PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:         14 January 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999015391

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		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 military records be corrected to reflect award of the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and attendance at the “ASTP” course.  The applicant states he is entitled to an award of the Bronze Star Medal based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.  He also notes that he was “wounded by German shell fire in France” on 20 November 1944.  He states that he realized that a shell was coming and that he was “slammed to the ground.”  He notes that the next thing he remember was being in the field hospital and the doctor was cleaning his right hand which was covered with blood.  He states he was hospitalized for “about a week in a field hospital” and then returned to duty.  The applicant also states that he completed one semester at Alfred University between July and October 1943 and would have been commissioned if he’d completed the two year course.  He states he resigned from the training because he “did not wish to miss combat.”  In support of his request he submits a statement from a fellow soldier.

3.  Although the applicant’s military personnel records were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, information reconstructed from alternative sources, including his original service medical records, indicate he entered active duty on 20 February 1942.

4.  The applicant arrived in the European Theater of Operations in September 1944 and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  In March 1945 he was evacuated because of infectious hepatitis.  His original service medical record indicate that while hospitalized for the hepatitis he displayed symptoms of nervousness and was referred for a neuropsychiatric evaluation.  On 11 April 1945 the applicant complained of lower back pain but subsequent x-rays were negative.  There is no mention in the initial complaint that his back pain was the result of  an earlier shell explosion.  The neuropsychiatric case report, completed on 12 April 1945 notes no battle injuries nor any “war wounds” in response to specific questions concerning those issues.   A 17 April 1945 summation of the applicant’s neurospychiatric report essentially recapped information the applicant provided during the 12 April evaluation but also note the applicant indicated that he had spent a week at a “clearing station” in November “because of nearby shell explosion.”  The statement submitted in support of the applicant’s claim was authored in 1998 by an individual who indicates he was a member of the applicant’s unit.  The statement does not indicate the author was an eye witness to the incident recounted by the applicant.

5.  The applicant’s final diagnosis was “chronic moderate anxiety state” whose cause was “undetermined” but “aggravated by severe stress of 4 months combat.”  The applicant appeared before disposition board which concluded that his “emotional instability” made him unfit for further service.  On 26 September 1945 the applicant was released from active duty with a certificate of disability.  His WD AGO Form 53-55, which he authenticated does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart, and item 34 (wounds received in action) reflects “NONE.”

6.  In October 1945 the VA denied the applicant compensation for “back trouble due to shell explosion” noting there was no evidence in available records to support that claim.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 
2 September 1945 or whose such achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  Awards of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge is generally referred to as a conversion award.

9.  Army Regulation 635-5 establishes the policies and procedures for the preparation and distribution of separation document.  It states that successfully completed in service military training courses of at least one weeks duration may be reflected on the separation document.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II and as such is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.

2.  There is no evidence, nor does the applicant provide any, which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  Although he was released from active duty based on his “emotional instability” which medical officials determined was aggravated by his exposure to combat, there is no indication in those medical records that the applicant was wounded during combat action.  Clearly had there been any combat wounds such wounds would have been noted as contributing to his mental condition.  The notation that he was hospitalized because of a “nearby shell explosion” does not mention that he was wounded but rather merely recounts information provided by the applicant.
3.  It appears that the “ASTP” course the applicant attended in the summer of 1943 may have been similar to an ROTC course conducted at colleges and universities.  As such the course would not be considered an “in service military training course” and it would not be recorded on his separation document.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__rvo___  __slp___  ___kan__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON