| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Jessie B. Strickland | Analyst |
| Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr. | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Thomas B. Redfern | Member | |
| Mr. Donald P. Hupman | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show that he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was serving in the rank and position of acting sergeant when he was wounded in combat in the Philippines on 26 May 1945 and desires to be promoted to that rank. In support of his application he submits a copy of his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) and a letter from a former member of his unit indicating that the applicant was up for a promotion to the rank of sergeant when he was wounded.
4. The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which destroyed millions of service records. However, the WD AGO Form 53-55 provided by the applicant shows that he was inducted in Mandan, North Dakota, on 5 March 1943 and entered active duty at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on 12 March 1943. He successfully completed his training at The Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas and was transferred to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater (APT) of operations on 21 September 1944. He arrived in the APT on 16 October 1944.
5. The available records show that he was assigned to Troop B, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division and that he participated in the Southern Philippines and Luzon Campaigns. He was wounded in action at Luzon, Philippine Islands on 26 May 1945 and was evacuated to the United States on 6 July 1945. He arrived in the United States on 31 July 1945 and was transferred to Winter General Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, where he remained until he was honorably discharged on 31 October 1945, with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge. His records show that he was discharged in the rank of private first class (PFC) and his final payment was in that rank. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the APT Ribbon with two bronze service stars, the World War II (WWII) Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Ribbon, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star, one Overseas Service Bar and the American Theater Ribbon. He had served 2 years, 7 months and 20 days of total active service.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 CIB 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 WW II.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound/injury was a result of hostile action, that the wound/injury must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
8. Army Regulation 624-200 provided the authority for appointment of acting noncommissioned officers (NCO). It provided, in pertinent part, that company, troop, battery and separate detachment commanders may appoint acting corporals and acting sergeants to fill vacancies in their units. Acting NCOs are not entitled to the pay and allowances of such higher grades and service as an acting NCO will not be credited as time in a higher grade for appointment or date of rank purposes. All appointments and the termination of such a status will be announced in orders issued by the appointing authority. Acting NCO status will be terminated at the discretion of the commander who made the appointment, upon reassignment to another unit or upon assignment of a regular appointed NCO to the position. Such appointments do not confer any entitlement to promotion or advancement, at a later date, to the grade in which the individual is acting.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. While the Board does not doubt that the applicant served in an acting NCO capacity while in combat during WWII, such appointments were required to be accomplished in orders and they did not confer any entitlements to that rank at a later date. While that did not preclude commanders from eventually promoting individuals to the grade in which they were acting, the Board finds no evidence in the available records to show that it was the commander’s intent to promote the applicant to either corporal or sergeant.
2. The Board also notes that the passage of time and the lack of the individual’s official records makes it difficult at best to determine what happened in his case. The staff of the Board was able to find a copy of his last payment at the time of his separation and finds that he was separated in the rank of PFC. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Board must presume that he was discharged in his correct rank.
3. However, the Board does find that the available evidence establishes that he was wounded in combat during WWII on 26 May 1945 and that he was subsequently discharged as a result of his wound. Accordingly, he is entitled to be awarded the Purple Heart.
4. Additionally, although the authorization to award members the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) was not enacted until after he separated from the service, there is no evidence to show that he was ever properly awarded the BSM based on his award of the CIB. Therefore, it would also be in the interest of justice to do so at this time.
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 awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat against the enemy on 26 May 1945, and the BSM (conversion award) while serving in the rank of PFC with Troop B of the 12th Cavalry Regiment.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__dh____ ___tbr___ __rvo ___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
_Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr._
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002073640 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2002/11/07 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT PARTIAL |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 61 | 107.0015/PH |
| 2. 60 | 107.0014/BSM |
| 3. 319 | 131.0900/ADV GRD |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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