PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:             4 August 1999                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999017406

	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 N. Eichorn		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 he be awarded the Silver Star.

3.  The applicant states that, in effect, though he was a 1st Lieutenant Field Artillery Group Assistant Communications Officer and his Colonel Artillery Group Commander shared the same slit trench while directing fire from their retreating artillery battalions on the advancing enemy on 24 September 1944 near Fresnes-en-Salnois, France, the Colonel was awarded the Silver Star and he was not.  The Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) clerk who was present at that time and is now a professor of history emeritus at Kent State University has provided information on the event feeling that it was an injustice that the applicant did not also receive the Silver Star.

4.  In an account of the history of the 177 Field Artillery Group (FA Gp), written by the HHB clerk in 1945, he states in effect that on 24 September 1944, the FA Gp was fighting a retrograde action in the face of an advancing enemy force near the French town of Fresnes-en-Salnois.  The FA Gp was slowing the enemy advance to allow the 4th Armored Division to withdraw.  The clerk wrote, "It might be well said that the Colonel and three others stayed behind the rest of the battery and took down the CP tents.  (The) Colonel directed fire from his fox hole up to the last minute and (the) Lieutenant (the applicant) acted as his telephone operator."

5.  In a 1946 account of the events on 24 September 1944, the HHB clerk wrote, "Back at the Fire Direction Center, the shells rained in.  Several men were hit; a cook died in his fox-hole from a direct smash; the rain fell, the tanks burned, and the artillery began firing the short range charges over the heads of the counter-attacking forces.  By 3:00 in the afternoon, the situation had become impossible to hold.  The Colonel, lying in a slit trench, clasping the telephone in his hand, directed the fire of his battalions while the division moved slowly out of the rain-drenched fields around him."  (No mention is made here of the applicant's participation.)

6.  In a 1998 letter to this Board, the HHB clerk, then a university professor of history, writes, "In both the history of the 177th and the "24th of September" memoir, Lieutenant (the applicant) is simply mentioned as working with (the) Colonel in coordinating artillery fire against the attacking Panzers.  When both were written by me, emphasis was placed on the losses suffered, not on the heroic actions of (the) Colonel and 1st Lieutenant (the applicant).  However that should not diminish their militarily significant services at the most crucial point in our battlefield experience. …"Not noted was the fact that the wire line between the 22nd FA Bn … and the 177th FA Gp was again broken by enemy fire and that it was Lieutenant (the applicant), alone, who, with a reel of wire on his back, literally crawled and eventually found and repaired the line.  Fortunately -- and thanks to (the) Lieutenant's obvious heroism -- coordination of fire on the enemy attackers was successful inasmuch as they were held off until the major portion of the 4rh Armd Div. and its attached units could escape from the onslaught.”  The 177th history does not specifically note that (the) Colonel and (the) Lieutenant, alone, directed fire against the enemy.  I for one,     was directed to establish a forward switchboard in the town of Fresnes, but upon entering the town found that a general evacuation had been ordered.  By that time, only (the) Colonel and (the) Lieutenant remained at their post directing a rear guard action. These two, alone, were and are credited with saving much of the Division and its attached units from serious destruction."

7.  In a 1998 letter from the HHB clerk to a US Senator, he writes, "The incident took place in eastern France (Fresnes en Salnois) on September 24, 1944.  For nearly a week prior to this date, our unit (the 177th Field Artillery Group) which served as fire direction for Combat Command B of the Fourth Armored Division, was heavily shelled.  It was at this time that we had outrun our supply lines and, on the 24th, were forced to withdraw several miles and there regroup.  Our tanks and armored artillery held off the German offensive while the rest of the division and its associated units withdrew.  Coordinating this "hold-off" maneuver were two officers of the 177th: (the group commander) Colonel and 1st Lieutenant (the applicant).  As might be surmised, this was a most dangerous but necessary measure which these two officers together succeeded in accomplishing.  From a single slit trench and with a radio their only means of communication (the telephone lines had been cut by enemy artillery fire) they achieved the desired result of holding off the enemy advance.  I guess that I am one of the few left who can attest, first-hand, to the skill and heroism of these two men.  And, certainly, I and countless others owe our lives to the (two officer) operations.  For his participation in this affair, (the) Colonel was awarded the Silver Star.  Unfortunately, (the) Lieutenant's equal contribution was overlooked,  This was a grievous oversight which, even at this late date, deserves to be rectified.  Knowing (the) Colonel as well as I did (I was his secretary for over a year), I am sure he would have supported (the) Lieutenant's great heroism for a similar award as his own."

8.  The applicant’s military records show that he was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the Field Artillery, Reserves, from ROTC at the University of Oklahoma on 1 October 1942.  After completing Field Artillery Officer's School, he was assigned to the 
153d FA Battalion first as a battery officer and then as an assistant communications officer.  He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 11 January 1944  .He was transferred to the HHB, 177th FA Gp on 21 October 1943 as an Assistant Communications Officer.  He and the 177th departed the US on 1 July 1944 and arrived in England on 12 July 1944.  He entered France with his unit at Utah Beach on or about 16 August 1944.  He participated in four campaigns: Rhineland, Ardennes, Northern France, and Central Europe.  He stayed with his unit in the same duty position and returned with his unit to the US on 24 October 1945.  On 9 March 1946, he was released from active duty by reason of demobilization and transferred to the Reserves.  He was promoted to Captain on 22 July 1953.  He resigned from the Reserves on 
15 February 1956 due to work conflict.

9.  The applicant's Efficiency Report, WDAGO Form 46, for the period 1 July 1944 to 31 December 1944 makes no mention of the events of 24 September 1944.  The report further states that the applicant was not mentioned favorably or unfavorably in any official communications during the period of the report.  The report was rendered by the Captain Commander of the Headquarters Battery and approved by the Colonel FA Gp Commander, a new Colonel assigned to the 177th on 28 December 1944. The report was prepared on 25 May 1945 and endorsed by the Colonel on 
31 May 1945.

10.  The applicant was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars, the American Campaign Medal, and the 
WW II Victory Medal.

11.  In accordance with the Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, members of the 177th FA Grp HHB are authorized the foreign award, the French Croix de Guerre, if they were assigned to the unit on 12-29 September 1944, and they are authorized the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany if they were assigned to the unit on 2-19 May 1944 and/or 
4 June to 4 September 1944.  Foreign award medals are not available from the Army or US government sources and must be purchased by the applicant from commercial sources.

12.  According to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards, paragraph 3-13, 
a Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving after 6 December 1941, distinguishes himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  Award may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above , which are of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.

13.  According to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards, paragraph 3-9, a Silver Star is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the US Army, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.  The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree that that required for the Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is only one witness to the acts of the applicant that has submitted statements to justify award of the Silver Star.  There is no other corroborative evidence to support these purported acts.  Some credence can be given to the witness as he was the HHB clerk at the time and eye witness to some degree of the purported specific acts of the applicant and he is also a professor of history emeritus of a university who is trained and certified to report and record historical fact.  His accounts do not all record the same details of the event but taken together they show that the applicant remained with the Colonel Group Commander as his unit retreated to operate the switchboard for the Colonel to direct artillery and tank fire on the advancing enemy.  This was done from a forward slit trench or fox hole which provided little protection from enemy artillery and tank fire as was demonstrated by testimony in the accounts that others previously in similar trenches were killed or wounded.  The witness reports that at one point the applicant crawled out of this protection such as it was and possible under fire to find and repair a broken communications line so that the Colonel could continue to direct the fire.  The witness' report on that event could not have been his eye witness account since at that point, it appears that the Colonel was the only other person present. It is deduced from the witness statement that the applicant remained with the Colonel in their forward somewhat exposed dangerous position until they, the only two left forward, had to withdraw in the face of the enemy advance.

2.  The applicant's military records make no mention of this purported meritorious act.  His Efficiency Report from this period makes no mention of any meritorious or heroic act.  The report also states that the applicant was not mentioned in any official communication which can be taken to mean that his acts of 24 September were not significant enough to call for an official record or report of such to include recommendation for award.

3.  In spite of the absence of any information on the event in the applicant's military record, due to the statements of the witness who can be considered to be creditable due to his duty position at the time of the events and his profession and certification as a historian, the applicant's meritorious achievement should be considered as worthy of recognition.  While it was certainly a meritorious act or achievement that the applicant stayed forward with the Colonel at risk to himself from the advancing enemy to operate and maintain the communications link which enabled the Colonel to direct effective artillery and tank fire to cover the retreat, the applicant's level of responsibility and affect on the outcome of the event were not of the same heroic level of the Colonel's who provide the fire direction that was responsible for saving the division.  Though the applicant's level of performance is not considered heroic enough to warrant a Silver Star, his acts are considered meritorious enough to deserve recognition by award of the Bronze Star Medal.

4.  The applicant is eligible for the French Croix de Guerre and the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany which should be awarded to him.

5.  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 for the individual concerned by:

	a.  awarding him the French Croix de Guerre and the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany and providing him the Army of Occupation Medal; 

	b.  awarding him and providing the Bronze Star Medal for extremely meritorious acts on 24 September 1944 near the French town of Fresnes-en-Salnois while serving as the Assistant Communications Officer of the 177th Field Artillery Group in that he remained alone with his group commander in a fox hole, as his unit participated in retrograde movement, to operate the communications switchboard and maintain the communication lines in the face of the advancing enemy enabling the group commander to continue directing effective artillery and tank fire delaying the enemy which allowed the 4th Armored Division to withdraw and reorganize.  This was done at great risk to himself from direct enemy artillery and tank fire and at the risk of capture; and

	c.  showing that he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre, the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany, and the Bronze Star Medal.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__fkm___  _inw ____  __gdp___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Fred K. McCoy____________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999017406	
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.