MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


         IN THE CASE OF:



         BOARD DATE: 17 JULY 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002078273

         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson
Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member
Mr. John T. Meixell		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

---

APPLICANT REQUESTS: In effect, that his record be corrected to show that he was promoted to the grade of corporal in May 1945 and that he be awarded a Silver Star.

APPLICANT STATES: He was told he was being promoted but “was never filed as corporal” and that he was also told he was being awarded the Silver Star. In support of his request he submits a statement, rendered in April 1997, from an individual who stated that he had promoted the applicant to corporal “about the latter part of May in 1945” but the “papers never reached” the applicant. That same individual authored a statement recommending the applicant for award of the Silver Star. The author of the statement indicated that he was “trying to resolve the problem of my awarding the silver star and promotion to corporal to [the applicant].”

EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources, including information provided by the applicant.

The applicant’s separation document indicates that he entered active duty on
9 March 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 6 February 1945. In March 1945 he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and in May 1946 he departed Europe for the United States. He arrived in the United States on 6 June 1946 and on 8 July 1946 was honorably discharged from the Army, as a private first class, as a result of demobilization. His original final payment voucher, which was available to the Board, indicated he was paid as a private first class on the day of his separation. His separation document notes that he was promoted to private first class in January 1945. His unit of assignment, at the time of his separation, was reflected as Headquarters Company, 2^nd Battalion, 39^th Infantry. The applicant authenticated his separation document and final payment voucher with his signature.

In the statement recommending the applicant for award of the Silver Star, the author indicated that in April 1945 the applicant volunteered to go with him while he (the author of the statement) attempted to begin securing a German village. The author, who indicated that he was the platoon leader of the 1^st Platoon, 5^th Infantry, 71^st Infantry Division, noted that he (the author) was an exceptionally fast runner and knew that he could cover the distance required to reach a point on the road where he could then “lay down fire on the machine gun as [he] moved [his] platoon to cover at the roadside.” He stated that he told the applicant he could not accompany him because he [the author of the statement] “wanted to offer [a] small target and [he] wanted freedom in deciding where the best cover was for the platoon.” The author continued that when he was “10 to 15 yards into [his] dash to the road, the [enemy] machine gun opened up and the earth around [him] flew into bits and pieces….” He states that he saw movement out the corner of his eye and finally saw that the applicant had moved into an open pasture and was “laying down a deadly fire” on the enemy machine gun location. The author stated that by the time he hit the ground there was nothing to fire at and that the machine gun fire had stopped “as well as the mortars and ack-ack.” He states that he was unsure how many rounds the applicant has fired at the machine gun nest, but maintains that had it not been for the applicant’s disregard for his own safety and exposing “himself to an unlimited amount of enemy fire and made himself a stationary target for any sniper machine gun or mortar” his [the author’s] life may have been lost. He notes that the applicant “helped to create a safe situation for the platoon to move into and secure that village.”

The applicant’s congressional representative forwarded the recommendation for award of the Silver Star to officials at the United States Total Army Personnel Command for consideration under the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996. On 21 September 2002 the Army Decorations Board determined that the degree of action and service rendered did not meet the strict criteria for the proposed award. Based on that board’s recommendation, the Commanding General, United States Total Army Personnel Command, on behalf of the Secretary of the Army, disapproved the award of the Silver Star.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Silver Star may be awarded for gallantry in action against the enemy. The required gallantry (spirited and conspicuous acts of heroism and courage) must have been performed with marked distinction.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge. Awards of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge are commonly referred to as conversion awards.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. The Board concurs with the finding and recommendation of the Army Decorations Board in that the applicant’s conduct during the April 1945 action did not meet the stringent standards for award of the Silver Star. The Board notes that the applicant’s recommendation for award of the Silver Star was properly processed to conclusion and there was no evidence any error or injustice which would warrant award of the decoration by this Board.

2. The Board also notes that the applicant served for more than a year after his former commander indicated that he had promoted the applicant to corporal. In the absence of more conclusive evidence, and based on the fact that the applicant authenticated his separation document and final pay vouchers as a private first class, the Board concludes there is insufficient evidence to warrant correcting the applicant’s record to show that he had been promoted to corporal.

3. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that requirement.

4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

NOTE: Officials at the Army Review Boards Agency Support Division in St. Louis are requested to administratively correct the applicant’s separation document to reflect award of the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JHL __ __RKS__ ___JTM__ DENY APPLICATION

                  Carl W. S. Chun
                  Director, Army Board for Correction
of Military Records

---

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002078273
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	20030717
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.00
2.	110.00
3.
4.
5.
6.