PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            8 November 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001058712

	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	
	Ms. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher		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 his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) be corrected to show that he was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp and the Belgian Fourragere.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was awarded the decorations and that they should be included on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  In support of his appeal he submits a copy of an Authorization for Issuance of Awards (Department of the Army Form 1577) listing the awards to which he is entitled and a copy of a letter from the Adjutant General’s Office dated 19 March 1946 that shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  He was inducted into the Army on 6 March 1943 and he successfully completed his training as a radio tender.  He was subsequently assigned Headquarters 2nd Armored Division, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment.

6.  On 31 January 1945, the applicant’s next of kin was notified by Western Union Telegraph that he was wounded in action on 15 January 1945, while he was in Belgium.

7.  On 20 June 1945, the 2nd Armored Division was twice cited in Order of the Day of the Belgian Army and awarded the 1940 Fourragere for pushing back the enemy forces and, after having retaken many communities of the Ardennes region, it liberated the town of Houffalize.

8.  General Orders Number 53 dated 2 August 1945, published by Headquarters 2nd Armored Division, shows that the applicant’s unit was cited for extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy during the period 26 July and 1 August 1944, inclusive, in France.

9.  He was honorably discharged on 12 December 1945.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 that he was furnished at the time of his discharge shows that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

10.  Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General for the period covering 1942-1946 and 1950-1954 show that the applicant was hospitalized on 15 January 1945, for 3 days after he sustained an injury to his thorax.  The Hospital Admission Cards also show that the injury was incurred as a result of a blast or explosion.

11.  In a letter from the War Department signed by The Adjutant General’s dated 19 March 1946, the applicant was notified that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 14 January 1945.

12.  On 12 September 1958, the United States Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) reviewed the applicant’s records and determined that he was also entitled to the American Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the Belgian Fourragere and the inclusion of one silver service star (instead of five bronze service stars) on the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in pertinent part, authorizes award of the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Campaign Medal for qualifying service in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations for the period 7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also authorizes a bronze service star, 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 campaign or service medal including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  One bronze service star is authorized for each campaign in which the soldier participated.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that service stars are worn on campaign and service ribbons to denote an additional award.  The service star is a bronze or silver five pointed star 3/16-inch I diameter.  A silver star is worn instead of five bronze service stars.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 further provides that the Belgian Fourragere may be awarded by the Belgian Government when a unit has been cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.  The award of the fourragere is not automatic but must be by specific decree of the Belgian Government.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Presidential Unit Citation (known as the Distinguished Unit Citation until 3 November 1966) is awarded for extraordinary heroism in action.  A unit must display such gallantry, determination and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission as would warrant award of the Distinguished Service Cross to an individual.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) indicates that the 66th Armored Regiment was cited for award of the Distinguished Unit Citation for the period 26 July through 1 August 1944.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Army of Occupation Medal (AOM) is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location.  Personnel at a qualifying location as an inspector, courier, escort, temporary or detached duty are precluded from
eligibility.  For Germany, service must have been between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955 and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal must have been awarded prior to 9 May 1945.  Qualifying service for the Berlin clasp is from 9 May 1945 and 2 October 1990.   Qualifying service in Japan included service in the Japanese Home Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin-Volcano Islands between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952.  Service between 3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946 is qualifying only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was earned prior to 3 September 1945.

18.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for award of the American Campaign Medal (ACM).  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 furnished a certificate by a corps commander or higher, or service within the Continental United States for an aggregate period of one year.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  An error was made during the preparation of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 that resulted in the omission of the American Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp and the Belgian Fourragere.

2.  The inclusion of one silver service star to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the Presidential Unit Citation were also omitted from his WD AGO Form 53-55.  He was clearly entitled to wear the decorations and it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records accordingly.

3.  Additionally, the evidence of record clearly shows that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart as a result of wounds he received in action on or about 14 January 1945.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show that he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  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 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, and the Belgian Fourragere; and

	b.  by showing that he was wounded in action on 14 January 1945 and awarded the Purple Heart while serving in the rank of Private First Class (E-3).

BOARD VOTE:  

___fe ___  __kf ____  ___be___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001058712	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/11/08	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000/awards	
2.  61	107.0015/PH	
3  189	110.0000	
4.  1	110.0400	
5.		
6.