PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 January 1999                                      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998012750

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Robert J. McGowan .		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas N. Kuhn 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison 		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson 		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that his service record be corrected by awarding him the Army Occupation Medal, the “Combat Medal, the Foreign Service Medal, the Defense Service Medal, and the 50th Anniversary of World War II Medal.”

3.  The applicant states that, when the war ended, he was transferred from the 85th Division to the 88th Division which remained in Italy for occupation duty.  He states he is eligible for these medals.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 1 November 1943.  Assigned to the 338th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division, he arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 18 May 1944.  He participated in three campaigns—Rome-Arno, Northern Apennines, and Po Valley.  Following cessation of hostilities, he remained in the ETO until 24 January 1946 when he departed for the United States.

5.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 6 February 1946.  His WD AGO 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, credited him with participation in three campaigns, the EAME Campaign Medal with 3 bronze stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  In June 1993, the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN), 
St. Louis, Missouri, further authorized the issuance of the Bronze Star Medal and the Presidential Unit Emblem.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military decorations, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service ribbons, and combat and special skills badges.  A review of that regulation reveals no such awards as “the Combat Medal, Foreign Service Medal, Defense Service Medal, [and] 50th Anniversary of WWII Medal.”

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although there is no evidence in the record to show that the applicant served in the post-war occupation of Italy, it is known that he did not leave the ETO until 24 January 1946.  The Board accepts the applicant’s statement that he was transferred to the 88th Division and served in Italy from May 1945 to January 1946.  The applicant, by virtue of this service in Italy, is entitled to the Army of Occupation Medal.

2.  None of the other medals requested by the applicant can be identified through a review of pertinent Army regulations.  However, based upon a thorough review of the applicant’s limited records conducted by the ARPERCEN and this Board, it appears that all medals to which he is entitled have been identified.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding to the individual concerned the Army of Occupation Medal for his service in post-WW II Italy.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied 

BOARD VOTE:  

___TNK _  ___WTM_  __MVT__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC98-11931/AR1998012750	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990113	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Schneider	
ISSUES         1.	107.0067	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.