PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           14 May 2002        
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002070307

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was injured during World War II while serving in Ardennes and was taken to a hospital in Brussels.  

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant enlisted on 30 July 1942.  He served as a field lineman in the European Theater of Operations from 29 January 1944 through 3 July 1945 and was honorably discharged on 
3 September 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, “None.”

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  

7.  There are no medical records in the available records.

8.  The applicant received the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, unit awards authorized during World War II.  This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned, the 12th Infantry Regiment, received the Distinguished Unit Citation for actions during the period 16-24 December 1944 by War Department General Order 54-45.  This award is not shown on his discharge document.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows the applicant’s unit received occupation credit for Germany for the period 2 May 1945 to 21 June 1945.  The Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp is not shown on his discharge document. 

11.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows the applicant’s unit was cited twice (7-13 September 1944 and 16-21 December 1944 ) in the Belgian Order of the Day for award of the Belgian Fourragere by Department of the Army General Orders Number 43-50.  This foreign award is not shown on his discharge document.
12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

13.  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 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.  This provision did not go into effect until 10 September 1947 when Change 12 to Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations) was published.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of thirty 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, qualifying 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.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Belgian Fourragere.  The regulation states that it 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 Belgian Fourragere is not automatic but must be by special decree of the Belgian Government.  Persons who were present in only one action are not authorized to wear the Fourragere.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.

2.  The applicant signed his discharge document on 3 September 1945 attesting to the fact that he was not entitled to the Purple Heart and was not wounded in action.  Therefore, there is no evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart to the applicant. 
3.  The applicant received award of the Bronze Star Medal prior to his separation from active duty on 3 September 1945.  After his discharge from the Army, he became entitled to a second award of the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to two awards of the Bronze Star Medal (correctly known as the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster) and correction of his records to shows the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster.

4.  The applicant’s unit received the Distinguished Unit Citation; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this unit citation.

5.  The applicant’s unit received occupation credit for Germany; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Army of Occupation Medal for Germany Clasp.

6.  The applicant’s unit received the Belgian Fourragere; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this foreign award.  

7.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Unit Citation, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp and the Belgian Fourragere. 

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

BOARD VOTE:  

MHM___  KAN____  DPH_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Melvin H. Meyer_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002070307	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020514	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0000	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.