PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            8 June 2000       
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999033021

	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. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Chairperson	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Member	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		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 Bronze Star Medal be validated by adding it to his separation document.  He notes that he received a Bronze Star Medal based on his Combat Medical Badge but the award was never annotated on his separation document.  In support of his request he submits a DD Form 1577 (authorization for issuance of awards) which notes "the oak leaf cluster to the Bronze Start Medal is based on the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge."

3.  The applicant's records were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information contained herein was reconstructed entirely from documents provided by the applicant, including a copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate.

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 15 November 1943 and was assigned to the European Theater of Operations in August 1944.  His separation report indicates he was assigned to a medical detachment of the 175th Infantry Regiment and performed duties as a clerk typist.  The report also notes that the applicant was awarded a "medical badge."  Item 41 (service schools attended) on the separation report notes the applicant attended a Medical Technician Course at O'Rielly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri.  He returned to the United States in March 1946 and on 23 March 1946 was honorably discharged as a result of demobilization.  His separation document does not reflect entitlement to any Bronze Star Medals.

5.  In March 1993, based on a request from the applicant, officials at the Army Reserve Personnel Center authorized the U.S. Army Support Activity in Philadelphia to issue the applicant a Bronze Star Medal and a Combat Medical Badge.  The remark's section of the form, however, contains a comment that "the Oak Leaf Cluster to the Bronze Star Medal is based on the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge."  Recently, officials from the Board's support activity in St. Louis questioned the applicant's entitlement to not only the Bronze Star Medal authorization but to his Combat Medical Badge as well, noting that the applicant's separation document indicated he was a clerk typist.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Medical Badge is awarded to medical department personnel (colonels and below) who are assigned or attached to a medical unit of company or smaller size that is organic to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size which is engaged in active ground combat.  

7.  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's separation document confirms he attended a medical technicians course, was assigned to a medical element of an infantry unit, served nearly two years in the combat theater, and was awarded the Combat Medical Badge during his tour of duty in the Army.  The fact that his separation document indicates he performed duties as a clerk typist may merely indicate that he was performing those duties at the time he was separated.  It does not necessarily indicate that he did not perform duties as a medical specialist at some point during his nearly two year tour overseas.  His award of the Combat Medical Badge is sufficient to conclude that his chain of command believed he was entitled to the badge, and the Board sees no reason to question his entitlement to the badge at this point.

2.  The 1993 authorization for issuance of the Bronze Star Medal was clearly based on the applicant's entitlement to the Combat Medical Badge.  It is apparent that officials at the Army Reserve Personnel Center likely used a standardized form for issuing his awards and merely forgot to correct the remark's section to reflect that the Bronze Star Medal was based on the Combat Medical Badge.  This conclusion is supported by the fact that there is no oak leaf cluster authorized for issuance on the form, only the basic medal.

3.  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 by validating the applicant's entitlement to the Combat Medical Badge and a 

Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Medical Badge and by correcting his separation report to reflect entitlement to the Bronze Star Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

___slp__  ___lem__  __aao___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999033021	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000608	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Grant	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.