PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 6 June 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001065077


         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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Stanley Kelley		Chairperson
Mr. John t. Meixell		Member
Mr. Thomas E. O’Shaughnessy		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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) to show award of a unit citation, the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp and a second award of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).

3. The applicant states, in effect, that his discharge document does not show his unit citation or the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp. He also contends that he was wounded in action in April 1944. In support of his application, he submits a copy of Headquarters, 34th Infantry Division Special Orders Number 141, dated
29 September 1945; a letter with Subject: Participation in amphibious operation at Anzio, Italy, 22 Jan/44, and award of Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp, dated
14 June 1944; Veterans Administration (VA) Report of Physical Examination, dated 27 January 1948; a medical record, dated 17 July 1944; WD AGO
Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated 10 November 1945; and Form 3103 (Request for Army Information), dated 22 April 1946.

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 that the applicant was inducted on
22 January 1943. He served as a reconnaissance car crewman in the European Theater of Operations from 24 October 1943 through 22 October 1945 and was honorably discharged on 11 November 1945.

5. The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, authenticated in his own hand, does not show a unit citation or the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp as authorized awards. His WD AGO Form 53-55 does show that he was wounded in action on 28 September 1944 in the European Theater of Operations and was awarded the Purple Heart.

6. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, units awards authorized for units which served during World War II. This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned, the 34th Cavalry Reconnaissance, Troop, Mechanized, 34th Infantry Division, did not receive the Distinguished Unit Citation or the Meritorious Unit Commendation during World War II.

7. The applicant provided a copy of Headquarters, 34th Infantry Division General Orders Number 141, dated 29 September 1945, which show the 34th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop received a unit citation for outstanding accomplishment in combat during the period 23 to 30 April 1945 from Bologna to Piacenza, Italy.


8. The applicant provided a letter, dated 14 June 1944, from Headquarters,
53rd Quartermaster Battalion which shows he was awarded the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp for participation in an amphibious operation at Anzio, Italy, on 22 January 1944.

9. The applicant provided a VA Report of Physical Examination, dated
27 January 1948, which shows he reported that his wounds (right knee, left eye and right hand) started in the European Theater of Operations about April 1944.

10. The applicant also provided a partially burned medical record, dated 17 July 1944, which shows he was wounded in action on 17 July 1944 in Italy. He was treated for lacerations to his face and left arm.

11. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, units awards authorized for units which served during World War II. This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned, the 34th Cavalry Reconnaissance, Troop, Mechanized, 34th Infantry Division, was cited for the French Croix de Guerre for actions during the period 1 December 1943 to 31 July 1944 by Department of the Army General Orders 43-50. This foreign award is not shown on his discharge document.

12. Army Regulations Number 600-55, in effect at the time, provided that cognizance would be taken of exceptionally meritorious conduct on the part of members of the Army, even though the act did not warrant the award of a decoration or a recommendation. All commanders were enjoined to recognize any acts or service above the ordinary, by written commendation, amplified by such public announcements as the circumstances may warrant.

13. Department of the Army Technical Manual 12-235 (Enlisted Personnel Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms), in effect at the time, provided that decorations or citations and authority for each will be listed in item 33 (Decorations and Citations) on the WD AGO Form 53-55.

14. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.




15. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the French Fourragere as an approved foreign unit award. The French Fourragere may be awarded by the French Government when a unit has been cited twice for award of the French Croix de Guerre. When a unit is cited twice for the Croix de Guerre, then the colors of the fourragere are red and green. When a unit is cited four times, the colors of the fourragere are yellow and green. Award of the fourragere is not automatic and requires a decree by the French Government, and persons who were only in one action are not authorized to wear the fourragere.

16. 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.

17. The Standard Operating Procedure for Displaying Certain Foreign Unit Awards on Discharge Documents states that the unit citation of the French Croix de Guerre will be made in the “Remarks” block of the appropriate discharge document, not in the awards and decorations block.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. Headquarters, 34th Infantry Division General Orders Number 141, dated
29 September 1945, show the applicant’s unit received a unit citation for outstanding accomplishment in combat during World War II. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of item 33 (Decorations and Citations) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the entry, “34th Division Unit Citation.”

2. Evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp. Therefore, as an exception to regulation, the Board determined that the applicant is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp.

3. The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows one award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 28 September 1944 in the European Theater of Operations.

4. The Board considered the applicant’s contention that he was wounded in action in April 1944. The Board also noted the VA documentation provided in support of this claim. However, medical evidence of record shows the applicant was wounded in action on 17 July 1944 in the European Theater of Operations. Based on this medical evidence, the Board determined that there is sufficient evidence on which to base a second award of the Purple Heart. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show two awards of the Purple Heart.

5. The applicant’s unit was cited for the French Croix de Guerre. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of item 55 (Remarks) on his WD AGO Form
53-55 to show the entry, “French Croix de Guerre – Unit Citation – No Emblem Authorized.”

6. In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:

         a. by deleting the entry, “Purple Heart GO [General Orders] 104 Hq [Headquarters] 34 Inf Div [Infantry Division] 7 Oct 44 [October 1944]” in item
33 (Decorations and Citations) on the WD AGO Form 53-55 of the individual concerned;

         b. by adding the entries, “34th Division Unit Citation GO 141 Hq 34 Inf Div 29 Sep 45”, “Fifth Army Plaque and Clasp” and “Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster” in item 33 on the WD AGO Form 53-55;

         c. by adding the entry, “17 July 1944 European Theater of Operations” in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and

         d. by adding the entry, “French Croix de Guerre – Unit Citation – No Emblem Authorized” in item 55 (Remarks) on his WD AGO Form 53-55.









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

---

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001065077
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20020606
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.0015
2.	107.0000
3.
4.
5.
6.