PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            11 May 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000037030

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. James M. Alward		Member	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		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 Bronze Star Medal (BSM) for action during World War II.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received a unit citation for a specific action against the enemy but was never awarded the BSM.  He claims he should be entitled to the BSM based on the criteria of the regulation and that it should also be added to his separation document.  The applicant indicates that he submitted a request to the Department of the Army Adjutant General requesting that he be awarded the BSM based on his having received the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) while serving with the 78th Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II.  He has enclosed a copy of his War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) that was issued to him upon his release from active duty.

4.  The applicant’s military records were not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost in that fire.  

5.  The evidence or record does include a WD AGO Form 53-55.  This document verifies that he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 
1 February 1944 and that he served on active duty until being honorably discharged, in the rank of private first class (PFC), on 27 January 1946.  It also verifies that he arrived for duty in the ETO on 25 October 1944 and served there until 12 January 1946.

6.  The WD AGO 53-55 also shows that he participated in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns of World War II, as an infantryman, and that he was awarded the CIB.  He was also awarded the Purple Heart in June 1945 and the Distinguished Unit Badge in June 1945, both were earned while he was serving with the 78th Infantry Division.  

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 3-13 contains guidance on awarding the BSM and states that the BSM is awarded to members who served in any capacity in the AUS after 6 December 1941 and distinguished themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  

8.  Paragraph 3-13 d (2) states, in pertinent part, that the BSM should be awarded to any member of the AUS who, after 6 December 1941, had been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.  For this purpose, an award of the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The regulatory criteria for award of the BSM includes exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 
2 September 1945.  Based on the applicant’s achievement in the ETO, as evidenced by his being awarded the CIB, it is evident that he meets the  prerequisites of the regulation and is eligible to receive the BSM.  

2.  Based on the facts presented in the conclusion contained in the preceding paragraph, the Board determined that it would be appropriate, in the interest of justice and equity, to award the applicant the BSM at this time.

3.  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 by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the BSM, for meritorious achievement, based on his exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 25 October 1944 and 12 January 1946, while serving as a PFC in the ETO during World War II. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__cjp____  ___ja ___  ___rvo __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__ Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037030	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/05/11	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	N/A	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	N/A	
DISCHARGE REASON	N/A	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 60	107.0014	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.