RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         11 July 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050015592


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |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, in effect, that his separation document (WD AGO
Form 53-55) be corrected to reflect that correct organization he served
with during World War II and his campaign participation with that correct
unit; and that it be corrected to include all awards to which he is
entitled.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he served with Company B of the
68th Armored Battalion during the entire period of combat operations from
the Maritime Alps through Alsace and into Germany proper between 12
November 1944 and 8 May 1945.  He also states that based on this service he
is entitled to additional bronze service stars to denote his campaign
participation with this unit. He further claims that based on his having
earned the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), he is also entitled to an
additional award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:  WD AGO Form 53-55; Honorable Discharge Certificate; BSM
Citation; and Extracts of News Articles.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 26 November 1945, the date of his separation from active
duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 14 October 2005.

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 applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of the
applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 and documents provided by the applicant.
4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army
of the United States on 1 April 1943 and entered active duty on 8 April
1943.  Item 6 (Organization) contains the entry "180th Inf.”  The
separation document confirms he served in the European Theater of
Operations (ETO) from 28 October 1944 through 8 September 1945, and that he
was credited with participating in the Central Europe and Rhineland
campaigns.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications) shows he earned the CIB, and
Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he earned the American Campaign
Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Army Good Conduct
Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.  It also shows that he was awarded
the BSM by 14th Armored Division General Orders (GO) 110.

5.  The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) file pertaining to the
applicant contains miscellaneous medical treatment forms indicating he was
serving with the 68th Armored Infantry Division in March 1944 prior to
moving to the ETO, and that he remained with the unit in the ETO until at
least March 1945.

6.  A BSM Citation provided by the applicant confirms that the applicant
was awarded the BSM for meritorious achievement near Rittershoffen, France
on
18 January 1945, while assigned to the 68th Armored Infantry Battalion,
14th Armored Infantry Division.

7.  Technical Manual 12-235, which prescribed the policy and procedure for
the preparation and distribution of separation documents during the period
in question, states that the last unit, or similar element to which the
individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was part while
moving to a separation activity will be entered in Item 6 (Organization) of
the WD AGO Form 53-55.  It also notes that assignments to units for the
purpose of transfer from a theater to the United States is considered part
of the movement to a separation activity.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes the Army’s awards policy.
Paragraph
3-13 of the awards regulation outlines the criteria for the award of the
Bronze Star Medal (BSM).  It states, in effect, that the BSM is authorized
to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December
1941, were 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, and that for this purpose, an award of the CIB is
considered as a citation in orders.  It further stipulates that an Oak Leaf
Cluster is awarded for a second or subsequent award of the BSM.

9.  Paragraph 5-10 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the Army
of Occupation Medal (AOM).  It states, in pertinent part, that the AOM with
Germany Clasp is authorized for Germany for the period between 9 May 1945
and 5 May 1955 (Service between 9 May and 8 November 1945 will be counted
only if the EAME Campaign Medal was awarded for service before 9 May
1945.).

10.  Paragraph 5-12 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  It states, in pertinent
part, that a bronze service star is authorized with this award for each
campaign a member is credited with participating in while in the ETO.

11.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Campaign Participation
Credit Register-World War II) establishes the eligibility of individual
members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit
citation badges awarded during World War II.  This source confirms that
during his tenure of assignment, the applicant's unit (68th Armored
Infantry Battalion) was credited with participating in the Rhineland,
Central Europe, and Ardennes-Alsace campaigns of World War II, and it was
granted occupation credit for Germany.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms the applicant served in the 68th
Armored Infantry Battalion from at least March 1944 through March 1945,
prior to his departure from the ETO.  It also confirms he was serving in
this unit when he awarded the BSM for meritorious achievement in combat in
France on
15 January 1945.  The unit listed in his separation document was likely a
transitional unit that he was assigned to for movement to a separation
activity.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his separation
document to reflect his proper unit.

2.  The evidence also confirms that based on his having earned the CIB, he
is entitled to the BSM, for his exemplary conduct in ground combat against
an armed enemy in the ETO between 28 October 1944 through 2 September 1945.
 Given, he already earned a BSM, his record should be corrected to show he
earned the BSM with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster, which denotes a second award of
the BSM.  Further, based on his service and campaign participation in the
ETO, he is also entitled to the AOM with Germany Clasp and 3 bronze service
stars to be affixed to his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.


BOARD VOTE:

___JNS _  __CD   __  __JRM__  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 awarding him the Bronze Star Medal
with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster for his exemplary conduct in ground combat in the
ETO from
28 October 1944 through 2 September 1945; and by amending his
WD AGO Form 53-55 as follows:

      a.  Item 6 - delete the current entry and replace it with the entry
"Company B, 68th Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th Armored Infantry
Division";

      b.  Item 32 - add "Ardennes-Alsace" to the campaigns already listed;

      c.  Item 33 - delete the current list of awards and replace it with
the entry Bronze Star Medal with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Good Conduct
Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars, and Army
of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; and

      d.  providing him a correction to his separation document that
includes these changes.




                            _____John N. Slone  ____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050015592                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/07/11                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1945/11/26                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.  46                  |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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