Portrait of Vivian Taylor Caldwell in uniform
A World War II Service Record

Vivian Taylor Caldwell

Technician Fourth Grade (Tec 4) · Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division
Army · Service no. 33 046 742
Service Number
33 046 742
Rank
Technician Fourth Grade (Tec 4)
Last Documented Combat Unit
Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division
Separation Organization
Norfolk Company, 9202nd Technical Service Unit
MOS
Medical Technician (MOS 409)
Theater
Pacific — South Pacific Area (APO 37)
This timeline reconstructs Vivian's World War II service from the official WD AGO Form 53-55 separation record preserved by the Library of Virginia and branch-appropriate National Archives unit records, searched by service number. Each entry cites its source; items marked Newly discovered were recovered from the records.

Map of Service

Documented locations are distinguished from unit-level and inferred travel in the route notes.

Map of Vivian Taylor Caldwell's documented WWII service route

Service stops

  1. Troutville, Virginiaentered active service, 20 Mar 1942
  2. Viti Levu, Fijiarrived 10 Jun 1942; documented duty to Mar 1943
  3. New Georgiadocumented, Jul – Sep 1943
  4. Point Cruz, Guadalcanaldocumented, 5 Nov 1943
  5. Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainvilledocumented, Nov 1943 – Nov 1944
  6. Fort McDowell, Californialisted in orders, 29 Dec 1944
  7. Fort Meade, Marylandseparated, 29 Jul 1945

Route notes

  • 1 → 2Departed U.S. 26 May 1942; arrived Fiji 10 Jun (port and route not recorded)
  • 2 → 3117th Engineer Battalion moved via Guadalcanal; his travel dates are not recorded
  • 3 → 4Morning Report places him at Point Cruz on 5 Nov 1943
  • 4 → 5Morning Report places him on Bougainville by 20 Nov 1943
  • 5 → 6Left his unit 30 Nov; departed overseas 11 Dec; arrived U.S. 29 Dec 1944
  • 6 → 7Fort McDowell orders routed him to Fort Meade, where he separated 29 Jul 1945
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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 — Discharge

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.
  1. 1Organization: the company, hospital, squadron, or other unit filing the report.
  2. 2Station or location: where that unit reported from on that date.
  3. 3Report date: the date of the report, which may differ from the effective date of a change.
  4. 4Section: the part of the form containing personnel changes or the unit’s record of events.
  5. 5Soldier entry: usually rank, name, and Army Serial Number.
  6. 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

12 min
Family record
November 15, 1915

Born in Troutville, Botetourt County, Virginia

Vivian Taylor Caldwell is born in Troutville, Botetourt County, Virginia.
Confirmed — Record
October 16, 1940

Registered for the draft at Troutville

Under the nation's first peacetime draft, Vivian registered with the Botetourt County local board at Fincastle. The card gives his age as 24, his birthplace as Botetourt County, his mother, Mrs. Ethel Virginia Caldwell of Troutville, as the person who would always know his address, and his employer as the Rockydale Stone Corporation in Roanoke County. The registrar described him as six feet one, 175 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.
scanned record
Front of his draft registration card. The number 703 at top left is a Selective Service serial, not his Army serial number.
scanned record
Back of the card: the registrar's description, signed at Troutville and stamped by the Botetourt County local board at Fincastle.
Source: Selective Service registration card (D.S.S. Form 1), Local Board for Botetourt County, Fincastle, Virginia, October 16, 1940; National Archives at St. Louis, WWII Draft Registration Cards for Virginia, RG 147, Box 114
Confirmed — Discharge
April 16, 1941

Inducted into the Army

His separation record lists this as his date of induction.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Discharge
September 29, 1941

Released to the Enlisted Reserve Corps

The separation record states that his first period of active service ran from April 16 through September 28, 1941. From September 29 he was carried in the Enlisted Reserve Corps, inactive, until March 19, 1942.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Record
March 11, 1942

Married Nancy Kathleen Benson in Roanoke

Nine days before he returned to active duty, Vivian married Nannie Kathleen Benson, the Nancy named on his later Army papers. Methodist minister J. S. Gresham married them in Roanoke under a license from the city's Hustings Court. Vivian gave his occupation as truck driver and his home as Troutville.
scanned record
Their Virginia marriage certificate. The minister's return at the bottom records the wedding at Roanoke on March 11, 1942.
Source: Certificate of Marriage, Commonwealth of Virginia, City of Roanoke, March 11, 1942, volume 5, page 175, line 5; Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Marriages 1936–2014. Image from the family's WikiTree profile
Confirmed — Discharge
March 20, 1942

Entered active service

Reported for active duty at Troutville, Virginia.
scanned record
His identification tag bears Army serial number 33 046 742.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Context
April 10, 1942

The 117th Engineer Battalion was formed from a Fort Meade unit

The 37th Division was an Ohio National Guard division, but its engineer battalion was not. At Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, the Army redesignated the 121st Engineers, a District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Guard unit that had trained at Fort George G. Meade, as the 117th Engineer Battalion and made it organic to the 37th Division, under Major William B. Eubank. This is unit history. The records in this case do not say which unit Caldwell reported to on March 20, 1942, or when he joined the 117th.
Source: 29th Division Association, history of the 121st Engineer Battalion
Confirmed — Discharge
May 26, 1942

Departed the United States for overseas service

Departed the United States for the theater of operations.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Discharge
June 10, 1942

Arrived in Fiji

His separation record gives Fiji Islands as his destination and June 10 as his arrival date.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Unit record
August 15, 1942 – March 31, 1943

Company aid man on Viti Levu

Two battalion documents place Caldwell on Viti Levu, Fiji, serving on detached duty as a company aid man with the 117th Engineer Battalion's line companies. A supporting certificate says the duty continued through April 1.
scanned record
The certificate records his work as a company aid man on Viti Levu.
scanned record
The recommendation covers August 15, 1942 through March 31, 1943.
Source: 117th Engineer Battalion certificate, June 18, 1943; Legion of Merit recommendation, July 10, 1943
Confirmed — Campaign credit
February 22, 1943 – November 21, 1944

Northern Solomons campaign

Earned battle-star credit for the Northern Solomons campaign. The advance up the Solomons chain, including Bougainville.
Source: Campaign credit — WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Context
April 1943

The 37th Division staged on Guadalcanal

The division moved from Fiji to Guadalcanal to train for the New Georgia operation. This is a unit movement; no surviving record gives Caldwell's personal travel date.
Source: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 37th Infantry Division combat chronicle
Confirmed — Unit record
June 18, 1943

His Fiji service was formally recognized

Capt. John S. Clapp certified Caldwell's efficiency and medical skill while detached to the battalion's line companies.
scanned record
The June 18, 1943 certificate.
Source: Certificate, Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), June 18, 1943
Confirmed — Unit record
July 10, 1943

Recommended for the Legion of Merit

The battalion commander recommended Caldwell for exceptionally meritorious conduct during his Viti Levu service.
scanned record
The surviving recommendation does not include an approval or award order.
Source: Recommendation for award of the Legion of Merit, 117th Engineer Battalion, July 10, 1943
Confirmed — Unit record
July 24, 1943 · 2:00 p.m.

Aid under sniper fire on New Georgia

At a water point on the document's “Liana Trail,” Caldwell went to a patrol member who had been hit in the left thigh and found the femur fractured. He relieved the man's pain, cut tree limbs for splints and set the leg where it lay, then called another soldier to help carry him to safety, all while the position remained under sniper fire from three directions. Official histories usually spell the nearby place Laiana.
scanned record
The recommendation dates and describes Caldwell's actions on New Georgia.
Source: Bronze Star recommendation, Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion, May 23, 1944
Context
July 25 – August 5, 1943

The XIV Corps offensive took Munda

The attack around Munda began the day after Caldwell's documented aid-station action. XIV Corps captured Munda airfield on August 5. This is campaign context, not a claim about his movements.
Source: John Miller Jr., CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rabaul, chapters VIII–IX
Confirmed — Discharge
August 16, 1943

Awarded the Good Conduct Medal

His separation record lists the Good Conduct Medal under Special Orders No. 60 of August 16, 1943. The medal recognized exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity over a year of service. The order dates from the weeks the battalion spent on New Georgia.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Unit record
September 13, 1943

Sick in quarters at Lambeti Beach

The Medical Detachment's Morning Report identifies Caldwell by serial number and surname and changes his status from duty to sick in quarters.
scanned record
Caldwell's September 13 status entry at Lambeti Beach, New Georgia. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 541, part 1 (NAID 451542631), image 535 (September 13, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 18, 1943

Returned to duty on New Georgia

The Morning Report returns him from sick in quarters to duty and marks the illness in line of duty.
scanned record
The September 18 entry returns Caldwell to duty. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 541, part 1 (NAID 451542631), image 540 (September 18, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 5, 1943

At Point Cruz, Guadalcanal

The Medical Detachment's Morning Report places Caldwell at Point Cruz and records him on special duty with Company B of the 117th Engineer Battalion. Company B's own report for the same day records the other half of the transaction: Pfc. Caldwell attached from the Medical Detachment under paragraph 3 of the battalion's Special Orders No. 78.
scanned record
The Medical Detachment's November 5 entry at Point Cruz, Guadalcanal. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
scanned record
Company B's report of the same day, recording his attachment under Special Orders No. 78. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment and Company B, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 671, part 4 (NAID 457225633), image 3160 and 3090 (November 5, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 20, 1943

On Bougainville

At Eubank Triangle, the Morning Report returned Caldwell from special duty with Company B to the Medical Detachment. The same report records the detachment at Empress Augusta Bay on November 14 through 18, then moving on November 19 and 20 to set up camp at Eubank Triangle, 4,000 yards northwest of Cape Torokina. Company B's report of the same day releases him from the attachment by verbal order of the company commander, and records that the company moved its command post to Eubank Triangle on November 17 and 18.
scanned record
The Medical Detachment's November 20 entry at Eubank Triangle, Bougainville. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
scanned record
Company B's report of the same day, releasing him from the attachment. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment and Company B, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 671, part 4 (NAID 457225633), image 3175 and 3109 (November 20, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 23, 1944

Recommended for the Bronze Star

Lt. Col. William B. Eubank, the battalion commander, recommended Caldwell for the Bronze Star for his actions on New Georgia. The records found so far do not show whether the Army approved it.
Source: Recommendation for award of the Bronze Star, 117th Engineer Battalion, May 23, 1944
Confirmed — Unit record
June 1, 1944

Appointed Technician Fourth Grade

At Empress Augusta Bay, the Morning Report records Caldwell's appointment from private first class to Technician Fourth Grade under General Orders 722, Headquarters USAFISPA.
scanned record
The June 1 Morning Report records his appointment to Tec 4. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 723, part 1 (NAID 478796845), image 524 (June 1, 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
June 27 – 28, 1944

A day sick in quarters on Bougainville

On June 27 the Medical Detachment's Morning Report moved Tec 4 Caldwell from duty to sick in quarters, in line of duty. The next day's report returned him to duty.
scanned record
The June 27 entry sending him to quarters. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
scanned record
His June 28 return-to-duty entry at Empress Augusta Bay. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 723, part 1 (NAID 478796845), image 550 and 551 (June 27 and 28, 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 30, 1944

Transferred for rotation home

The Medical Detachment transferred Caldwell to the reception station at Fort George G. Meade and recorded his departure from the unit. This does not mark his departure from the Pacific.
scanned record
The November 30 entry transfers Caldwell for rotation and records his departure from the unit. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Morning Report — Medical Detachment, 117th Engineer Battalion (Combat), 37th Infantry Division — NARA Roll 569 (NAID 576394618), image 1216 (November 30, 1944)
Confirmed — Discharge
December 11, 1944

Departed the overseas theater

His separation record gives December 11 as the date he departed overseas for the United States.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Discharge
December 29, 1944

Returned to the United States

Arrived back on American soil to close out wartime service.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Unit record
December 29, 1944

Listed in Fort McDowell orders

Paragraph 5 of Special Orders No. 353, Army Service Forces Headquarters at Fort McDowell, lists “Tec 4 Caldwell, Vivian T, 33046742, MD” second among twelve enlisted men bound for Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. His separation record independently gives December 29 as his arrival date in the United States.
scanned record
Page 3 of Special Orders No. 353. His line is the second under “Ft Meade, Md.” The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
scanned record
A second filmed copy of the same page, with the clerk's tally marks in the margin. The yellow is ours — it marks his name and service number on the sheet.
Source: Special Orders No. 353, paragraph 5, Headquarters Fort McDowell, California, December 29, 1944, page 3 — Morning Reports, NARA Roll 364 (NAID 578252827), images 1929 and 2140; WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Context
January – July 1945

Final months of service with a Transportation Corps unit

His separation record carries him in the Norfolk Company of the 9202nd Technical Service Unit. Technical Service Units numbered in the 9200s belonged to the Transportation Corps, and the Norfolk Company appears to have been the Transportation Corps company at the Norfolk installation of the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation. No Morning Report from these months has been located, so what he did there is not recorded in this case.
Source: Separation record, item 6; county discharge index transcriptions naming the 9202nd Technical Service Unit, Transportation Corps (La Salle County Genealogy Guild)
Confirmed — Discharge
July 29, 1945

Honorably discharged — Separation Center, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland

Honorably discharged at Separation Center, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland as a Technician Fourth Grade (Tec 4). His separation record lists Norfolk Company, 9202nd Technical Service Unit as his organization and Medical Technician (MOS 409) as his military occupation. Wounds received in action: None. Awards: Good Conduct Medal; American Defense Service Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Service Ribbon.
scanned record
His Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, from the copy the State of Virginia kept. It records two years, seven months and four days of foreign service, the Northern Solomons campaign, and his grade of Technician Fourth Grade.
Source: WD AGO Form 53-55 (Veterans Employment Representative Copy), Library of Virginia, record alma9918180147505756
Confirmed — Record
1946 – 1990

After the war

Vivian returned to Roanoke and became a licensed Virginia funeral director. He retired from Oakey's Funeral Service after more than forty years, and was a member of Air Lee Court Baptist Church and the Knights of Pythias.
Source: Obituary, Roanoke Times & World-News, October 14, 1990; Find A Grave memorial #144799563
Family record
October 13, 1990

Vivian Taylor Caldwell passes away

This timeline is offered in the service member's memory.