PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:      
	

	BOARD DATE:           10 December 1998
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC97-07307


	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.  



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 Prisoner of War Medal and a second award of the Bronze Star Medal (correctly known as the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster). 

3.  The applicant states that, in effect, he was a German prisoner of war from
6 June 1944 to 26 June 1944.  He also contends he has been unable to confirm authorization for award of the second Bronze Star Medal.  In support of his application, he submits copies of documentation pertaining to his quest for the Prisoner of War Medal, a 27 July 1944 War Department letter reporting him missing in action on 9 June 1944, a 29 July 1944 newspaper article, two Western Union telegrams and a copy of a Certificate of Merit.

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 the applicant enlisted on
14 September 1942.  He served in the European-African-Middle-Eastern Theater from 15 September 1943 until 6 September 1945 and was separated with an honorable discharge on 19 September 1945. 

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge), which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Prisoner of War Medal or the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster as authorized awards.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 does show award of the Bronze Star Medal (per 101st Airborne Division General Orders Number 110, dated 1945) and the Combat Infantryman Badge as authorized awards. 

6.  Informal coordination with the Awards Branch of the Total Army Personnel Command revealed that 101st Airborne Division General Orders Number 110, dated 1945, awarded the applicant the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in France for the period 6 June 1944 through 31 December 1944.  

7.  The applicant provided a copy of a War Department letter, dated 27 July 1944, which reported him missing in action in France on 9 June 1944.  A Western Union telegram, dated 3 August 1944, reports the applicant was returned to duty on 29 June 1944.  An undated Western Union telegram from the applicant to his wife shows “AM WELL DON’T WORRY LETTER FOLLOWS ALL MY LOVE TO YOU BOTH DEVOTEDLY YOURS”.  There is no evidence of record that shows that applicant was a prisoner of war.  Informal coordination with the Prisoner of War Branch of the Total Army Personnel Command revealed that the applicant’s name is not on the Prisoner of War Roster.
      
8.  The applicant provided an undated Certificate of Merit for recognition of conspicuously meritorious and outstanding performance of military duty during the Normandy Campaign, operation in Holland and defense of Bastogne, Belgium.  This Certificate of Merit was signed by a major general who was the Commander of the 101st Airborne Division.
 
9.  101st Airborne Division General Orders Number 218, dated 30 November 1945, awarded the Belgian Fourragere and the Dutch Orange Lanyard (correctly known as the Netherlands Orange Lanyard) to the applicant.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states that the Prisoner of War Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

11.  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.

12.  Paragraph 1-23 of Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that awards of certain decorations as authorized in this regulation or later will be made on the basis of existing letters, citations, and/or orders.  The decorations which may be awarded under this provision are: the Purple Heart and the Silver Star to qualifying service members who served during World War I; the Bronze Star Medal to individual members of the Armed Forces who were cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose meritorious achievement was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947; and the Army Commendation Medal to any individual commended after 6 December 1941 and before 1 January 1946 in a letter, certificate, or order of commendation signed by an officer in the grade or position of major general or higher. 

13.  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.

14.  In a 28 March 1983 letter, the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center published the policy regarding awards of the French Croix de Guerre to U.S. Army veterans who had served in World War I and World War II.  Essentially, this guidance states that there is no individual emblem presented to or worn by Army soldiers who were in a unit cited by the French Government for the Croix de Guerre.  Thus, former members of any American units which appear in Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register) are not authorized an individual device.  This is also true of the Belgian Citation in the Order of the Day and the Netherlands Military Order of William.  As a result, the only European foreign unit awards which a former Army service member may wear are the French Fourragere, the Belgian Fourragere and the Netherlands Orange Lanyard.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The preponderance of evidence shows the applicant was missing in action in France on 9 June 1994 until 19 June 1944.  There is no evidence available to the Board which shows the applicant was taken prisoner or held captive in Germany. Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Prisoner of War Medal.

2.  The applicant was authorized the Combat Infantryman Badge for service in World War II and is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal based on this award.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show award of the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

3.  Based on the applicant’s Certificate of Merit, the Board awarded the Army Commendation Medal.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show award of the Army Commendation Medal.

4.  The applicant was awarded the Belgian Fourragere and the Netherlands Orange Lanyard; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show award of these awards.

5.  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 Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Commendation Medal and the Belgian Fourragere and the Netherlands Orange Lanyard. 



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

BOARD VOTE:  

JHL_____  JMA____  SK______  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION




		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AC97-07307/AR1998012513
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
19981210
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
19450919
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(GRANT)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.00
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.