Virginia War Memorial Receives Warner Wartime Papers

Family donates the wartime records and correspondence of Brig. Gen. Morris Thompson Warner to the Richmond archive.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Military

Plain tan archival boxes on a wooden table before a tall limestone window, with a neoclassical memorial building visible outside in soft daylight. — The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond received the wartime papers of Brig. Gen. Morris Thompson Warner, donated by his family for public study. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond has received the personal wartime papers of Brig. Gen. Morris Thompson Warner, donated by his family. The collection includes wartime records, correspondence, and military records.

Why it matters

The donation places a commander's firsthand records in a public archive available to Virginians studying the state's military history. It preserves documentation of Warner's service with the 116th and 156th Infantry Regiments.

The collection documents 28 years of service, beginning with Warner's assignment to the 116th Infantry Regiment on Aug. 10, 1922. The extraction does not specify how many items the donation contains.

The players

Virginia War Memorial

The Richmond institution that holds Warner's papers and will preserve them for students, educators, and researchers.

Morris Thompson Warner

A Virginia-born Army officer who served 28 years and commanded the 116th and 156th Infantry Regiments in World War II.

The details

Warner began his service as a cadet at Pennsylvania State University and took command of the 116th Infantry Regiment during World War II. The regiment fought with the 29th Infantry Division on D-Day, and Warner was promoted to colonel in 1943 before commanding the 156th Infantry Regiment.

Aug. 10, 1922: Warner assigned as training and plans officer for the 116th Infantry Regiment.
1943: Warner promoted to colonel and commands the 156th Infantry Regiment.
June 6, 1944: Company A of the 116th lands among the first troops on Omaha Beach.
1982: Warner dies.

Historical Record

The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond serves as the state's repository for military history, and Warner's papers extend its holdings of World War II command records. The donation adds firsthand documentation of an infantry regiment's role in the D-Day landings.

Students, educators, and researchers in Virginia can access Warner's papers through the Virginia War Memorial archive in Richmond. The collection is intended as a lasting public resource for study of the state's military service.

The takeaway

Personal papers from a wartime commander offer direct evidence of decisions made during the war. Researchers interested in Virginia's World War II record can request access through the Virginia War Memorial archive.