PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           18 April 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064134

	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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		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 his discharge document (WD AGO Form 53-55) be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action and spent 4 months in hospitals in Belgium.

4.  The applicant’s military records were badly damaged in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Nevertheless, they are somewhat usable.   They show that he was inducted on 30 May 1944 and was discharged due to demobilization on 11 June 1946.  His authorized awards included the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star (for the Rhineland Campaign), the Meritorious Unit Award, and the Marksman Qualification Badge with Rifle and Machine Gun Bars. 

5.  Page 6 of his original personnel record book shows that he was lightly wounded in action in Zweifall, Germany on 3 December 1944, when he sustained a concussion.

6.  General Orders Number 22, Headquarters 22nd Infantry Division, dated 4 October 1945 awarded the applicant the Combat Infantryman Badge.

7.  War Department letter orders dated 29 April 1947 awarded him the Purple Heart.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose such achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant has been awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge after his discharge; however, they should now be displayed on his discharge document.

2.  The applicant is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge and this, too, should be shown on his discharge document.
3.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by amending the WD AGO 53-55 of the individual concerned to show that, in addition to the awards and qualifications already listed, he is authorized the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
 
BOARD VOTE:  

_FNE___  __BJE___  ___REB__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_      Fred N. Eichorn__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064134	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020418	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.