RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:      27 September 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070007276


      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.

|     |Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano          |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Richard T. Dunbar             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Chester A. Damian             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Edward E. Montgomery          |     |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 he be awarded the Bronze Star
Medal for his service in World War II.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he requested award of the Bronze
Star Medal from the National Personnel Records Center and they recommended
he apply to this Board for one.

3.  The applicant adds that he was attached to and served with the 28th
Cavalry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.  He was captured and was a
Prisoner of War in Germany from 20 December 1944 to 5 April 1945.  He has
included a copy of the history for the 28th Infantry Division from the
Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum which shows he was awarded
the Bronze Star Medal for heroic achievement against the enemy on 15
October 1944.  He is requesting that his record be corrected to show the
Bronze Star Medal he earned.

4.  In support of his request, the applicant submitted a copy of a
(Department of Veterans Affairs) VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of
Claim, dated 12 March 2007; a copy of a letter he received from the
National Personnel records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, dated 11 May 2007;
selected pages from the history of the 28th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop
(Mechanized), 28th Infantry Division, along with a cover letter addressed
to another individual; and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also
allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to
excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of
limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of
justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the
time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected
to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent
relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of
justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other
respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of
limitations for timely filing.
2.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from his reconstructed personnel record, his report of separation, and from
other official Army documents.

3.  The evidence shows the applicant was inducted on 11 September 1942 and
entered active service at Chicago, Illinois, on 25 September 1942.  He was
honorably discharged, under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 615-365,
for the convenience of the Government, at demobilization, in the grade of
Technician Fourth Grade, on 17 August 1945.

4.  Item 6 (Organization), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he
was assigned to the Medical Detachment, Headquarters Special Troops, 28th
Infantry Division.

5.  Item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty and No.), of the FSM's WD AGO
Form 53-55, shows he held the military occupational specialty (MOS), 657
(Medical Aidman), while he served on active duty.

6.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55,
shows he was given credit for participation in the Normandy, Northern
France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe campaigns of World War II.

7.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows, in Item 33 (Decorations and
Citations), he received no decorations and citations.  The Bronze Star
Medal is not shown as an authorized award.

8.  On 21 September 2007, a staff member coordinated with a member of the
Awards Section, Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, Virginia.  A copy
of the general orders referred to in the history of the 28th Reconnaissance
Troop (Mechanized) was located.  Section IV, General Orders Number 78,
published by Headquarters, 28th Infantry Division, on 15 October 1944,
shows the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, for heroic
achievement [the heroic achievement now recognized through award of a "V"
Device], on
9 September 1944, in connection with a military operation against the enemy
in Belgium.

9.  Item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return), of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he departed the United States on 8
October 1943 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 18
October 1943.  The applicant departed the ETO on 21 April 1945 and arrived
in the United States on 5 May 1945.
10.  Item 37 (Total Length of Service – Continental Service), of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he served an aggregate period of 1
year, 3 months, and 25 days of Continental service.

11.  Item 55 (Remarks), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he was
issued the Lapel Button [correctly known as the Honorable
Service/Discharge Emblem].  It also shows the applicant was awarded the
European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal and three Overseas Service
Bars.

12.  A copy of a record from the World War II Prisoner of War Data File
maintained by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
College Park, Maryland, confirms he was held a Prisoner of War from 20
December 1944 to 16 May 1945 (actually a date prior to 21 April 1945, the
date he departed the ETO).

13.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of
War Medal.  The Prisoner of War Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and
is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner
or held captive.

14.  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.

15.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the American
Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in
the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying
service for this campaign medal includes permanent assignment outside the
continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations,
duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for 30
consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental
United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30
consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy
and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a corps
commander or higher, or service within the continental United States for an
aggregate period of one year.

16.  AR 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service
star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B
of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be
worn on the appropriate service medal, in this case the European-African-
Middle Eastern Service Medal.  The regulation further provides that one
silver service star will be worn in lieu of five bronze service stars.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence shows the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal,
for heroic achievement, on 9 September 1944, in connection with a military
operation against the enemy in Belgium.  He is therefore entitled to
addition of the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

2.  The evidence shows the applicant was taken prisoner and was held a
Prisoner of War from December 1944 to April 1945.  He is therefore entitled
to award of the Prisoner of War Medal and to have this award added to his
WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal.  The applicant was given credit for participation in five campaigns
of World War II.  He is therefore entitled to award of the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, with one silver service star, and to have
this award shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

4.  The applicant served on active duty, as a member of the Army of the
United States, during the qualifying period for award of the World War II
Victory Medal.  He is therefore entitled to award of the World War II
Victory Medal and to have this award added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant served an aggregate period of over one year in the
Continental United States.  The evidence shows he met the criteria for
award of the American Campaign Medal.  He is therefore entitled to award of
the American Campaign Medal and to have it shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

__RTD__  __CD ___  ___EM __  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.  As a result, the Board recommends that all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

      a.  adding the already-awarded Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device, to
the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55;

      b.  awarding the applicant the Prisoner of War Medal, the American
Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal and adding these awards
to his WD AGO Form 53-55; and

      c.  awarding the applicant one silver service star, to be affixed to
his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and
showing this award on his WD AGO Form 53-55.




                            _____Richard T. Dunbar______
                                      CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20070007276                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070927                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |107.0014                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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