| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. Stanley Kelley | Chairperson | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member | |
| Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy | Member |
2. The applicant requests that he be awarded the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Purple Heart (PH), the WWII Victory Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), the Meritorious Unit Citation (MUC), and the Combat Medic Badge (CMB).
3. The applicant states that he was a medic, was wounded, and was captured by the Germans. He believes his unit was awarded the MUC and, possibly, the PUC.
4. In support of his request he submits a telegram sent to his parents by the Secretary of War informing them that he had been missing in action since 23 March 1945. He also submits letters from The Adjutant General of the Army, his unit’s commander, the Georgia Adjutant General, and the Governor of Georgia reference his missing in action status.
5. The applicant’s military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository in 1973. The following information was derived from documents submitted by the applicant, himself.
6. He was inducted on active duty on 30 September 1942, was awarded the military occupational specialty of light truck driver, and was promoted to private first class. He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) theater from 6 August 1944 to 15 June 1945. While serving in the EAME theater, the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement. In the award write-up it was stated that “While performing duties as ambulance driver, [the applicant] rendered outstanding service during prolonged action against the enemy. Working tirelessly, he evacuating many wounded men from forward positions despite frequent enemy artillery and mortar fire.”
7. The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 27 October 1945. His separation document shows that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the EAME Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button. Item 34 of his separation document, Wounds received in action, has “None” entered. Item 32 of that document, Battles and Campaigns, has the Rhineland, Central France, and Northern France campaigns listed. Also given to the applicant at the time of his separation was a Separation Qualification Record. In that document it was stated that the applicant “Drove jeeps, 2 ½ ton trucks and ambulance as a member of 319 Battalion, Medical Corps. Hauled sick and wounded from forward first aid station to collection station . . . Was captured in Germany and held prisoner 32 days until released by United States Troops.”
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides the guidance for Army awards and decorations. In this regulation several awards and decorations are provided specifically for service during WWII which were enacted subsequent to the demobilization of WWII. These WWII specific provisions include award of the WWII Victory Medal which is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button.
9. Another retroactive provision of law, although not specific to WWII, is the award of the POW Medal. The governing regulation states that while the POW Medal was authorized by law on 8 November 1985, its provisions are retroactive and applies to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 also authorizes the American Campaign Medal to be awarded for service in the American Theater (continental limits of the United States) between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946 for an aggregate period of at least one year.
11. This regulation also provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
12. This regulation also provides that the CMB 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. Battle participation credit is not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy.
13. Paragraph 6-8 of this regulation states that a bronze service star is awarded for each campaign which a soldier has participated in.
14. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register, shows that the applicant’s unit, Company C, 319th Medical Battalion, was not given any unit awards during WWII.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. While the telegram and letters submitted by the applicant confirm he was missing in action, they do not, in themselves, verify that he was a POW. However, the fact that the applicant’s Separation Qualification Record states that he was a POW, in conjunction with those letters and telegram, is considered sufficient evidence to award him the POW Medal.
2. Also, the applicant was stationed in the continental United States for almost two years. As such, he was entitled to the American Campaign Medal.
3. Since the applicant served in three campaigns, he is entitled to three bronze service stars to his EAME Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.
4. However, there is no evidence to support the applicant’s contention that he was wounded in action. As such, he is not entitled to the PH.
5. As for his request for a CMB, his records show that he was serving as an ambulance driver, not a medic. Therefore, he was not entitled to the CMB.
6. Finally, since the applicant’s unit was not given any unit awards, there is no basis to grant his request for the MUC and PUC.
7. 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 WWII Victory Medal, the POW Medal, three bronze service stars to his EAME Campaign Medal, and the American Campaign Medal.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__sk____ ___jtm_ ____teo___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
_________Stanley Kelley_____________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001064432 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020606 |
| 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. |
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