| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy Amos | Analyst |
| Mr. George D. Paxson | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Deborah S. Jacobs | Member | |
| Mr. Ronald E. Blakely | Member |
2. The applicant requests that he be awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM).
3. The applicant states that he served in Lebanon from August – October 1958 during Operation Bluebat.
4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973. Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.
5. The applicant entered the Army on 5 December 1956. He provides a post card postmarked 26 July 1958 from APO 379. The return address is 545th Signal (Detachment) (201). The applicant informs his parents that he had not received any mail for one week, since they left France. The applicant was released from active duty on 28 November 1958.
6. The Military Postal Service Agency verified that in July 1958 APO 379 was Beirut, Lebanon.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the AFEM for service in authorized U. S. military operations. U. S. operations in direct support of the United Nations, and U. S. operations of assistance for friendly foreign nations. It is authorized for service in Lebanon from 1 July to 1 November 1958.
8. A search of the historical files of the 545th Signal Support Detachment, located at the National Archives, College Park, MD, failed to locate any historical documentation pertaining to those assigned to the Detachment during the period 1 July – 1 November 1958.
9. The “Leavenworth Papers,” a series of historical studies undertaken by the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College’s Combat Studies Institute, in January 1981 examined the American intervention in Lebanon in 1958 (Operation Bluebat). The study noted that the “airstream bearing Army Task Force 201’s Force Alpha towards Lebanon began with takeoff on 16 July 1958. Force Charlie was the second group scheduled to leave. Force Charlie was a congeries of support units which had been cast into a provisional structure styled the “201st Logistics Command.” The elements of Force Charlie were scattered around Europe and were to deploy from Furstenfeldbruck Airfield in Germany and Chateauroux and Evreux Air Bases in France. Appendix 3 of the study listed a “Sig Sup 545th” unit as being part of the Force Charlie, Army Task Force 201 Airlift Configuration.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. While there are no official records available, the Board believes that the post card provided by the applicant along with the available information on Operation Bluebat provide sufficient evidence to resolve any reasonable doubt as to the applicant’s deployment to Lebanon in his favor. Accepting this evidence as sufficient, the Board finds that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for award of the AFEM.
2. 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 showing the applicant is eligible for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal based upon his deployment to Lebanon in July 1958.
BOARD VOTE:
__gdp___ __dsj___ __reb___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
George D. Paxson
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR200161858 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020326 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0072 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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