PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            4 August 1999                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999015902

	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. Paul A. Petty		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred K. McCoy		Chairperson	
	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Member	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		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, in effect, that his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation from World War II show his combat unit of assignment, his arm of service as Infantry, and his wound and Purple Heart; that he be awarded any military awards for which he is authorized but has not received; and that he receive a separation certificate for the same period showing his highest rank held and his combat unit of assignment.

3.  The applicant states that during WWII, he was in combat with Company K, 
271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division following the Battle of the Bulge.  He also states that prior to going overseas, he was an engineer and trained at Fort Leonard Wood.  He states that he was wounded in the right hand forefinger by shrapnel near Leipzig, Germany, in late April 1945 (he does not at this late date remember the exact date of wounding.)  He was taken to a captured German hospital where he was treated and returned to his unit.  From then on he fired his rifle with his right middle finger as he could not use his forefinger.  Before he left Company K, he was given a Purple Heart medal in a ceremony and he was told he would be given paperwork on it later but he was shipped home shortly after and never any paperwork or orders.

4.  The applicant’s military records are not available and presumed destroyed in a 1973 fire at the National Records Archives.  According to copies of military documents supplied by the applicant, he was inducted into the Regular Army on 13 April 1943.  On 28 December 1943, he was shipped overseas to the European Theater of Operations arriving 8 January 1944.  He advanced to the rank of Private First Class (PFC).

5.  The applicant is one of 2221 Negro Volunteers who volunteered for infantry duty in response to a call for such volunteers from non-combat units to replace infantry losses following the Battle of the Bulge in WW II.  A condition of volunteering for Negro soldiers was administrative reduction Private (PVT) or Private First Class (PFC).  After volunteering, the applicant received combat infantry training in France and was assigned to Company K, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division on or about 8 April 1945 as a PVT in the MOS 745, Rifleman, according to unit morning reports.  He fought with this unit in combat and received credit for four campaigns.  He was awarded the CIB on 
23 April 1945.  He was also restored to the rank of PFC.

6.  The applicant was assigned to 497th Quartermaster Laundry Company for transportation back to the United States.  He departed Europe on 27 November 1945 and arrived back in the United States on 9 December 1945.  He was honorably discharged on 15 December 1945 by reason of demobilization.  He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB), the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.  His Enlisted Record and Report of Discharge also shows his military occupational specialty as Rifleman, 745.

7.  According to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards, paragraph 3-13, a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the Combat Medical Badge (CMB), or other certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy, is eligible for award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

8.  The Good Conduct Medal is awarded to soldiers who distinguish themselves from among their fellow soldiers by their exemplary conduct, efficiency, and fidelity according to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards, Chapter 4, Section I.  The qualifying periods of service include: 3 years completed on or after 27 August 1940, and for the first award only, 1 year served entirely during the period 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946.

9.  According to Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany is authorized for soldiers who served 
30 consecutive days in Germany (exclusive of Berlin) between 9 May 1945 and 
5 May 1955.  Service between 9 May and 8 November 1945 will be counted only if the European-African-Middle Easter Campaign Medal was awarded for service before 9 May 1945.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's Enlisted Record and Report of Separation from World War II should show his combat unit of assignment as Company K, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division; his arm of service as Infantry, and his Purple Heart award and wound information.

2.  His Honorable Discharge Certificate, DD Form 257A, for the same period should show Private First Class and his combat unit of assignment as 
Company K, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division.

3.  He is authorized the following additional awards which should be noted on his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation and the medals provided to him: the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected for the individual concerned by:

	a.  issuing a new  DD Form 214 showing his combat unit of assignment as Company K, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division; his arm of service as Infantry; showing award of a Purple Heart for wound received by shrapnel to the right hand forefinger near Leipzig, Germany, in April 1945; showing award of the European-African-Middle Easter Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars, the CIB, and the World War II Victory Medal; showing his "Service Outside the Continental US and Return" in the remarks section; and

	b.  issuing him a new Honorable Discharge Certificate, DD Form 257A, dated 15 December 1945, showing him as a Private First Class and his combat unit of assignment as Company K, 271st Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division; and

	c.  showing on his DD Form 214 the following additional awards and providing him with the medals: the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fkm___  _inw_____  _gdp____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Fred K. McCoy____________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999015902	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990804	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.