PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF: .
        

         BOARD DATE: 30 October 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2003087832


         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
Mr. Luis Almodova		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Chairperson
Mr. Ernest W. Lutz		Member
Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		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.

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2. The applicant requests, in effect, that his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge, WD AGO Form 53-55, be corrected to show award of the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal and the Purple Heart.

3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was a prisoner of war from 12 May 1944 until 12 May 1945 and was held in POW Camp 7A The applicant adds that he feels that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart since he was injured by the concussion of a German grenade before he was captured by German soldiers.

4. In support of his application, the applicant submitted a copy of his lifetime membership card to the American Ex-Prisoners of War; a copy of a letter he received from his mother at the POW camp; a copy of a receipt for a prohibited POW parcel being returned; and a statement, dated 22 January 2003, from a fellow soldier who assisted him in getting to the POW camp after they were captured.

5. The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records and from alternate sources.

6. The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted into the Army on 23 January 1943 at Detroit, Michigan. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 4 December 1943 until 17 May 1945. The applicant was honorably discharged at Fort Custer, Michigan, in the rank of Corporal, on 13 November 1945, under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 615-365, for the convenience of the Government at demobilization. He was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Theater Service Medal, the Distinguished Unit Badge [now known as the Presidential Unit Citation], and the Combat Infantryman Badge. The applicant participated in the Rome-Arno and Central Europe Campaigns of World War II. There is no indication in Block 33 (Decorations and Citations), WD AGO Form 53-55, that he received the Purple Heart while he was in service.

7. The applicant states that he was wounded by the concussion from a German grenade. Block 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None." The applicant applied his thumbprint and signed the completed form on his discharge date.

8. The applicant's wartime acquaintance, states that, in effect, after being captured, able-bodied soldiers had to carry some of the wounded soldiers to the German headquarters. The applicant was among the wounded who was not capable of getting there unassisted.

9. There are no medical records available, and the applicant did not provide any, that would indicate that he was wounded and treated for injuries received in action against an armed enemy during World War II.

10. On 14 April 1978, a DA Form 1577, Authorization for Issuance of Awards, was prepared by the Reserve Components Personnel Administration Center, St. Louis, Missouri, authorizing issuance of the Bronze Star Medal to the applicant based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge on 11 May 1944. The badge is shown in Block 31 (Military Qualification and Date) of the Applicant's WD AGO
Form 53-55.

11. On 30 November 1990, an adjudication officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submitted a VA Form 21-3101, Request for Information, to the US Army Reserve Personnel Administration Center, for the verification of POW status. On 28 December 1990, the VA Form 21-3101 was annotated to show that the applicant was a POW from 26 June 1944 to 3 May 1945.

12. An entry is contained in the morning report for Company H, 351st Infantry Regiment, which was stationed at the time in the vicinity of Anzio, Italy, on 31 May 1944, which shows that the applicant and 23 other enlisted personnel and two officers had been declared missing in action as of 13 May 1944 in the vicinity of Santa Maria, Italy.

13. On 25 October 1988, a DA Form 1577, Authorization for Issuance of Awards, was prepared by the US Army Reserve Personnel Center, St. Louis, Missouri, authorizing issuance of the POW Medal to the applicant.

14. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy, between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. The award of a Combat Infantryman Badge is considered as a citation in orders.

15. The POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the US Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive, after 5 April 1917. The POW Medal is to be issued only to those US military personnel who were taken prisoner while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.

16. AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal. It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

17. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register shows that the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre, for the period 1 December 1943 through 31 July 1945, by Department of the Army General Order Number 43, dated 1950. This foreign award is not shown on his discharge document.

18. AR 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.

19. 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The evidence shows that the applicant was a prisoner of war during World War II. He was previously authorized issuance of the POW Medal and he is therefore entitled to have the POW Medal added to his WD AGO Form 53-55 at this time.

2. The applicant was authorized issuance of the Bronze Star Medal based on his being awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. The applicant is therefore entitled to have this award added to his separation document at this time.

3. The applicant served in the Army of the United States honorably from 23 January 1943 until 13 November 1945. He is therefore entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal and to have it added to his separation document at this time.

4. The applicant's wartime acquaintance, in his statement, does not describe the nature of the applicant's wounds and why the applicant was unable to get to the German headquarters on his own.

5. There is no medical documentation and insufficient other evidence, at this time, upon which to base award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.

6. The applicant’s unit, the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, was cited for award of the French Croix de Guerre at the time the applicant was assigned to the unit. 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.”

7. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

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

a. awarding the applicant the World War II Victory Medal and adding this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55,

b. adding the already-authorized Bronze Star Medal and the Prisoner of War Medal to the applicant's separation document, and

         c. awarding the applicant the French Croix de Guerre and 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, that the applicant be awarded the Purple Heart, be denied.

BOARD VOTE:

__el ____ ___lb ___ __clg____ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  ___Curtis L. Greenway___
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003087832
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2003/10/30
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	GRANT IN PART
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 46	107.0000
2. 61	107.0015
3. 60	107.0014
4. 75	107.0029
5.
6.