PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           14 September 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000045619

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Elzey J. Arledge, Jr.		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 that the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) for valor be added to his Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant states that the BSM was awarded by the commanding general of the 26th Division.  He provides a copy of the card signed by Kenneth C. Royall, Secretary of the Army, forwarding the BSM to him and a photocopy of the medal.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  The information contained herein was obtained from his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Army on 8 December 1942 and entered active duty on 23 March 1943.  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations, served as a rifleman, and departed on 8 January 1946.  His WD AGO 53-55 shows that his awards included the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart, and the Silver Star.  On 25 January 1946, he was honorably separated.

6.  Army Regulation 600-45, then in effect, provided, in pertinent part, for the award of the BSM to members of the armed forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat.

7.  Kenneth C. Royall served as Secretary of the Army from 17 September 1947 through 27 April 1949.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record to show that the applicant was awarded the BSM for valor.

2.  The Board agrees with the applicant’s contention that the Secretary of the Army did forward to him a BSM.  However, based upon the period during which that particular Secretary of the Army served and the fact the medal is so neatly engraved (an occurrence unlikely to happen during wartime in a theater of operations), the Board concludes that it is the BSM awarded to him as a result of his having earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to add the Bronze Star Medal.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__rvo___  __mkp___  __eja___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000045619	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000914	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.