RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 October 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050001155
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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.
Analyst
The following members, a quorum, were present:
Mr. Melvin H. Meyer
Chairperson
Mr. Allen L. Raub
Member
Ms. Linda D. Simmons
Member
The Board considered the following evidence:
Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.
Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion, if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests that the Silver Star be added to the awards listed on his separation document.
2. The applicant states that he and his family would like the correction made.
3. The applicant provides copies of the citation for the Silver Star, his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) and a letter from a member of congress.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged (error or injustice) which occurred on 9 October 1945. The application submitted in this case is dated
23 November 2004.
2. Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so. In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicants failure to timely file.
3. The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.
4. The available records show he entered service on 24 November 1942. He completed training and served in Europe with Company B, 1st Battalion, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division from February 1944 to September 1945. His WD AGO 53-55 lists his authorized awards as the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with credit for five campaigns), the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Marksman Badge with Rifle and Carbine Bars.
5. The copy of the Silver Star Citation that the applicant submitted is that of a framed document bearing the insignia of the 30th Infantry Division. It is signed by the commanding general and carries an embossed seal. It cites the applicant for gallantry in action in Belgium on 19 December 1944 for laying mines in the path of three advancing enemy tanks.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 also 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 such achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge 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 World War II.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The certificate shows that the applicant was awarded the Silver Star. It should be shown on his discharge document.
2. The applicant is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge. In light of his already holding the Bronze Star Medal it should he shown on his discharge document as the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster.
BOARD VOTE:
__ALR___ __MHM_ __LDS___ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by adding the Silver Star and the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster to his discharge document.
_ Melvin H. Meyer_________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED
20051027
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION
GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.
107.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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