| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Beverly A. Young | Analyst |
| Mr. Curtis L. Greenway | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Ernest W. Lutz | Member | |
| Mr. Larry C. Bergquist | Member |
2. The applicant requests that he be awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM).
3. The applicant states that he was informed by the stated veteran counselor that he was eligible for the AFEM based on his participation in the Lebanon Crisis of 1958 (Operation Bluebat). He states that he joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and served from July 1956 to June 1959. He was stationed in France and Germany with Company C of the 801st Engineer Battalion. He claims that President ________ ordered his unit to take part in the Lebanon Crisis of 1958. As a Cold War soldier, he claims that he has not qualified for veteran benefits because of the dates established by the United States Congress.
4. The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973. Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.
5. The applicant entered the Army on 6 July 1956. He provides an envelope postmarked 6 August (year illegible) from APO 379. The letter appears to be dated 6 August 1958. The return address is C Company, 801st Engineer Battalion APO 379 New York. The applicant informs his mother that he was in Beirut, Lebanon.
6. The Military Postal Service Agency verified that in July 1958 APO 379 was Beirut, Lebanon.
7. The applicant provided a copy of Headquarters, U.S. Army Personnel Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey Special Orders Number 111 dated 21 April 1958 which reassigned the applicant to the 801st Engineer Battalion, Germany.
8. The applicant provided a copy of Headquarters, 201st Logistical Command America Land Forces Middle East Troop Movement and Assignment Order Number 25, dated 10 October 1958. These orders reassigned the applicant's unit, Company C, 801st Engineer Battalion (Heavy Construction) from Beirut, Lebanon to Germany.
9. The applicant was released from active duty on 29 June 1959. His DD Form 214 does not show entitlement to the AFEM.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the AFEM for service in authorized U.S. military operations, U.S. operations in direct support of the United Nations, and U.S. operations of assistance for friendly foreign nations. It is authorized for service in Lebanon from 1 July to 1 November 1958.
11. The "Leavenworth Papers," a series of historical studies undertaken by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College's Combat Studies Institute, in January 1981 examined the American intervention in Lebanon in 1958 (Operation Bluebat). The study noted that the "airstream bearing Army Task Force 201's Force Alpha towards Lebanon began with takeoff on 16 July 1958. Force Charlie was the second group scheduled to leave. Force Charlie was a congeries of support units which had been cast into a provisional structure styled the "201st Logistics Command." The elements of Force Charlie were scattered around Europe and were to deploy from Furstenfeldbruck Airfield in Germany and Chateauroux and Evreux Air Bases in France.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. While there are no official records available, the Board believes that the envelope and orders provided by the applicant along with the available information on Operation Bluebat provide sufficient evidence to resolve any reasonable doubt as to the applicant's deployment to Lebanon in his favor. Accepting this evidence as sufficient, the Board finds that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for award of the AFEM.
2. 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 related to this case be corrected by showing the applicant is eligible for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal based upon his deployment to Lebanon in August 1958.
BOARD VOTE:
CLG_____ LCB_____ EWL___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
Curtis L. Greenway____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2003088750 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20031030 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | Mr. Schneider |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0072 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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