PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:  17 November 1999                            
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999018422

	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. Rosa M. Chandler		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Calvin M. Fowler		Chairperson	
	Mr. John N. Slone		Member	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		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 item 6 (organization) on his WD AGO Form 53-55, (Enlistment Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge), issued on 8 December 1945 be corrected by deleting the 
3283rd Quartermaster Service Company and adding Headquarters Company, 
3rd Battalion, 371st Infantry, 92nd Infantry Division.

3.  The applicant states that his separation documents show that he was a member of the 3283rd Quartermaster Service Company for the duration of his military service, when in fact, he served with Headquarters Company, 
3rd Battalion, 371st Infantry, 92nd Infantry Division all but one month during the time that he served on active duty.  In support of his request he submits a copy of a 92nd Infantry Division March Test Certificate, a Selective Service Registration Certificate, an article from a newspaper, his honorable discharge certificate, his WD AGO Form 100, a letter that his mother received from the 371st Infantry, a pay record, his WD AGO Form 53-55, and congressional correspondence.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that his records are presumed lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Therefore, service records that are available are limited to those that the applicant has provided.

5.  The available service records show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 November 1942.  He served with the 
92nd Infantry Division during World War II from 18 October 1944 through 
23 November 1945.  In late November 1945, he was assigned to the 
3283rd Quartermaster Service Company, Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 

6.  On 8 December 1945, he was discharged from the 3283rd Quartermaster Service Company, Camp Shelby, Mississippi.  He was separated under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365, for the Convenience of the Government (Demobilization) with an honorable discharge.  He had completed 3 years, and 29 days of active military service. 

7.  The applicant's WDAGO Form 53-55 shows that he was entitled to the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantry Badge.

8.  However, it does not show that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

9.  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 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.

10.  Based on regulation, in effect at the time, the applicant’s unit of assignment at the time of his separation from the service was entered in Item 
6 (Organization) of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  The unit shown in item 6 was not necessarily the same unit with which the applicant served during World War II.  If the service member was transferred to a unit at a separation center for the purpose of discharge processing, the unit shown in item 6 was, therefore, the unit from which the soldier was separated and is an important entry because it assists in the search for a soldier’s military records.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The military service records that are available show that the applicant
was assigned to the 3283rd Quartermaster Service Company at the time of his discharge.  Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53-55 was accomplished in accordance with established guidelines.

2.  However, the applicant is entitled to have his records corrected to show award of the BSM as a result of receiving the CIB for participating in military operations against hostile forces from 18 October 1944 through 23 November 1945.

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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the BSM.  

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

BOARD VOTE:  

CMR____  JNS____  TSK_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999018422	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19451208	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR615-365  	
DISCHARGE REASON	A107.0000	
BOARD DECISION	(PARTIAL)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0014	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.