MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


         IN THE CASE OF:
        


         BOARD DATE: 26 July 2001
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001055896

         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson
Mr. Hubert O. Fry		Member
Mr. Eric N. Anderson		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

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APPLICANT REQUESTS: That his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, be corrected to show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

APPLICANT STATES: That the VA will not determine his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to be service connected because his discharge papers show his military occupational specialty (MOS) as “Finance Clerk 624” and his only awards as the Army Good Conduct Medal and the American Defense Service Ribbon. His MOS may have been Finance Clerk, but during the Ardennes campaign and the Battle of the Bulge everybody became an infantryman. The evidence he provides (as listed on the attachment to the DD Form 149) shows that he was eligible for the BSM and the CIB.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973. The information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant was inducted and entered active service on 20 January 1941. He was apparently assigned to the 5^th Infantry Division which landed in Iceland in late 1941. The Division moved to England in the summer of 1943 and to France around July 1944. He departed the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 23 August 1945 and separated on 2 September 1945. His WD AGO 53-55 shows that his MOS was finance clerk and that he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe campaigns.

On 21 December 1975, a lieutenant colonel, retired recommended the applicant for award of the BSM in connection with military operations against the enemy during the period 1 December 1944 to 1 May 1945. The recommendation cited his work as a key member of the 5^th Infantry Division Finance Office. Due to the applicant’s vast knowledge and wide experience in the Army finance field, and under arduous and debilitating field conditions, his section was able to carry out its functions efficiently and punctually.

Apparently as a result of this recommendation, on 31 January 1977 the Reserve Components Personnel and Administration Center (RCPAC) authorized issuance of the BSM to the applicant. There is no evidence that an award approval authority acted upon the recommendation or that orders were issued awarding him the BSM. On 7 December 1989, the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN, formerly RCPAC) prepared a BSM certificate for the applicant. The citation reads “For meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy during World War II…”

Apparently as a result of this certificate, on 30 August 1990 ARPERCEN authorized issuance of the CIB to the applicant. There is no evidence that orders were issued awarding him the CIB.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. In pertinent part, it states that the CIB 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. The badge was intended as an inducement for individuals to join the infantry while serving as a morale booster for infantrymen. In developing the CIB, 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. From the beginning, Army leadership have taken care to retain the badge for the unique purpose for which it was established. There are basically three requirements for award of the CIB. The soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and must actively participate in such ground combat.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded in time of war for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required. Recommendations must be made within 2 years of the event or period of service and the award must be made within 3 years.

Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1130 (formerly known as section 522 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996) provides that the Service concerned will review a proposal for the award of, or upgrading of, a decoration that would not otherwise be authorized to be awarded based upon time limitations previously established by law. A separate DA Form 638, Recommendation for Award, must be submitted for each award. The unit, the period of assignment, and the award being recommended must be clearly identified. A narrative of the actions or period for which recognition is requested must accompany the DA Form 638. Requests for consideration of awards should be supported by sworn affidavits, eyewitness statements, certificates and related documents. Corroborating evidence is best provided by commanders, leaders and fellow comrades who had personal knowledge of the circumstances and events relative to the request.
The law also requires that a request for award not previously submitted in a timely fashion will only be considered under this provision if the request has been referred to the Service Secretary from a Member of Congress. The burden and costs for researching and assembling documentation to support approval of requested awards and decorations rests with the requestor. The request should be sent, through the Member of Congress, to: Commander, U. S. Total Army Personnel Command, ATTN: TAPC-PDO-PA (Awards Branch), Room 3S67, Hoffman II, 200 Stovall Street, Alexandria, VA 22332-0400.
Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides for the award of the BSM to members of the armed forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy. A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat.

Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/Records) prescribes the policies governing the Official Military Personnel File, the Military Personnel Records Jacket, the Career Management Individual File, and Army Personnel Qualification Records. In pertinent part, this regulation states that for U. S. military decorations the only acceptable source documentation is the order, letter, or memorandum which awards the decoration. Award certificates, citations, or separation certificates alone will not be the basis for entry of a decoration.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. The Board notes that the applicant was authorized issuance of the BSM and the CIB but there is no evidence to show that he was either awarded these awards or entitled to award of them.

2. There is no evidence, i. e., approval of the BSM recommendation or orders awarding the applicant the BSM, to show that the recommendation of the BSM was ever acted upon and approved. The citation in the certificate prepared by ARPERCEN bears no resemblance to the justification in the recommendation.

3. It appears that award of the CIB was based upon the erroneous wording of the BSM certificate. It is normally the other way around – the BSM is awarded based upon award the CIB or of a certificate for ground combat against an armed enemy. In any case, the applicant was not an infantryman and so was not entitled to award of the CIB. The Board is cognizant of the fact that the majority of the soldiers involved in the Ardennes campaign or the Battle of the Bulge performed as infantryman. However, it was only as a temporary expedient to hold territory/Allied positions the Germans were attempting to overrun. It was not the applicant’s daily mission to close with and destroy the enemy and to seize and hold terrain; it was his mission at that time to survive until conditions stabilized and he could return to his normal duties as a finance clerk.

4. The Board cannot and would not take actions to take away what medals the applicant was already issued no matter the mistaken conditions under which they were presented to him. However, neither will the Board amend his WD AGO 53-55 to add awards to which he is not entitled.

5. As regards the BSM, the applicant may take the steps under Title 10, U. S. Code, section 1130 as outlined above to resubmit his BSM recommendation and have it officially acted upon.

6. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__rvo___ __hof___ __ena___ DENY APPLICATION

                  Carl W. S. Chun
                  Director, Army Board for Correction
of Military Records

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001055896
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20010726
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.0014
2.	107.0013
3.
4.
5.
6.