt and transmittal. Should he find errors or omissions in the report, he will, by letter to the responsible officer, call attention to same and direct that the necessary action be taken toward proper execution of the reports. He will not, however, detail the papers in his office awaiting correction, but will forward them to the chief, Graves Registration Service of the theater of operations or base command concerned, as soon as practicable, with a copy of his letter to the responsible officer. The officer responsible for the preparation of the report will reply to the letter from his superior officer by indorsement. After reply has been noted by the intermediate officer, the latter will forward the reply without delay to the chief, Graves Registration Service.

34. OBLIGATIONS OF INTERMEDIATE OFFICER. a. All officers of the Graves Registration Service through whom reports are forwarded will maintain in proper form complete records or burials and grave locations together with all necessary details in connection therewith compiled from reports received by them.

b. The stress of combat often results in failure to supply information concerning the burial of the dead and the determination of the location of their graves. This must be guarded against as the headquarters of the Graves Registration Service, theater of operations, or base command will insist upon complete data being furnished.

35. RECORDS OF BURIAL OF ENEMY DEAD. Such records will be marked to show enemy or prisoner of war dead, so as to eliminate any possible confusion of these classes with our own burials, and to facilitate observation of international agreements relating to supplying information through neutral or International Red Cross agencies, and reports of such burials to be reported on (Symbol No. 24-40192 ABCD GR Form No. 1 (see fig. 3)) through channels to Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Provost Marshal General's Office.

36. RECORDS OF BURIAL OF DESERTERS AND DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED MEN. Deserters or dishonorably discharged men will be buried in a separate section designated for this purpose, and the graves marked and registered and burial reported in the regular way through channels to The Quartermaster General.

37. REPORTS OF ALLIED DEAD. Should there be allied or associated troops operating with our forces, burial of their dead by our burial officers will be reported and forwarded as above, except that the officer in charge of the Graves Registration Service will, in addition to transmitting a copy of the report to The Quartermaster General, forward a copy to the Graves Registration Service of the appropriate allied government or associated organization concerned.

38. BURIALS AT SEA. Reports of burial at sea will be made on regular GR Form No. 1, (see fig. 3) giving in addition to the information called for thereon, the latitude and longitude of the place of burial.

39. REPORTS. GR Form No. 1 (Symbol No. 24-40192 ABCD) is required and will be distributed as follows:

a. Central records office (Casualty Section), Adjutant General's Department, Theater of Operations or Base Command.

b. The Quartermaster General.

c. Chief Surgeon, Field Forces.

d. Reports of Enemy Dead-Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Central Records Office, Provost Marshal General's Office.

SECTION V

GRAVE MARKERS

40. TEMPORARY GRAVE MARKERS. a. At the time of burial each grave must be marked in such a way as to insure identification. Name pegs and labels may ordinarily be obtained for this purpose from the local Graves Registration Service unit, but chaplains and others are expected to keep themselves supplied by means of prescribed requisitions on the Graves Registration Service of the theater of operations. These name pegs are V-shaped wooden boards 1 inch in thickness, 6 inches wide at top, and 38 inches in length as measured from center of top line to tapering points at bottom of peg. Chaplains attached to organizations operating in the forward areas, when accompanying burial parties near the front after heavy casualties, should be supplied with an adequate number of pegs, with labels, if available. In the absence of name pegs, any ordinary stake may be used. In all cases the duplicate identification tag must be securely affixed to this peg, the original tag having been buried with the body (see fig. 5).

b. In the larger cemeteries in which isolated burials and others have been concentrated awaiting return of bodies to the homeland the graves may be marked with temporary crosses and Star of David as indicated by figure 6. The identification tag that was attached to the name peg should be removed and attached to the cross or Star of David.

 

SECTION VI

EFFECTS

41. PERSONAL EFFECTS. a. Effects found on remains only will be regarded as personal effects. Only these will be disposed of and listed on report of interment.

b. Standard procedure for disposition of personal effects. (1) The following is the established procedure in the shipment of personal effects in order to minimize the possibilities of pilfering of personal effects, and to provide an accurate check on the effects shipped. It is the policy of The Quartermaster General to place the responsibility for the proper shipment of personal effects upon the proper personnel, namely the Graves Registration Service officers in the theaters of operation as are designated by theater commanding generals to handle personal effects in transit. The proper handling and channeling of personal effects by the officers responsible will reduce theft and pilfering to an absolute minimum and provide for the proper check on the shipments.

(2) Each article of personal effects removed from the body of a deceased member of the military forces or civilian personnel under the jurisdiction of the War Department will be listed on Graves Registration Form No. 1 (Burial Report) and on an inventory list, WD AGO Form 54, made out in quadruplicate. The original of WD AGO Form 54 will be placed in the effects bag or other container with the articles of personal effects of the deceased, one copy will be mailed to The Adjutant General, Washington, D. C., one copy will be mailed to the Effects Quartermaster, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, Kansas City, Missouri. The fourth copy will be retained by Graves Registration Service unit records. The identification card attached to the outside of the personal effects bag will be filled out so far as possible to identify properly the owner of the contents of the bag, and the bag sealed. Each package, box or crate will be plainly marked with the words "Effects of", followed by the full name, grade, Army serial number, and organization of the person to whom the effects belonged, and by the word "deceased". When no personal effects are found on a body, a notation to this effect will be made on the GR Form No. 1 (Burial Report) and such burial report will be signed by the person in charge of the burial detail and forwarded through channels in the usual way.

(3) After sealing, all personal effects bags will be placed in a personal effects pouch, with pouch list showing the identity of deceased personnel whose effects are included in the pouch. The pouch will be locked and sealed for forwarding to the graves registration company commander. All pouches will be checked on arrival at the Graves Registration Service company headquarters. If the pouch or lock shows signs of having been tampered with, the pouch will be opened and the contents checked against the duplicate copy of the inventory. If this check proves that all items are not as indicated on the inventory list, the graves registration company commander will notify the headquarters to which his unit is attached and request disposition. If all contents are in order, the pouches will be relocked, resealed and convoyed by hand to the next higher echelon or base command, where final check will be made prior to shipment to the Effects Quartermaster, Kansas City, Missouri. Shipments will be made by express from the United States Ports of Embarkation. A sufficient number of these pouches, with their equipment (locks, seals, lists and dispatch cards) were forwarded to the Chief Quartermaster of each theater and base command to cover the initial supply for the lower echelons of the theater and command concerned; additional supply of such articles as cannot be supplied locally will be furnished upon requisition to The Quartermaster General. All concerned should be cautioned that the keys to these pouches are not special keys, but will open any personal effects pouch lock. It is, therefore, directed that keys be issued only to those officers concerned with the disposition of personal effects.

42. PROCEDURES THROUGH ECHELONS OF GRAVES REGISTRATION SERVICE. a. Burial Party. The noncommissioned officer in charge of the burial or searching party is responsible for accurate checking of personal effects, the inventorying in duplicate of these effects, packing of the articles in personal effects bag, filling out identification card on the personal effects bag identifying the owner, and the safe hand delivery, with the inventory in duplicate, to the nearest Graves Registration Service officer (company or platoon headquarters). The personal effects pouch will be used as a container for the personal effects bags during delivery. The original copy of the inventory will be packed in the personal effects bag; the duplicate copy of the inventory will be carried by the person making delivery to the Graves Registration Service officer, which will be receipted by the Graves Registration Service officer and returned with the personal effects pouch to the originating noncommissioned officer.

b. Platoon or company headquarters. (1) The procedure at company or platoon headquarters (Graves Registration Service) will be identical. The officer receiving the effects from the burial party will check same against the inventory list, and note and investigate any discrepancies. After checking the contents of the personal effects bags, he will receipt the duplicate inventory and return the pouch and the inventory to the originating noncommissioned officer.

(2) From the original inventory in the personal effects bag, the Graves Registration Service officer will make two additional copies to be disposed of as follows:

(a) One copy mailed to the Effects Quartermaster, Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City, Missouri.

(b) One copy retained for file.

(3) The original inventory is packed in the personal effects bag, the bag is then securely tied and sealed (see method of sealing in appendix). The Graves Registration Service officer is held strictly responsible for the storing of all personal effects in a safe place to prevent loss or theft.

(4) When sufficient personal effects bags have been received by platoon or company Graves Registration Service headquarters to fill a personal effects pouch, or, on the first of each month, the personal effects bags will be packed in the personal effects pouch together with a pouch list containing the names, rank and Army serial number of the deceased personnel from whom these effects have been taken. The pouch will then be securely locked and sealed. The Graves Registration Service officer will make a list of the pouches to be shipped by pouch serial number, which will be carried by the person making safe hand delivery to the base section, Graves Registration Service officer. Transportation will be as directed by the theater commander. At the time personal effects pouch is dispatched, the dispatching Graves Registration Service officer will fill out the dispatch card in the transparent pocket on the outside of the pouch, showing the date and time of dispatch and identify the Graves Registration Service organization originating shipment.

c. Base section. (1) The base section Graves Registration Service officer is the receiving officer for personal effects pouches at base section headquarters, and, after checking the pouches received against the list carried by the convoyer, receipts the list and mails or returns it by safe hand delivery to the officer originating the shipment. He then notes date and time of receipt on pouch dispatch card and signs each.

(2) The base section Graves Registration Service officer will not open the personal effects pouches in transit except in the following instances:

(a) When pouches show evidence of pilfering and only for the purpose of checking and making an investigation.

(b) If in the judgment of the Graves Registration Service officer it is expedient to consolidate the shipments of several partially filled pouches into one pouch. In this case pouch lists must be included in the transfer of the effects to another pouch. The dispatch card of the emptied pouches, the contents of which have been transferred to another pouch, will be signed by the base section Graves Registration Service officer and so noted as to show the serial number of the pouch to which the original shipment was transferred, giving time and date of such transfer. The emptied pouch with the dispatch card will then be returned to the Graves Registration Service unit originating the shipment.

(3) Base section Graves Registration Service officers only are permitted to open pouches for the purpose of consolidating shipments enroute as described above. Lock seals will not be broken nor pouches opened by any other intermediate officer except for the purpose of checking pouches which definitely show evidence of having been pilfered or seals broken, and to initiate such investigation as necessary.

d. Port quartermaster. (1) The port quartermaster, or port transportation officer or any other officer designated as effects officer by the port commanding officer, is the receiving officer for personal effects at the port of debarkation. Upon the receipt of the effects, he will receipt the pouch list carried by the convoyer and return the list either by mail or safe hand delivery to the Graves Registration Service officer effecting shipment to him. Pouch dispatch cards will be signed, noting the time and date of receipt. The port effects officer is personally responsible for the safe storage of pouches while under his jurisdiction. Only pouches showing broken seals or signs of having been pilfered, will be opened for inspection and initiation of investigation regarding the loss.

(2) Shipment of personal effects by the responsible officer, port of debarkation, if by water, will be on an American vessel, or by American air transport if available. If shipment is made by water, the ship quartermaster will be responsible for the safe pilfer-proof storage enroute to the United States. If by air transport, the cargo officer will be responsible. A copy of the list of pouches, by serial number, will be given to the person responsible for safe delivery to the port quartermaster, port of embarkation in the United States. The list of pouches will be receipted by the receiving port quartermaster, or other officer designated by port commanding officer, in the United States, and returned as soon as possible to the responsible officer, port of debarkation, who effected shipment to United States.

e. Port of embarkation (United States). The port quartermaster, or any other officer designated as personal effects officer by the port commanding officer is the receiving officer for personal effects at the port of embarkation, and upon receipt of effects he will sign the copy of the list of pouches carried by the ship quartermaster and inspect pouches for evidence of tampering or broken seals. He will mail the list of pouches which he has receipted to the officer who last handled the effects, noting any discrepancies or evidences of loss thereon. Only pouches showing evidence of having been pilfered or having broken seals will be opened for checking. He will initiate investigation regarding loss of articles in any pouches so found. The port effects officer will be responsible for the shipment by Railway Express within 24 hours after receipt to the Effects Quartermaster, Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City, Missouri. He will note and sign the pouch dispatch card and show date and time of receipt, and date and time of dispatch. The Railway Express receipt will show the serial number of each pouch shipped.

f. Effects quartermaster. (1) The effects quartermaster at Kansas City, Missouri receives the personal effects pouches and inspects same for evidence of pilfering of broken seals, and initiates investigation on any pouches so discovered. The personal effects are then disposed of by the effects quartermaster, according to current rules and regulations.

(2) The effects quartermaster will submit a report to The Quartermaster General in the case of any pouch showing evidence of having been pilfered. This report will include information as to action taken, articles missing, identity of the owner of the articles, Graves Registration Service unit originating shipment and any other information pertinent thereto. The Quartermaster General will take such action as is necessary based on this report.

(3) Personal effects found on deceased unknown, should be handled as in a above and marked as indicated in par. 23a (1) regarding burial of unknown.

43. DISPOSITION OF OTHER EFFECTS AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. Regarding the disposition of other effects and personal property of the deceased personnel the following procedure governs:

a. The provisions of paragraph 25, AR 600-550, 14 May 1943, have been suspended for the duration of the present war so far as they apply to military and civilian personnel, subject to military law, dying outside the continental limits of the United States when the widow or legal representative of such deceased person is not present. The effects of all such persons will be disposed of as indicated in these instructions.

b. In those commands where the situation will permit, all government issue property other than clothing necessary for burial will be withdrawn from the personal effects and will be immediately delivered to the summary court officer designated under Article of War 112 by the commanding officer.

[Note: There appears to be a change notification inserted here]

CHANGES 1 WAR DEPARTMENT 

No. 1 WASHINGTON 25, D. C., 11 May 1945

FM 10-63, 15 January 1945, is changed as follows: 

Paragraph 43 is rescinded. The provisions of AR 600-550 will prevail in the zone of the interior only. Current War Department directives governing effects will prevail in theaters of operation. 

[AG 300.7 (10 Apr 45)]

BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR:

OFFICIAL: G. C. MARSHALL 

J. A. ULIO Chief of Staff 

Major General 

The Adjutant General

c. If any monies remain, the summary court officer will exchange such sums with his local disbursing officer for a Treasury check drawn in United States dollars, to be issued by the local disbursing officer for cash and indorsed by him as follows: "Pay only to the Effects Quartermaster, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, Trustee." Upon delivery of the check by the disbursing officer, to him the summary court will forward such check by air mail (or other expeditious means of transmission) to the Effects Quartermaster, Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, 601 Hardesty Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri. All further action under Article of War 112 will be taken by the Commanding Officer, Army Effects Bureau. A brief description of the check (number, date, amount, and symbol number) will be entered on the original and all copies of the inventory of effects.

d. In those commands where the situation will not permit the prescribed action to be taken by the summary court, the commanding officer of the command where the death occurred, or an officer designated by him, will secure the personal property and have it carefully packed with the name of the deceased person clearly printed on the outside of the container, together with the Army serial number and grade, and sent to the Effects Quartermaster, Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, 601 Hardesty Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, through the appropriate port or ports of embarkation. It is highly desirable that all monies be converted into a check as prescribed in (3) above. Lists of effects will be prepared and forwarded as provided in (2) above.

e. Where death occurs on board a transport, the provisions of paragraph 26, AR 600-550, will apply except that no action under Article of War 112 will be taken by the port transportation officer at the port of arrival in the United States. The effects will be sent to the Effects Quartermaster, Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City Quartermaster Depot, 601 Hardesty Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri.

f. All action in determining the distributee to receive effects and any money, whether found among such effects or collected, under Article of War 112, will be taken by the Commanding Officer, Army Effects Bureau.

44. LOCAL POLICIES. It must be borne in mind by all Graves Registration Service officers that in no two localities will the facilities for the care of the dead be the same. It can be assumed that the commanding general will exercise his best judgment in carrying out these policies for caring for the dead of his command, improvising methods and means where necessary, and conforming to whatever may be the custom, religious or otherwise, of the locality in which located. In the theater where actual hostilities occur, combat conditions must control the proper care and disposition of the remains of those who lose their lives under such conditions.

Serial No......................Name...........

Grade........................Rank...........

Organization .................................

Address ......................................

Nearest relative ..............................

Address ......................................

Killed in action............... Died of disease.

Date...................... Hospital...........

Battle Area...................... Information..

Place of burial. .....

Point of coordination. 

Description of body. .

Members missing

Signed.....................................

Figure 7. Form attached to side of personal effects bag.

SECTION VII

GENERAL

45. SOURCES OF INFORMATION. The principal sources of information upon which the headquarters, Graves Registration Service, theater of operations, performs its functions involving the recording of the location of graves are:

a. Graves Registration Service forms submitted by Graves Registration Service personnel.

b. Grave location reports submitted by personnel other than those of the Graves Registration Service.

c. Lists received in The Adjutant General's Office, theater of operations. (These include the names of those dying in hospitals.)

46. SALVAGE SERVICE COOPERATIONS. Those in charge of burial parties will cooperate with salvage units to the extent of collecting all equipment of issue of the dead and turning them in for salvage; or, if unable to make the collection will cover them for protection against the elements and report same to a salvage officer.

47. MORTUARY SUPPLIES. In accordance with The Adjutant General's Letter, dated 31 December 1941, to conserve cargo space, shipment of caskets and other mortuary supplies from the United States to oversea stations and base commands is discontinued.

48. RETURN OF REMAINS. a. During the period that the United States is at war, the shipment of remains from Alaska, foreign possessions, and other stations outside the continental limits of the United States is suspended, except as provided herein.

b. Remains may be returned to the continental United States from points on the North American continent, except Alaska, by commercial carrier transportation other than air, or ocean or coastwise vessels, provided sanitary and shipping requirements of the several countries are observed and that such transportation is available therefor and not required for the movement of troops or supplies.

c. Prior to shipment, a request for instructions will be submitted to The Quartermaster General, and shipment will not be made until receipt of instructions from The Quartermaster General.

49. EQUIPMENT. If supplies such as personal effects bags, safety pins, and embossing machines, are not furnished at the time the organization is transferred overseas, requisition should be made to the Office of The Quartermaster General for such equipment.

50. PHOTOGRAPHS. Photographing of any graves outside the continental limits of the United States is absolutely prohibited.

 

APPENDIX

PERSONAL EFFECTS BAG AND POUCH

51. DEFINITIONS.

Personal effects bag. Standard Bag, Personal Effects, issued for personal effects.

Personal effects pouch. Registered shipping container for personal effects bags from the originator of the shipment to the Army Effects Bureau, Kansas City, Missouri.

Personal effects inventory. List of personal effects compiled at the time personal effects are removed from the deceased. A personal effects inventory, signed by the NCO or responsible person removing effects, will be included in every personal effects bag.

Pouch list. List compiled by the originator of the shipment which contains the name and organization of deceased whose personal effects are included in the pouch; not a list of the personal effects. A pouch list will be included in each pouch at time of shipment signed by the originating officer, and subsequently signed by every officer receiving and who opens and checks the contents of the pouch while in transit.

Dispatch card. Card contained in the transparent pocket on the outside of each personal effects pouch, which shows the signature of, and time of dispatch by, the originating officer, and in the case of each intermediate officer it will show date and time of receipt and date and time of dispatch, and signature of the intermediate officer and any discrepancies noted.

52. METHOD OF SEALING PERSONAL EFFECTS BAGS.

Personal effects bags should not be sealed until the bag contains all the articles necessary to complete the inventory as made out by the burial party or notations showing articles missing, if any. Sealing procedures are as follows:

a. The drawstrings at the neck of the bag will be pulled up enough to tightly close the neck of the bag. A double hard knot will then be tied in the drawstrings to hold the neck of the bag securely in the closed position. The ends of the drawstrings will then be passed through the 2 holes in the lead seal, one string through each hold.

b. The lead seal should be snugly pulled up against the hard knot in the drawstrings at the neck of the bag. The seal should then be tapped hard enough to flatten it causing it to clamp tightly on the drawstrings passing through it. Another hard double knot will be then tied in the drawstrings pulled snugly against the lead seal. Thus, the bag when ready for shipment will be securely tied with 2 hard double knots interspersed with the clamped lead seal.

53. DESCRIPTION OF POUCH, PERSONAL EFFECTS.

a. The general design of the Pouch, Personal Effects, is the same as the standard bag, canvas, mail, with the following exceptions:

(1) Measurements (outside, 24" x 23½").

(2) Rust-proof, mildew-proof, hardware.

(3) Material, #6 Duck, water-repellent OD-#7 in color.

(4) Bottom, double-thickness, Duck extending 6" up the sides.

(5) Identifying lettering on side of pouch:

    U. S. WAR DEPARTMENT

    REGISTERED PERSONAL EFFECTS

    POUCH No...

b. The method of locking the pouch is identical to that of the bag, canvas, mail, with flap cover with hasp locking strap around the top of the pouch.

54. USE OF POUCH. The personal effects pouch is to be used as a container of personal effects bags for shipment from the theater of operations to the Army Effects Bureau.

a. To lock and seal the pouch, properly, it is necessary to be sure that the slotted over flap has been pushed down so the lock rings on the outside of the pouch come through the slots of the cover flap far enough to allow the lock strap to slip through the lock rings, thus sealing the pouch. The slot in the end of the lock strap slips over the lock ring on the back of the cover flap and acts as a hasp fastener to which the padlock is locked. Care should be taken to be sure the lock strap has been slipped through all the lock rings after the cover flap has been pressed down over the rings to avoid the loss of any of the contents.

b. When the padlock has been secured to the hasp fastener, the wire seal is passed through the holes in the lock hasp and pulled up tightly. The lead seal is then tapped and clinched securely around both ends of the wire. Thus, it will be impossible to remove the lock without breaking the seal.

 

INDEX

                                            Paragraph     Page

Acquisition of land.........................       3         2

Burials on battlefield:

    Concentration of burials................      27        30

    Emergency medical tags..................      19        21

    Enemy dead ............................      26        28

    Identification tags ...................       21        22

    Isolated interments, guarding against...      30        32

    Responsibility for selecting location...       7        11

    Search of battlefield..................       18        19

Cemeteries, plans for.....................       12        12

    Inspection of ........................       15        13

Chaplain:

    Performance of rites...................      20        21

    Signature on report ...................      34        33

Deaths, report ...........................        5         3

Disposition of identification tags.........       25        27

Effects, personal ........................     41-44       42

Emergency medical tags:

    Description and purpose ...............       5         3

    Disposition ..........................       19        21

Enemy dead, disposition of.................      26        28

Grave markers ...........................       40        39

Graves Registration Service:

    Functions ...........................        3         2

    Organization ........................      1-6         1

    Responsibility ......................        2         2

Identification of dead....................      22        22

Identification tags:

    Description and purpose...............      21        22

    Disposition .........................       21        22

Inspection of cemeteries..................      15        13

Inscription, grave markers ...............      40        39

Isolated graves .........................        3         2

Maps ...................................       16        13

Medical Department liaison and assistance in 

graves registration ....................       20        21

Organization, Graves Registration Service..     1-6         1

Personal effects, disposition ............      41        42

Prisoner of War Information Bureau........      26        28

Quartermaster company, graves registration or-

ganization ...........................        5         3

Removal of dead ........................       18        19

Reports and records:

    Burials ............................       39        38

    Emergency medical tag disposition.....      19        21

    Final survey, cemeteries..............      15        13

    Location of graves...................       12        12

    Personal effects of deceased..........     41-44       42

    Signature of Chaplain................      34        33

Responsibility for burials in absence of graves

registration personnel .................       18        19

Search of battlefields for bodies.........      18        19

Selection and location of cemeteries.......       7        11

Temporary grave markers and marking.......      40        39

Unidentified interments .................       22        22

 

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1945-623233

** This transcription of FM10-63 Graves Registration, does not include page numbers, pictures or figures of the original printed copy.

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