| Stanley E. Carnarius | |
|---|---|
 Thanks to his daughter Cathy Edwards for sharing this photo taken on his birthday. | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 July 1924 Peoria, Illinois |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 33590016 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private First Class |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 18 (13 April – 10 June 1944), 19 (16 May – 13 July 1944) |
| Section | 7A (18); 6J (19) |
| Unit / division | 87th Infantry Division |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Stanley E. Carnarius (born 6 July 1924) was a Peoria-born U.S. Army order-of-battle specialist associated with Camp Ritchie. He trained with Class 18 and Class 19, served with OB Team 38 attached to the 87th Infantry Division in France and the Ardennes, and later held the rank of first lieutenant.
Biography
Stanley E. Carnarius was born on 6 July 1924 in Peoria, Illinois. He spoke German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, and studied languages for one year at the University of Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Army in Philadelphia as a private.
Carnarius trained at Camp Ritchie with Class 18 and Class 19, first in photo interpretation. In the field they learned to make contour maps on the spot: sketch from an aerial photograph onto tracing paper, add color on the back, and read woods, roads, and shadows. After 27 days on kitchen patrol he moved into order-of-battle work. His German final was a trick question about how he would fix breakfast, pans and utensils included; the point was only whether he knew the language. Carnarius turned the exchange around and asked the instructor to explain, in German. The program head would not flunk him; the instructor was furious.
In October 1944 he was alerted for overseas, transferred to the Detached Enlisted Men's List, and promoted to staff sergeant. The team went through England to an intelligence headquarters outside Paris and joined the 87th Infantry Division with OB Team 38. On arrival Carnarius later recalled a pile of GI boots in the town square. He said the division commander had pushed the unit about ten kilometers beyond the line, taken fire, and suffered heavy losses, was relieved, then reinstated after a corps-boundary change.
German-speaking prisoner interviewers checked and corrected the team's estimates of enemy forces at the front. Carnarius interrogated a German officer who had held the equivalent job. Asked whether he would have revealed such things if the roles were reversed, he said he would not; the prisoner answered, "Then why should I tell you?" They talked about other things instead.
During the German attack in the Ardennes they rode an all-night blackout convoy of hundreds of vehicles, following slit tail lights and stopping to avoid collisions. After the drive Carnarius had bloodshot red slits across his eyes from straining to see. His master sergeant was nominally a driver trainee but was so dangerous behind the wheel that they nearly died several times; an officer put the sergeant in the back and had Carnarius, a new driver, take the wheel. Carnarius kept the G-2 enemy-situation map current. When senior officers said it was wrong, he told them to check the general's mail, was scolded for reading it, and answered that was how he kept the map up to date.
Near the end of the war in Europe they heard that President Roosevelt had died. Orders signed by Eisenhower then sent the small order-of-battle team back to Paris. Carnarius chose to stay with the 87th rather than transfer into Japanese-language work. After he returned to the United States the war ended with the atomic bombs, and he never went to Japan. He finished his service as a first lieutenant.
Research notes
- Class 18 7A
- Class 21 GerOB
- OB Team 38 attached to the 87th Infantry Division.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Nara ASN | 33590016 |
| Nara Name | CARNARIUS STANLEY E |
| Nara State | 32 |
| Nara County | 91 |
| Nara POE | 3295 |
| Nara DOE | 50343 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | NO |
| Nara Branch Code | 2 |
| Branch | No branch assignment |
| Nara Term or Enlistment | 5 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | 61 |
| Nativity.1 | ILLINOIS |
| Nara Year of Birth | 24 |
| Nara Race | 1 |
| Nara Race Description | White citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 992 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 8 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 120 |
| Class_ASN | 33590016 |
| Class_Name | CARNARIUS, Stanley E. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline
- 6 July 1924 — Born in Peoria, Illinois.
- Studied languages for one year at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Enlisted in Philadelphia as a private (ASN 33590016).
- Camp Ritchie Class 18 (section 7A) and Class 19 (section 6J); photo interpretation, contour mapping, then order of battle after 27 days of kitchen patrol.
- 7 October 1944 — Alerted for overseas; transferred to the Detached Enlisted Men's List and promoted to staff sergeant.
- 1944 — Through England to an intelligence headquarters outside Paris; OB Team 38 attached to the 87th Infantry Division.
- December 1944 – January 1945 — Battle of the Bulge: all-night blackout convoy into the Ardennes; kept the G-2 enemy-situation map.
- 12 April 1945 — With the team when news arrived that President Roosevelt had died.
- 1945 — Eisenhower orders sent the OB team back to Paris; Carnarius stayed with the 87th rather than transfer to Japanese-language training.
- 1945 — Returned to the United States; the war ended before a Pacific deployment.
Sources
- American Veterans Center interview (watchlist card)
- American Veterans Center interview with Stanley Carnarius on YouTube
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-07-09 (1 post)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Stanley E. Carnarius for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Carnarius, Stanley E. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: STANLEY E. CARNARIUS (2021).doc)