PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:             23 January 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000039201

	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. Richard H. Allen		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy		Member	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		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, award of the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal. 

3.  The applicant states, in essence, that he was captured by German forces on 16 December 1944 and held a few hours before he escaped.  He includes a "War Record Board" which has 33 enclosures containing extensive research into the history of his unit, communications with various members of his unit, his Representative in Congress and other interested individuals.  He has been repeatedly denied (since 1988) that award since there is no "official" listing showing that he was a POW.  His Congressman requests the Board's favorable action on the applicant's request. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from partially reconstructed personnel records.  These records show that he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 1 March 1943.  He was trained and served as a Field Artillery survey instrument man.  His date of deployment overseas is not available, but on 16 December 1944 he was serving with C Battery, 592nd Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge.  

5.  On that date, he, his lieutenant and 10 other enlisted personnel, operating as a forward observer detachment, were proceeding from near Laudesfeld, Germany to replace another forward observer detachment near Roth, Germany when his group was ambushed by German forces.  Two soldiers were killed, seven were wounded and the applicant and another soldier were unhurt.  The German forces forced the group to march through the snow to near Weckerath, Belgium.  At that time, the applicant and several other soldiers were able to escape after approximately 6 hours in captivity, and they were able to return to US Forces control.  On 21 December 1944, he returned to his unit and continued to serve.  

6.  With the applicant's packet are two statements which have a direct bearing on his case.  The first is a letter, SUBJECT:  Combat Appointment as Second Lieutenant, AUS, dated 29 May 1945, signed by a major, the commander of the 589th Field Artillery Battalion.  In this recommendation pertaining to the applicant, the commander stated:  

"On morning of 16 December 1944, S/Sgt  (applicant's name), then assigned to C Battery, 592nd FA Bn was captured by the Germans.  After escaping, he made his way back to his organization and rejoined them at Vielsalm, Belgium on 21 December 1944."

7.  The second statement is from the driver of the forward observer team's vehicle carrying a lieutenant and the applicant, who was a corporal at that time.  When the detachment was attacked, the driver was wounded.  The lieutenant ordered the detachment to surrender.  The applicant helped the driver because of his wounds as they were marched through the snow by the German captors.  Eventually, the group ran into an American unit (from Troop "C" of the 
14th Cavalry) at Weckerath.  A sergeant in the American unit ran off the German guards, and may have killed them.  In any case, even though the new unit was surrounded by German forces, the two units, plus remnants of another cavalry unit (the 18th Cavalry) banded together and eventually escaped by running a gauntlet through the German forces subsequently reaching the village of Mandefeld, Belgium.  The writer was medically evacuated to England. 

8.  The driver wrote a letter to his parents in late February 1945 and related the events of the 16th through the 21st of December, although he did not mention the applicant by name.  However, in an extensive newspaper article prepared by a local reporter in April 1994 in Delavan, Wisconsin, the driver repeated the story of the capture of the forward observer detachment from the 106th Infantry Division, the applicant's involvement in saving the driver (the driver again named the applicant by name) and the ultimate return of the unit to American forces control. 

9.  The applicant has been the editor of the 106th Infantry Division Association Newsletter and the application contains many other electronic (e-mail) communications, stories and antidotes about the 106th, the 592nd Field Artillery and other units during the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes during the period  December 1944-February 1945.  There are even photographs of the wrecked vehicles from the applicant's forward observer detachment found in German archives.

10.  The applicant went on to serve, rising to the rank of staff sergeant, and was honorably discharged in Germany on 8 June 1945.  He received a "battlefield commission" and was appointed a second lieutenant, Field Artillery, AUS on 
9 June 1945.  He went on to serve as a civil affairs officer.  He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant on 12 July 1946 (terminal leave promotion) and was honorably discharged with the rank of second lieutenant on 19 August 1946.

11.  His WD AGO Form 55 (Army of the United States Honorable Discharge) issued on 8 June 1944 shows that he was credited with three campaigns during World War II to include the "Campaign of Germany (sic: the Central Europe Campaign); the Ardennes Campaign (sic: the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign); and the Northern France Campaign."  That form also shows that he received award of the Good Conduct Medal and three bronze service stars (BSS) for participation in the three campaigns.  He also was credited with qualification as a Marksman on the .30mm Caliber Carbine.

12.  His records also show that at the time he was discharged from his officer service on 19 August 1946, his WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation-Certificate of Service) (issued to officer personnel) shows additional entitlement to award of the American Campaign Medal; the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany Clasp); the World War II Victory Medal; and the Honorable Service Lapel Button, World War II.  

13.  On 27 January 1995, the Army Reserve Personnel Center issued a DA Form 
1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), which credited him with all the awards and decorations shown on his WD AGO Form 55 and WD AGO Form 
55-98,.  Additionally, the Marksmanship Badge (Carbine Bar) was authorized.  However, the POW Medal and one BSS for wear on the EAME Campaign Medal were not authorized.  

14.  The applicant's Representative in Congress has been repeatedly informed by Department of the Army officials that there is no official record of the applicant ever being reported as a POW and his name is not contained on any POW rosters.  Therefore, he has not been authorized the award of the POW Medal.  

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the POW Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a BSS, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.  The two artillery battalions which the applicant served with in an enlisted status both participated in the Rhineland Campaign 
(15 September 1944-21 March 1945).  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board concludes that the applicant was a POW of German forces for approximately 6 hours on the morning of 16 December 1944, when his unit was ambushed by German forces.  This is supported by verification of fact by his commander in May 1945 and an eyewitness statement from a soldier who was wounded in the incident on 16 December 1944 and was helped by the applicant at the time. 

2.  Since the authorization for the POW Medal does not specify a minimum period of captivity, the Board further concludes that the applicant is entitled to award of the POW Medal.  

3.  Other evidence of record indicates that the applicant is entitled to a fourth campaign credit, the Rhineland Campaign and a fourth BSS for wear on his EAME Campaign Medal.  These should be added to his WD AGO Form 55, issued on 8 June 1945.  

4.  Further, the applicant's WD AGO Form 55 should be corrected to show the award of the Marksmanship Badge (Carbine Bar).  

5.  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: 

a.  by showing that the individual concerned  received the award of the POW Medal for capture by enemy forces on 16 December 1944; 

b.  by showing on his WD AGO Form 55, issued on 8 June 1945 campaign credit for a fourth campaign, the Rhineland Campaign; and 

c.  by adding to his WD AGO Form 55, issued on 8 June 1945, the award of the fourth BSS for wear on his EAME and the award of the Marksman Badge (Carbine Bar).

BOARD VOTE:  

___lls___  ___teo __  ___wtm__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Luther L. Santiful________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000039201	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010123	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	DASA	
ISSUES         1.	105.00	
2.	110.00	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.