PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           22 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000050397

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr. 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		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, as the next of kin of a deceased former service member (FSM), that his father’s records be corrected to show all awards and decorations to which he is entitled.  The applicant also requests, in effect, an appropriate decoration be awarded for the citation rendered in 349th Infantry Regiment General Order 26, dated 29 June 1944.

3.  The applicant states that, when he received his father’s records, he noticed the citation for meritorious service in action and believes that this citation for his father’s actions may be worthy of a decoration.

4.  The FSM’s military records show that he was inducted on 13 November 1942. He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 25 December 1943 to 14 September 1944.  The FSM was honorably discharged with a certificate of disability on 4 August 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 14 May 1944 at San Veto, Italy.  Medical records show that the applicant sustained severe multiple penetrating wounds to the buttocks and left forearm, and compound fracture of the left fibula (the smaller of the two bones in the leg).

6.  The FSM was personally cited, as a member of the Wire Section of Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion of the 349th Infantry, by 349th Infantry Regiment General Order 26, dated 29 June 1944, for meritorious service in action beyond the ordinary.  The citation stated:

	“In military operations against an enemy of the United States ****, in the vicinity of ***, from 14 May 1944 to 16 May 1944.  Laying wire from *** across* ***, * * ***, Hills *, * and * these men were a contributing factor to the successful advance of their Battalion.  Constantly exposed to enemy artillery and small arms fire, without sleep or food, they laid wire by hand over terrain so inaccessible that at times they had to wrap wire around their bodies to leave hands free for climbing.  Sustaining two casualties from shrapnel and one from an exploding mine, they nevertheless continued devotedly and in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles to make possible efficient communications with their organization.  The vital service rendered by these loyal and courageous men has won the esteem of their comrades and represents the finest traditions of the Armed Forces.” 

7.  The Board noted that the FSM was eligible for award of the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal which are not shown on the FSM’s WD AGO Form 53-55.

8.  Paragraph 1-23 of Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that awards of certain decorations as authorized in this regulation or later will be made on the basis of existing letters, citations, and/or orders.  The decorations which may be awarded under this provision are:  the Purple Heart and the Silver Star to qualifying service members who served during World War I; the Bronze Star Medal to individual members of the Armed Forces who were 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 or whose meritorious achievement was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947; and the Army Commendation Medal to any individual commended after 6 December 1941 and before 1 January 1946 in a letter, certificate, or order of commendation signed by an officer in the grade or position a major general or higher.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the American Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying service includes permanent assignment outside the continental United States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The FSM was cited by 349th Infantry Regiment General Order 26, dated 29 June 1944, for his actions in combat during the period 14 May 1944 to 16 May 1944.  Evidence of record also shows that the applicant was one of the three soldiers in this wire laying team who was wounded during the combat operation cited in the General Orders.

2.  Army regulation governing military awards authorizes award of the Bronze Star Medal to any soldier who was 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 or whose meritorious achievement was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  

3.  Based on the foregoing, the Board determined that the citation in orders recognizing the FSM for his actions in combat is sufficient for award of the Bronze Star Medal.  Therefore the FSM is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in action on 14 May 1944.

4.  Based on his service during World War II, the FSM is entitled to award of the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal and correction of his records to show these awards.

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 awarding the FSM the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in action on 14  May 1944 and correcting his records to show this decoration; and 

	b.  by correcting the FSM’s records to show award of the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__TSK___  __RVO__  ___SK__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000050397	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010222	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0014.0000	
2.	107.0063.0000	
3.	107.0066.0000	
4.		
5.		
6.