Last documented: Private First Class · 533d Ambulance Company (Motor)
Army · Service no. 31 087 726
Service Number
31 087 726
Last Documented Rank
Private First Class
Last Documented Unit
533d Ambulance Company (Motor)
Last Documented Job
Medical Aidman (657)
Joseph Zandrino entered the Army in Boston in March 1942 and left active
service in December 1945. His records place him at Camps Pickett, Lee and
Reynolds and at Fort Jackson. This timeline tells what those documents
show about his service. Entries marked “Company history” describe his
unit's later history; they do not show that Joseph was still with it.
Map of Service
These camps appear in Joseph's Army records. The lines connect
them in the order he served there; they do not show the exact roads, railways or
stops along the way. Sources: the September 1943 and August–December 1944
documents shown below.
Service stops
Camp Pickett, Va.MRTC in 1943; 533d transfer in 1944
Camp Lee, Va.Station Hospital detachment
Camp Reynolds, Pa.replacement depot
Fort Jackson, S.C.533d Ambulance Co (Mtr)
Route notes
1 → 2Sep 1943
2 → 3Reported 22 Aug 1944
3 → 1Departed 1 Oct 1944
1 → 4by Dec 1944
First time here?
How to read this service timeline
This page brings together records created for different purposes. The labels below tell you what kind of evidence supports each entry; open either guide when a record or military term is unfamiliar.
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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.
Company history
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, final unit, and last documented unit
A unit is the organization in which someone served. A final unit is shown at separation. When the separation paper is missing, “last documented unit” means only the latest unit supported by the records located so far.
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
11 min
Birth year known; exact birthday uncertain
1912 (records give different birthdays)
Born in Italy
Joseph was born in Italy in 1912. His exact birthday is uncertain. His cemetery memorial gives November 22, while the Department of Veterans Affairs gives January 22. A draft card that may be his gives January 26. All three give the same year, but we cannot tell which month and day are correct.
Source: Find A Grave memorial #83428980; NARA AAD Army enlistment record #2274644; VA BIRLS record #382225; Fold3, US, Selective Service Registration Cards, World War II: Multiple Registrations, 1940, RG 147, Joseph Zandrino, front and reverse; images retrieved by the researcher
Possible match — identity not confirmed
October 16, 1940 (received by the draft board October 26)
A draft card from Pittsfield
This draft card may be Joseph's. The name, hometown, birth country and birth year match his other records. The birthday is different, so we cannot be certain it is his. The card gives a birthday of January 26, 1912, in Turin, Italy, and a home address of 26 Melrose Avenue in Pittsfield. It lists U.S. citizenship and employment at General Electric, 100 Woodlawn Avenue. Miss Rena Zandrino is named as someone who would always know his address. The numbers 2035 and 1807 belong to the draft board's filing system; they are not his Army serial number.
Registration card, front. The birth date differs from the other records.Registration card, reverse, dated October 16, 1940; received by the board October 26.
Joseph was with Headquarters Detachment, 7th Medical Training Battalion, at Camp Pickett's Medical Replacement Training Center. The Army changed his status to “attached unassigned.” He remained with the detachment but was no longer formally assigned to it. The report and order identify him by name and Army serial number 31087726.
His line in the September 8 Morning Report. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.The September Special Order naming Pvt Joseph Zandrino and ASN 31087726. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — Hq Det, 7th Medical Training Battalion, 3rd Medical Training Regiment, MRTC — NARA Roll 35, image 563 (September 8, 1943); Special Order 96, paragraph 8, September 8, 1943, amending SO 94 paragraph 2; NARA Roll 35, image 30, printed page 3
Confirmed — Unit record
September 22, 1943
Camp Pickett — formally assigned to the detachment again
The Army changed Joseph's status back to an assigned member of the headquarters detachment. The report identifies him as Private Zandrino, Army serial number 31087726.
Joseph's name, serial number and change of status. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Hq Det, 7th MTB, 3rd MTR, MRTC, September 22, 1943; NARA Roll 35, NAID 449419412, image 577
Confirmed — Unit record
September 27, 1943
Camp Lee, Virginia — joined the station-hospital detachment
Joseph arrived from Camp Pickett and joined the Medical Department detachment at Camp Lee's Station Hospital. The report cites transfer orders dated September 22. His name is at the bottom of the first page, and the details continue on the second.
His name and ASN on the Camp Lee Morning Report. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.Continuation of Joseph's entry: assigned and joined from Camp Pickett.
Source: Morning Report — Det Med Dept Sta Hosp, Med Sec #1, 1326 SU — NARA Roll 40, image 1092–1093 (September 27, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 2, 1943
Camp Lee — admitted to hospital
Joseph left duty and entered the hospital as a patient. The report does not say why he needed hospital care.
The entry changing his status from duty to hospital. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — Det Med Dept Sta Hosp, Med Sec #1 — NARA Roll 26, image 1965 (November 2, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
November 8, 1943
Camp Lee — returned to duty from hospital
Joseph returned to duty after entering the hospital on November 2. He was one of four men listed as returning from hospital care. Neither report says why he was hospitalized.
The report header dates the return November 8; the ration estimate below concerns November 14. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Station Hospital Medical Section 1, Camp Lee, November 8, 1943; NARA Roll 26, NAID 455099680, image 1972
Confirmed — Unit record
December 2, 1943
Camp Lee — began leave
Joseph and one other man began a period of leave. Joseph returned to duty on December 12. The reports do not say where he spent the leave.
December 2 report recording the start of Joseph's furlough. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Station Hospital Medical Section 1, Camp Lee, December 2, 1943; NARA Roll 23, NAID 457736385, image 1342
Confirmed — Unit record
December 12, 1943
Camp Lee — returned from leave
Joseph returned to duty after the leave that began on December 2. The report does not say where he spent that time.
The entry recording his return from furlough. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — Det Med Dept Sta Hosp, Med Sec #1 — NARA Roll 23, image 1373 (December 12, 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
May 2, 1944
Camp Lee — began ten days of leave
Joseph and fourteen other men were granted ten days of leave, called a furlough. The report does not say where he went.
The group entry placing fifteen men, including Joseph, on furlough. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — Det Med Dept Sta Hosp, Med Sec #1, MD — NARA Roll 73, image 1143 (May 2, 1944)
Likely match — serial number differs
May 12, 1944
Camp Lee — likely return from ten days of leave
This report likely shows Joseph returning from the leave that began on May 2. It lists Zandrino with the same group of fifteen men after ten days away. However, the last two digits of his serial number are reversed: the page says 31087762 instead of 31087726. The name, group and dates match, but the number difference means the match is not certain.
The return list includes Zandrino; the serial-number discrepancy is visible on his line. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Station Hospital Medical Section 1, Camp Lee, May 12, 1944; NARA Roll 73, NAID 473028550, image 1166
Confirmed — Unit record
May 27, 1944
Camp Lee — assignment status changed
Joseph remained with Medical Detachment 1, but the Army changed his status from assigned to “attached unassigned.” He was still serving with the detachment without a formal assignment to it. This order changes his paperwork; it does not say he left Camp Lee.
Joseph is named in paragraph 14, Medical Detachment 1. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: ASF Headquarters Camp Lee, Special Orders extract, May 27, 1944, paragraph 14; NARA Roll 73, NAID 473028550, image 1201
Confirmed — Unit record
June 13, 1944
Camp Lee — transferred to the Army Service Forces Training Center
Joseph transferred from Medical Detachment 1 to the Army Service Forces Training Center at Camp Lee on June 13. An order dated June 21 confirms that arrival date and places him with Company H, 7th Regiment, without a formal assignment to the company. It directs him to move to the company on June 22. He was still a private. The rank reductions mentioned elsewhere on the June 3 order apply to other men.
Paragraph 23 orders Joseph's transfer for June 13. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.The June 21 order lists his June 13 arrival and Company H attachment. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: ASF Headquarters Camp Lee SO 133, June 3, 1944, paragraph 23, NAID 477421180, image 1752; ASFTC SO 148, June 21, 1944, paragraph 9, NAID 477416184, image 777
Confirmed — Unit record
August 10, 1944 (ordered departure)
Ordered from Camp Lee to Camp Reynolds
Joseph received orders to leave Camp Lee on August 10 for the Army Service Forces Replacement Depot at Camp Reynolds. His name and serial number are on the transfer list, along with Company H, 7th Regiment, and job code 050, general carpenter. He had permission to visit Pittsfield along the way. We do not know whether he made that visit.
Orders specifying departure August 10 for Camp Reynolds. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.Joseph's line 54: ASN 31087726, MOS 050, Company H, 7th Regiment, authorized visit to Pittsfield. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: ASFTC Camp Lee SO 188, August 7, 1944, paragraph 47, and Transfer List 588, August 3, 1944; NAID 565789960, images 1620–1621
Confirmed — Unit record
August 22–26, 1944
Arrived at Camp Reynolds
Joseph reported to Camp Reynolds from Camp Lee on August 22. Four days later, he was placed with Company H, 1st Training Regiment, without a formal assignment to it. The August order lists his branch as Quartermaster. The September 5 order and September 6 report list the Medical Department. The documents do not explain the difference.
Paragraph 12 supplies the arrival date and Company H attachment; Joseph is line 15. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.The later order gives Medical Department and an August 22 reporting date on Joseph's line. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Camp Reynolds SO 205, August 26, 1944, Section III paragraph 12, NAID 564425986, image 257; SO 213, September 5, 1944, Section III paragraph 42, NAID 567869083, image 314
Confirmed — Unit record
September 6, 1944
Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania — joined Company F
Joseph joined Company F, 5th Group, 2d Training Regiment, after serving with Company H, 1st Training Regiment. He was attached to Company F without a formal assignment to it. The report lists him as a private in the Medical Department. His Army job code was 050, meaning general carpenter. The code identifies his job category; the report does not describe his daily work.
Joseph's line at Camp Reynolds. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.The Army manual defines occupational code 050 as Carpenter, General.
Source: Morning Report — Co "F", 5th Group, 2d Training Regiment, ASFRD — NARA Roll 63, image 672 (September 6, 1944); War Department TM 12-427, July 12, 1944, printed p. 25 (PDF page 70), https://archive.org/details/TM12-427
Confirmed — Unit record
October 1, 1944
Transferred to the 533d Medical Collecting Company
Joseph and three other Medical Department privates left Camp Reynolds on October 1 for the 533d Medical Collecting Company at Camp Pickett. Their transfer took effect on October 2.
The transfer entry naming Joseph, his ASN, and the 533d Medical Collecting Company. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — Co "F", 5th Group, ASFRD Camp Reynolds — NARA Roll 56, image 1008 (October 1, 1944; paragraph 51, SO 233, Section III)
Confirmed — Unit record
October 31, 1944
Camp Pickett — job code changed to Medical Aidman
The Army changed Joseph's job code from 050, general carpenter, to 657, Medical Aidman. He was one of five men given this new code. The Army manual describes a medical aidman's role as helping provide medical care. The report does not tell us his exact duties or whether he served in combat.
The entry changing Joseph's Army job code from 050 to 657. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.The Army manual's definition of Medical Aidman, code 657.
Source: Morning Report — 533d Medical Collecting Company, Camp Pickett — NARA Roll 61, image 1504 (October 31, 1944); War Department TM 12-427, July 12, 1944, printed pp. 25 and 84 (PDF pages 70 and 140), https://archive.org/details/TM12-427
Confirmed — Unit record
November 30, 1944
Promoted to Private First Class
The 533d Medical Collecting Company's report lists Joseph with three other men promoted to Private First Class.
The promotion entry naming Joseph among four men advanced to Pfc. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — 533d Medical Collecting Company — NARA Roll 123, image 1771 (November 30, 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
December 20, 1944
Fort Jackson, South Carolina — sixteen days of leave
Joseph was a Private First Class with the 533d Ambulance Company (Motor) when he was granted sixteen days of leave. The report does not say where he went or why the leave was granted. This is the latest morning report found that names him.
The latest morning report found that names Joseph, dated December 20, 1944. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Source: Morning Report — 533d Ambulance Company (Motor), MD — NARA Roll 115, image 1581 (December 20, 1944)
Company history
December 1944 – February 1945
Movement orders for the 533d Ambulance Company
Army index cards link the company to movement orders numbered Shipment 8022. They point to an order dated December 5, 1944, and changes made through February 10, 1945. The European Theater headquarters and the New York Port of Embarkation were sent copies. That mailing list does not tell us where the company was going. The cards do not name Joseph or show that he or the company sailed.
Index card tying the 533d Ambulance Company to Amendment 5 of Shipment #8022.Index to the original order; ETO and NYPE appear as recipients.Index card for Amendment 7, dated February 10, 1945.
Source: Adjutant General 322 unit-designation file, NAID 663499576, image 108; Adjutant General 370.5 movement-order index, NAID 663902904, images 2001 and 739
Company history
March 22 – May 11, 1945 (company campaign credit)
533d Motor Ambulance Company credited with Central Europe service
The Army credited the 533d Motor Ambulance Company with taking part in the Central Europe campaign. For a soldier to receive the same credit, he had to be on duty with the company during the campaign. We do not have a record showing that Joseph was with it then, so we cannot list this as his campaign or award.
Campaign dates and conditions for individual credit.The 533d Motor Ambulance Company is listed at the top of page 45.
An Army plan listed the 533d Ambulance Company for Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, with arrival expected in August or September 1945. The plan does not name Joseph. It also does not tell us whether the company made the trip or whether he was still serving with it.
The planning table listing the 533d Ambulance Company for Batangas. Yellow highlights were added by the project to identify the relevant entry.
Joseph's Veterans Affairs record gives December 10, 1945, as the end of his active service. His discharge paper was not available. We therefore do not know his rank, unit or location at discharge, his personal campaigns and awards, or whether he served overseas. His last known rank was Private First Class, shown in the December 20, 1944, morning report.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS), Joseph Zandrino, record #382225
Confirmed — Record
December 20, 1980
Joseph Zandrino passes away
Joseph died on December 20, 1980. His Veterans Affairs record and cemetery memorial give the same date.
Joseph's cemetery memorial lists his burial in the Reid Avenue Section of Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Grasmere, Staten Island, New York. The exact burial date is unknown.
