Private · Assigned to 3326th Signal Information & Monitoring (SIAM) Company
Army · Service no. 37 591 538
Service Number
37 591 538
Rank
Private
Last recorded assignment
3326th Signal Information & Monitoring (SIAM) Company
MOS
667 Message Center Clerk
Theater
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) - Italy, Fifth Army
This timeline presents a documented account of Otto's World War II service,
built 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
Fort Snelling, Minn.inducted Feb 1944
Camp Hood, Texastraining records, Apr-May; IRTC order, Aug 1944
Italy382d Replacement Company, Nov 1944
Route notes
1 → 2To the Infantry RTC, April 1944
2 → 3Army records place his replacement-company service in Italy by 8 November 1944 following travel from the U.S. by water
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 recorded assignment
A unit is a military organization. The last recorded assignment is the latest organization named in the surviving service records.
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 connected with a named campaign. This timeline keeps unit-level campaign credits separate from Vetter’s individual record.
Station or location
The place from which a unit filed a report. The timeline treats it as a personal location only when Vetter’s own entry supports that reading.
Source citation
The note beneath a timeline entry identifying the record or records that support it.
Service Timeline
7 min
Confirmed — Record
October 5, 1907
Born in Coleharbor, McLean County, North Dakota
Otto Vetter was born in Coleharbor, McLean County, North Dakota. His signed draft card gives the town; North Dakota's official death index independently confirms the date.
At 33, Otto registered with the McLean County local board in Washburn. His signed card identifies his wife as Iona Catherine Vetter, gives Coleharbor as his birthplace, and records his work for the McLean County treasurer. The card's serial 586 and order number 1575 are Selective Service numbers, not his Army serial number.
Front of Otto Vetter's signed draft registration card.Registrar's report: physical description and registration date.
Source: Selective Service registration card (D.S.S. Form 1), McLean County Local Board, 16 October 1940; scan credit: Fold3
Confirmed — Service record
February 28, 1944
Inducted into the Army
Inducted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota as a selectee from McLean County, North Dakota.
A Fort Snelling roster lists Private Otto Vetter, ASN 37591538, among thirty men who reported for active duty. He was attached to Receiving Company No. 1 for quarters, rations, and administration.
The Fort Snelling roster names Otto Vetter and his Army serial number. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Reception Center, SCU 1775, Fort Snelling — NARA Roll 192, image 2215 (30 March 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
April 16, 1944
Joined an infantry training company at Camp Hood
Vetter joined Company A, 171st Training Battalion, Infantry, after arriving from the Fort Snelling reception center. The report carried him as attached but classified him as attached and unassigned.
The joining entry gives Otto's exact name, Army serial number, rank, and source unit. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Company A, 171st Training Battalion, Camp Hood — NARA Roll 215, image 1211 (16 April 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 17–23, 1944
A brief station-hospital stay
On May 17, Vetter went from duty to the Camp Hood station hospital. The Morning Report records the admission as in line of duty and his return to duty on May 23.
The May 17 report records his transfer from duty to the station hospital. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.The May 23 report records his return from the hospital to duty. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Company A, 171st Training Battalion, Camp Hood — NARA Roll 194, image 59 and 65 (17 and 23 May 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 24, 1944
Moved to another Camp Hood training company
The losing and gaining reports agree: Vetter transferred from Company A, 171st Training Battalion, to Company B, 170th Training Battalion, Infantry.
Company A's report releases Vetter to Company B. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.Company B's report records the same transfer in. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Company A, 171st Training Battalion — NARA Roll 194, image 66 (24 May 1944); Morning Report — Company B, 170th Training Battalion — NARA Roll 193, image 3019 (24 May 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
August 26–September 21, 1944
Ordered to report by September 21
An August 26 Infantry Replacement Training Center order lists Vetter in AGCT group III, with MOS 667, Message Center Clerk, and civilian occupational code 350, Bookkeeper, General. It authorized 14 days' delay en route and directed him to report on or before September 21. A separate September roster confirms his identity by exact name and Army serial number among the 165 replacements listed.
The column headings identify 14 days of authorized delay en route and September 21 as the report-by date. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.A separate September roster lists Otto Vetter, ASN 37591538, in a group totaling 165 replacements. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
An October roster lists Vetter under “Outgoing Transport” and “Staged at CK558,” recording his place in the Army's outgoing transportation process.
The outgoing-transport roster names Otto, his ASN, and staging code CK558. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters and Service outgoing-transport roster — NARA Roll 227, image 2098 (October 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
October 29, 1944
Joined the 382d Replacement Company
Replacement Attachment Order No. 216 says the CK-558-A group had come from the United States by water, was assigned to the 8th Replacement Depot, and joined the 382d Replacement Company, 5th Replacement Battalion. Its attached roster identifies Private Otto Vetter, ASN 37591538. Together, the pages establish that his group traveled from the United States by water and entered the overseas replacement system by October 29.
Replacement Attachment Order 216 describes the movement and assignment of CK-558-A.List A names Private Otto Vetter and ASN 37591538. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 8th Replacement Depot — NARA Roll 438, image 1961 and 1964 (29 October 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 8–9, 1944
Absent for 24 hours, then returned
A 382d Replacement Company report filed from the Italian station typed “Ponte A Evola” listed Vetter absent without leave at 7:30 a.m. on November 8. The next report closed the recorded absence with his return to duty at 7:30 a.m. on November 9, exactly 24 hours later.
The November 8 report names Vetter and records duty to AWOL at 0730. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.The November 9 report records his return to duty at 0730. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — 382d Replacement Company — NARA Roll 582, image 3705 and 3709 (8–9 November 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
December 12, 1944
Assigned to the 3326th SIAM Company
Special Order No. 318 assigned Vetter from the 382d Replacement Company to the 3326th Signal Information and Monitoring Company, with Fifth Army approval. An official Army history describes the company's mission as monitoring Army communications in support of Fifth Army in Italy. The Army's unit register credits the company with Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley. These details describe the organization to which Vetter was assigned and are presented as unit history, separate from his individual duties and awards.
Paragraph 8 assigns the listed men to the 3326th SIAM Company.The continuation page identifies Otto Vetter as entry 15. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Filed from the unit station typed “Firenze,” the 3326th SIAM Company report relieved Vetter from assignment and transferred him to the 7th Replacement Depot for transportation to the United States and onward to a separation center. It cites a December 26 Fifth Army order and Section III, AR 615-362, which a War Department separation manual identifies as the dependency provision. This order began the documented return-and-separation sequence completed by his February 1 release from active service.
The December 31 report names Vetter and directs his transfer for return and discharge processing. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — 3326th Signal Information and Monitoring Company — NARA Roll 566, image 1050 (31 December 1944); War Department TM 12-235, item 40
Confirmed — Service record
February 1, 1945
Released from active service
Released from active service as a Private.
Source: VA Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS), record 15407697 (release date); Morning Report — 3326th Signal Information and Monitoring Company — NARA Roll 566, image 1050 (31 December 1944) (rank shown as Private)
Confirmed — Record
1950; 1954–1976
A career serving McLean County
The 1950 census lists Otto as a clerk in the county treasurer's office. North Dakota Blue Books identify him as McLean County auditor in 1954, 1961, and 1973. A state legislative report records his participation and advice as McLean County Auditor in November 1976. The Washburn centennial history says he retired from that public-service career.
Otto Vetter died in Burleigh County, North Dakota, at 83. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Washburn, where his military marker identifies him as a private in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Otto Vetter's military marker at Riverview Cemetery. Photograph via Find a Grave memorial 59780083.The joint marker for Ione and Otto Vetter at Riverview Cemetery. Photograph via Find a Grave memorial 59780083.
