| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Walter Avery, Jr. | Analyst |
| Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Curtis L. Greenway | Member | |
| Mr. Ronald J. Weaver | Member |
2. The applicant, who is the sister of the former service member (FSM), requests that he be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).
3. The applicant states that the FSM was fatally injured in battle and was awarded the Silver Star posthumously. He was a sergeant in the infantry and should be eligible for the CIB and the BSM.
4. In support of her request, the applicant submits a copy of the general orders awarding the FSM the Silver Star, his Report of Death, a news article describing the action that resulted in him being award the Silver Star and a copy of the Authorization for Issuance of Awards (DA Form 1577), reflecting the awards issued in 2000 and 2002 at the request of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
5. The FSM’s military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the NPRC. Information herein is derived from the documents provided by the applicant.
6. The FSM was born on 11 November 1915 and entered active duty on 11 March 1943. He was promoted to sergeant and during his service in the European Theater of Operations was assigned to an armored infantry company in the 1st Armored Division. He was wounded in action in Italy on 2 September 1944, and died as a result of those wounds on 4 September 1944.
7. His awards as shown on DA Form 1577, include the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star, the World War II Victory Medal and the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button. Based on the limited documents available, it appears that the FSM is entitled to all of the foregoing awards.
8. General Orders Number 88, Headquarters First Armored Division, dated 20 October 1944, awarded the FSM the Silver Star posthumously. These orders indicate that the FSM was an infantry sergeant at the time he was seriously wounded. The FSM’s Report of Death also shows his arm or service as infantry and, the local newspaper clipping recounting his exploits in winning the Silver Star, indicates that at the time he was wounded, he was serving in an armored infantry company.
9. A staff member of the Board contacted the sister of the FSM, to clarify if the Board had a proper applicant. The Report of Death indicated the FSM had a wife. The sister stated the FSM's wife remarried and has died. She also stated that she had just received the medals for her brother in a recent ceremony and was quite impressed with them. In fact, the medals are nicer than the ones she received for her husband.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for the CIB, an individual must be an infantryman with an infantry military occupational specialty and must perform primary duty as an infantryman, as a member of an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period in which that unit was engaged in ground combat. Battle participation credit alone is not sufficient.
11. Subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the BSM was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the CIB for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Since separation documents are not issued in death cases and the FSM records are not available, it is not possible to establish precisely whether the FSM held an infantry military occupational specialty. However, there is no question that he was involved in direct combat with the enemy and, as pointed out in the general orders awarding him the Silver Star, he was an infantry sergeant doing what infantry soldiers do in wartime, albeit, to a degree beyond that that expected of most. It would appear therefore, based on the circumstantial information available, that the FSM was an infantry sergeant performing infantry duties in a hostile environment and thereby met the standards required for award of the CIB.
2. Furthermore, since the FSM is entitled to the CIB, he is also entitled to the BSM based on the revised criteria for awarding that medal to World War II holders of the CIB. Unfortunately, because of the loss of the FSM’s records, it can not be determined if he is entitled to any awards other than those mentioned above and those already issued via the DA Form 1577.
3. 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 be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the CIB and the BSM (based on award of the CIB) in recognition of his service during World War II and that his records be corrected accordingly.
BOARD VOTE:
___mhm_ ____rjw__ ____clg _ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
__________Melvin H. Meyer_________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002074662 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020204 |
| 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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A Report of Death issued by the War Department on 7 May 1944 confirms the FSM entered active duty in the Army on 17 April 1943. Paragraph 8-24 of the awards regulation contains guidance on United States Army Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badges. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding him the Purple Heart, for being killed in action on 7 October 1944, while serving in the ETO; b. awarding him the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2003 | 2003087796C070212
The applicant requests, in effect that his father, a deceased former service member (FSM) be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Bronze Star Medal based on the CIB. The WD AGO 32-1, Report of Death, shows that the FSM, who entered active duty on 25 March 1944 was killed in action on 18 November 1944 He had served as an infantryman in Europe. Department of the Army (DA) Forms 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards) show that he was considered eligible for the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100010461
A review of hospital admission data in the SGO files did not reveal any records indicating the FSM received a shrapnel wound to his knee or that he was otherwise wounded as a result of enemy action. The newspaper clipping shows the FSM was entitled to wear the insignia for the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque (later renamed the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC)) and was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, and five battle stars. The applicant's...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140007535
The applicant states the FSM sustained a concussion injury while serving in combat in France in December 1944. There are no documents in the reconstructed NPRC record that indicate the FSM was ever recommended for or awarded the PH by proper authority while serving on active duty. Accordingly, items 32 and 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected at this time to reflect these campaigns and awards.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002073645C070403
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. These orders show that, as a member of the 18th Infantry Regiment, the FSM was authorized award of the bronze arrowhead to be worn on his EAME Campaign Medal for participation in the assault landing on the coast of France on 6 June 1944. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090002526
The evidence includes orders awarding the FSM the BSM 1st Oak Leaf Cluster (2nd Award) for heroism on 13 and 14 December 1944 in Germany, and a letter from the Commanding General, Army Service Forces, which confirmed the FSM's eligibility for the CMB and directed he be issued this award. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 by deleting the current list of awards and...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 20040002058C070208
Powers | |Member | The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. The applicant requests, in effect, that the WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) of his deceased father, hereafter known as the former service member (FSM), be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart (PH). Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) indicates that the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080012076
The applicant requests in effect, that the records of his deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) for valor, the Silver Star (SS), Purple Heart (PH) with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster (2nd Award), and Glider Infantry Badge; to show his eligibility for the French Fourragere, Belgian Fourragere, Netherlands Order of William, Belgium Order of the Day, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard; and that he be issued award certificates for the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090009116
The applicant, the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) of her late husband by adding the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and a "Century Division Rangers Certificate of Proficiency." The evidence further confirms the FSM was receiving combat infantry pay at the time of his separation, which was only authorized to holders of the CIB, as evidenced by the WD Form 372 A...
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