PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            15 March 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999031796

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		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 records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) and the Purple Heart (PH) 

3.  The applicant states that he was awarded the BSM and the PH and they were never included on his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55).  In support of his application he submits a copy of his BSM certificate and contends that although he was awarded the PH, he cannot locate a copy of the certificate.  He also submits an incomplete copy of a letter from the Adjutant General’s Office dated 19 August 1949 indicating that he was awarded the BSM based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). 

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri which destroyed millions of service records.  However, records obtained from alternate sources show that he was inducted in San Francisco, California on 7 October 1942.

5.  He served as a scout in the European-African-Middle-Eastern Theater (EAMET) of Operation from 8 June 1944 to 15 August 1945 and served in the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, and Rhineland campaigns.  

6.  He served until he was honorably discharged on 25 November 1945 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the EAMET Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the Distinguished Unit Badge, the Bronze Arrowhead, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp, the French Forragere, the Belgian Forragere, the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and the WWII Victory Medal.  It also indicates that he received no wounds in combat.

7.  A review of medical records obtained from the Department of Veterans Affairs which included his separation physical, failed to reveal that the applicant was ever wounded or injured in combat or that he was treated or admitted to the hospital for any such injury. 

8.  A review of the BSM Certificate submitted by the applicant shows that it was awarded on 22 August 1949 for meritorious achievement in ground operations against the enemy in the EAMET of operations on 6 June 1944.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 (CIB) 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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant has shown through the evidence submitted that he was awarded the BSM subsequent to his discharge for meritorious service during WWII based on his award of the CIB.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to add the awards to his records at this time.

2.  Although the applicant’s records were destroyed, it is reasonable to presume that at the time the Adjutant General’s Office awarded the BSM to the applicant, there was an award of the CIB in his records and that an administrative error resulted in it being omitted from his separation documents at the time of his discharge.  Accordingly, it would be appropriate to add the CIB to his records at this time as well.

3.  However, the applicant has failed to show through the evidence submitted with his application or the evidence of record that he was wounded in action against the enemy or that he was ever awarded the PH.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, there is no basis to award him the PH or to show such an award on his records. 

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected 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 BSM and the CIB.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___mkp _  ___rvo___  __vbc___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999031796	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/03/15	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  60	107.0014	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.