IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 24 March 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150012312 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x___ ____x____ ___x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 24 March 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150012312 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR's decision in Docket Number AR20140000098, dated 19 August 2014, for correction of the records of the individual concerned. _______ _ _x______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 24 March 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150012312 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant, spouse of a former service member (FSM) who passed away after submitting his first application, requests reconsideration of the FSM's earlier request to correct his WD AGO 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) to show: * his induction date as 10 June 1944 instead of 11 June 1945 * award of the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge for his combat service in Europe during World War II 2. The applicant states, in effect: a. Her husband passed away on 26 August 2014. She received the Board's decision after this date. She contends he almost lost his life defending his country, and she is determined to ensure his military record is made right. b. She and her husband knew each other for many decades. In all those years, he never spoke of his service during World War II. It was not until a Veterans' group was established at their retirement community that he began to share his experiences. c. She heard his story for the first time during an interview done by one of the officers from the Veterans' group. She knows her husband was not a liar and did not have an imaginative mind to fabricate stories. He was also not a reader of books, apart from subjects which were technical, as he was an engineer. d. He worked 43 years at a steel mill, and he and his workers successfully attempted things never done before. He was a gentleman, as well as a man of integrity and fairness. e. He never pursued getting his military records corrected. She is not sure why, but perhaps he just sought to shut out those memories. She is assuming all documentation needed is available in his records, but should the Board require anything, she would be glad to forward it. f. She includes emails sent to their Congressional representative in 2013, which show two pictures of the FSM at the station hospital at IGMR (likely referring to Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in PA) during his recuperation from shrapnel wounds sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. g. In late September 1944, he was flown to Luxembourg for additional training. By this point, he had completed basic combat training (BCT) and INGP training. He joined the 110th Regimental Combat Team of the 28th Infantry on 10 December while it was in Clervaux, Luxembourg. He fought under Colonel F and shared a foxhole with his squad leader, Sergeant MH (these are names he remembered, and were not dreamt up). Additionally, it is well-known Marlene Dietrich was to have performed as part of a United Services Organization (USO) show. The show was cancelled because of the "rumblings of German tanks." h. The FSM's unit launched its attack on 16 December 1944, and the FSM was wounded on 17 December 1944. The medic who treated him thought the wound was not serious and sent the FSM back to the battle. The wound proved to be more serious than first thought, however. At the field hospital, shrapnel was discovered to be within two inches of his heart. The FSM was airlifted to the U.S. for surgery. i. The pictures in the email were found by his sister and, written on one of the pictures was the date 11 April 1945. Given the date of the picture, and the fact it showed him in military medical pajamas, it would have been impossible for him to have enlisted in the Army on 11 June 1945 (as stated on his WD AGO Form 53-55). j. On the Honorable Discharge document she received from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), it has a serial number of xx-xxx-976 on one line, then xx-xx-076 on another. Additionally, it lists his eye color as brown, but his eyes were actually hazel. Mistakes are made and, she implies, information shown on his discharge was entered in error. 3. The applicant provides: * marriage certificate * death certificate * email from the FSM, dated 30 September 2013 CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the FSM's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20140000098, dated 19 August 2014. 2. The applicant provides new arguments which were not previously considered. The new arguments warrant consideration by the Board. 3. The FSM's complete military and medical records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. The case is being considered using his WD AGO Form 53-55, NPRC reconstructed records, and documents provided by the applicant and those previously submitted by the FSM. 4. The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows: * he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 June 1945 * his military occupational specialty was 405 (Clerk Typist) * he had no service outside the continental United States * he was not credited with any battle or campaign credit * he did not receive any awards and decorations * he did not receive any wounds in action * he was assigned to the 1325th Services Command Unit * he was credited with 2 months and 28 days of service * he was honorably discharged on 9 September 1945 under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-369 (Enlisted Men – Discharge – Inaptitude or Unsuitability) 5. A WD AGO Form 371 (Final Payroll Worksheet) shows the FSM’s enlistment, induction, or call to active duty date as 11 June 1945. 6. The applicant provides: a. An email, dated 30 September 2013, sent by the FSM to a member of his Congressional Representative's staff, which included two pictures identified as the FSM wearing military medical pajamas. The email essentially stated: * the two pictures were taken near the end of his 4 months as a patient in an Army hospital * he asked for the location records confirming his stay at the Army hospital, as well those which could validate his participation in the Battle of the Bulge * he also asked to find out the location of records which would show he completed BCT at a camp in AR and specialized training at Indiantown Gap, PA b. An email from the FSM, dated 16 October 2013, to the member of his Congressional Representative's staff, which stated, in effect: * the FSM had been asked to write a statement, but he was not sure what else he could furnish beyond what had been written by Mr. BT's request for the applicant's award of a Bronze Star Medal * the picture he sent earlier was dated April 1945, proving the dates listed on his Honorable Discharge Certificate were wrong * the form also stated (incorrectly by implication) he was assigned to a service company prior to his discharge REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 345-470 (Military Records - Discharge Certificate), in effect at the time, stated an Honorable Discharge Certificate was issued when service has been honest and faithful, and a character of "Good," "Very Good," or "Excellent" has been given. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. a. The Combat Infantryman Badge was established during World War II to provide special recognition of the unique role of the Army infantryman, the only Soldier whose daily mission is to close with and destroy the enemy and to seize and hold terrain. (1) The badge was intended as an inducement for individuals to join the infantry while serving as a morale booster for infantrymen. In developing the Combat Infantryman Badge, the War Department did not dismiss or ignore the contributions of other branches. Their vital contributions to the overall war effort were noted, but it was decided that other awards and decorations were sufficient to recognize their contributions. (2) From the beginning, Army leadership has taken care to retain the badge for the unique purpose for which it was established. The War Department received requests to award the Combat Infantryman Badge to non-infantry individuals and units employed as infantry during tactical emergencies. All of those requests were disapproved based on the fact that the regular infantryman lived, slept, ate, and fought as an infantryman on a continuous and indefinite basis without regard to the tactical situation. b. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service not involving participation in aerial flight in connection with military operations against an armed enemy or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required. c. 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 for award of the Bronze Star Medal. Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II. DISCUSSION: 1. The FSM's complete military and medical records are not available to the Board for review, and were apparently destroyed in the 1973 fire at NPRC. As such, apart from a WD AGO Form 53-55, there is no other documentation which would support the applicant's contentions the FSM served earlier than what is shown and that he was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. 2. The applicant's sincerity is not in question. Rather, to support the requested relief, the Board must have verifiable documentary evidence. Sadly, no such evidence appears to exist. While details of his service do not survive, he nonetheless received an honorable discharge, suggesting he played an important role in the war effort during World War II. The lack of evidence in no way diminishes those contributions. 3. Based on the foregoing, there does not appear to be sufficient evidence to grant the requested relief. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150008694 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150012312 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2