Assignment of Serial Numbers
to Captured Enemy Forces

AG 383.6 (3-26-43) OB-S-SPMGA-M

MNE/kls-2B-939

April 9, 1943

SUBJECT: Serial Numbers for Prisoners of War

TO: The Commanding Generals,

Army Ground Forces;
Army Air Forces;
Army Service Forces;
The Commander-in-Chief, Southwest Pacific Area;
The Commanding Generals,
Defense Commands;
Hawaiian Department;
Theater of Operations;
Service Commands;
Separate Base Commands;
The Commanding Officers,
Separate Base Commands.

1. Serial numbers for prisoners of war captured by the Army of the United States normally will be assigned at the first prisoner of war enclosure or internment camp to which the prisoner is sent.  These internment serial numbers for prisoners not already processed will consist of two components separated from each other by a dash.  The first component will consist of two symbols as follows:

a.  The first symbol will be a number which will designate a command within the appropriate theater.  Numbers designated are as follow: 1 for Eastern Defense Command; 2 for Greenland Base Command; 3 for Western Sector, Crimson Project; 4 for Eastern Sector, Crimson Project; 5 for Western Defense Command; 6 for Central Defense Command; 7 for Southern Defense Command; 8 for Northwest Service Command; 21 for Caribbean Defense Command; 22 for U. S. Army Forces, South Atlantic; 31 for U. S. Army Forces in the European Theater of Operations; 41 for Hawaiian Department; 42 for U. S. Army Forces in South Pacific Area; 51 for Commander-in-Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, 61 for U. S. Army Forces, China, Burma, and India, Rear Echelon; 71 for U. S. Army Forces in the Middle East; 72 for U. S. Army Forces n Central Africa; 81 for U. S. Forces in the North African Theater of Operations.

b.  The second symbol will be the first letter of the name of the enemy country in whose armed forces the prisoner was serving, i.e., "G" for Germany, "J" for Japan, and "I" for Italy.

2.  The second component will consist of the individual prisoner of war number assigned consecutively to each prisoner captured in the appropriate command of a theater of operations irrespective of which country he served.  THus, the first prisoner captured by the U. S. Army Forces in the Wuropean Theater of Operations, if a German, would be 31G-1 and the tenth prisoner captured by the (missing).

Enclosure to Memorandum No. W580-1-43,
15 June 1943

24-35136