RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  11 December 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070010966 


	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. Mohammed R. Elhaj

Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. William D. Powers

Chairperson

Mr. Michael J. Flynn

Member

Ms. Sherry J. Stone

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 correction of his records to show, in effect:

	a.  his promotion to "Gunnery Sergeant" [sic]; and

	b.  all awards and decorations earned.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he served as an ammunition carrier and machine gunner during World War II (WWII) and that the officer who promoted him may have been killed or wounded.  He believes that due an error, red tape, negligence, or the unfortunate demise of the promoting officer, his promotion was never carried out.

3.  The applicant provides the following additional documentary evidence in support of his application:

	a.  copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 27 July 1945.

	b.  self-authored letter, dated 1 June 2007.

	c.  self-authored letter, dated 9 July 2007, to a Member of Congress. 

	d.  newspaper article, dated on an unknown day in July 2007, titled: "Veteran still seeking pay after 60 years."

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests the applicant be promoted to "Gunnery Seargeant" [sic], with back pay from July 1944 to July 1945.

2.  Counsel also requests adjustment of the applicant's Department of Veterans Affair disability rating.

3.  Counsel states that he is astonished that it would take up to 10 months for the applicant's request to be processed.  He further adds that, upon being discharged, the applicant was promised his promotion issue would be resolved and that "he has waited for 60 years to hear from this office."  Counsel adds that he might not have the diplomacy of a politician, but he is more of a pit bull and that he would not rest until this matter is resolved.  He also states that if it was standard practice for anyone being in charge of a machine gun to be promoted to 

"Gunnery Seargeant" [sic], the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) needs not investigate for 10 months, but rather give the applicant his rank and pay.  Counsel adds, the applicant nearly lost both feet sitting in a foxhole with his machine gun and probably deserves a medal as well as his stripes.  Counsel concludes that, if necessary, he would write to every member of the House, the Senate, along with the Vice President and President of the United States to get this matter resolved.

4.  Counsel provides the following additional documentary evidence in support of the applicant's request:

	a.  undated picture of the applicant.

	b.  copy of a personal letter, dated 1 February 1945, from the applicant to his parents.

	c.  copy of Headquarters Station Hospital, Camp Henry, Virginia notification of the applicant's admittance to the hospital, dated 28 March 1945.

	d.  copy of a personal letter, dated 23 November 1945, from the applicant to his parents.

	e.  copy of a 1944 Christmas menu for the 62nd General Hospital, located "Somewhere in France."

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 complete military records are not available 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, those remaining documents, together with the applicant's submitted documents were sufficient in a reconstructed record to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 12 November 1943 and entered active duty as a Private (Pvt)/Grade 7 on 3 December 1943 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.  Upon completion of all required military training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 604 (Light Machine Gunner).

4.  Following 6 months and 13 days service in the United States, the applicant boarded a troop transport ship on 16 June 1944 en route to the EAME Theater.  At sea for 12 days on the transatlantic crossing, the applicant acted as a squad leader for the replacement Soldiers bound for Europe.  He impressed his company commander who, on 20 June 1944, recommended he be promoted to an unspecified noncommissioned officer (NCO) rank.  This recommendation was accepted and approved on 22 June 1944.

5.  The rank to which the applicant was promoted while on a troop ship is not known.  It is known from historical documents that infantry squads were led by Corporals (Cpl/Grade 5) in 1940.  However, later the Chief of Infantry beefed up rifle squads from 8 men to 12 and extensive field tests concluded that a Cpl could not control that many men under battlefield conditions.  Thus squad leaders became Sergeants (Sgt/Grade 4) in compensation, with a Cpl as second in command.  That seemingly innocuous act doubled NCO requirements in more than 25,000 rifle squads that belonged to 288 infantry regiments and 70-some separate combat battalions before World War II ended.  By 1945, enlisted grade creep saw rifle squads being led by Staff Sergeants (S/Sgt/Grade 3) with Sergeants acting where Corporals previously had.

6.  The applicant's records show that, following his transatlantic crossing, he was assigned to Company L, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.  During World War II, the infantry regiment was organized with three battalions and twelve lettered companies (A-M, skipping J), thus the applicant was probably assigned to the 3rd battalion, making his unit Company L, 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division.


7.  The 8th Division arrived in Belfast, Ireland on/about 15 December 1943.  The headquarters for the 28th Regiment was established at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.  The 1st Battalion was located at Camp Breandrum, Enniskillen; the 2nd Battalion at Castle Coole, also in Enniskillen; and the 3rd Battalion was at Crom Castle outside of Newton-Butler.  Although not in the applicant's records, this is probably where he joined his unit in June 1944.  Shortly thereafter, on 1 July 1944, a convoy of four troop ships and twelve motor transports steamed out of Belfast Harbor carrying the 8th Division to the continent of Europe.  On 4 July 1944, 28 days after D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, the 28th Regiment began debarking at Utah Beach on the Cherbourg peninsula.  The next day it had assembled in the vicinity of Montbourg where final preparations for battle were completed.

8.  The applicant's records show he participated in two campaigns (Northern France and Rhineland) and was awarded the coveted Combat Infantryman Badge by General Orders Number 10, Headquarters, 28th Infantry Regiment, dated 1 September 1944.  The record also shows that he fell victim to "Trench foot, bilateral, moderate" on/about 15 December 1944.  Medical documents show that he was removed from the line and evacuated for medical treatment.  He never returned to his unit.  Medical documents show his rank in January 1945 as "Pfc."

9.  The applicant was returned to the United States because of his trench foot condition and was received at the Station Hospital, Camp Patrick Henry, VA on 28 March 1945.  From there he was evacuated to the Seventh Service Command Hospital Center, Camp Carson, CO, arriving on 1 April 1945.  The hospital admittance slip shows the applicant's grade as "Pfc."

10.  On 24 July 1945, a Physical Evaluation Board convened at Camp Carson and determined the applicant was unfit for further military service because of "Feet, disorders of, incurred during service."  His WD AGO Form 40 (Certificate of Disability for Discharge) shows he suffered "Trench foot, bilateral, moderate.  Incurred in Germany while on combat duty prior to 15 December 1944 after exposure to dampness and cold.  Disability manifested by severe bluish discoloration and excessive sweating, both feet, stiffness of left great toe, and pain in balls of feet."

11.  The applicant was discharged on 27 July 1945 by reason of disability.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) shows his rank as "Pfc."  It shows he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars (for his participation in the Northern France and Rhineland Campaigns), the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Lapel Button.  Significantly, it does not show award of the Good Conduct Medal because an entry to his WD AGO Form 24 (Service Record), recorded on WD AGO Form 24-3 (Insert to Service Record), states "Sol[dier] is not favorably considered for Good Conduct Medal (Clasp)."

12.  The applicant's WD AG Form 100 (Army Separation Qualification Record) shows he served 4 months as a Pvt in Basic Infantry Training (MOS 521,) and, 9 months as a Pfc, Light Machine Gunner (MOS 604).  It shows his rank at discharge as "Pfc."

13.  On 1 August 1945, the Seventh Service Command Hospital Center, Camp Carson, transmitted the applicant's records to the Veterans Administration (VA), St. Louis, Missouri.  His rank was identified as "Pfc" on the transmittal record. 

14.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth Department of the Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual military awards, the Good Conduct Medal (GCMDL), service medals and service ribbons, combat and special skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and trophies and similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments.  It provides:

	a.  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 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.  Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

	b.  The World War II Victory Medal (WWII Victory Medal) is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

15.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in World War II and the Korean War.  This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned was cited for award of the Distinguished Unit Citation for the period 1-6 December 1944 by War Department General Order Number 32, dated 1947.

16.  Military enlisted grade structure of the Army has changed over time.  During the applicant's period of service, the structure was as follows (from highest to lowest):

Grade 1	Master Sergeant (M/Sgt)
			First Sergeant (1st Sgt)
Grade 2	Technical Sergeant (T/Sgt)
Grade 3	Staff Sergeant (S/Sgt)
			Technician 3rd Grade
Grade 4	Sergeant (Sgt)
			Technician 4th Grade
Grade 5	Corporal (Cpl)
			Technician 5th Grade
Grade 6	Private 1st Class (Pfc)
Grade 7	Private (Pvt)

In the Army, there was no such rank as "Gunnery Sergeant."  Gunnery Sergeant was, and is, a rank in the United States Marine Corps; it was Grade 2 and corresponded to the Army rank of T/Sgt.

17.  The 28th Infantry Regiment distinguished itself in combat during World War II.  After landing on Utah Beach on 4July 1944, its first action was an attack to the south to establish a critical bridgehead over the Ay River so that armored divisions could launch a breakout and then attack into Brittany and Northern France.  The Regiment then advanced south through Avranches and Rennes and turned west into Brittany.  It participated in the savage battle for Brest and then fought on the Crozon Peninsula.  In late September, the 28th moved to Luxembourg and assumed its sector of the 8th Division front which stretched along the Our River.  In mid-November, the Regiment relieved elements of the 109th Infantry in the area southeast of Aachen.  The next several weeks were spent attacking through the dense, forbidding Huertgen Forest, where deep mud, bitter cold, snow, enemy artillery and mines, and fierce enemy resistance caused numerous casualties in the worst fighting the Regiment was to experience.  The Regiment successfully conducted an assault crossing of the flood-swollen Roer River in late February.  It then seized the town of Stockheim and continued the attack, seizing dozens of strongly defended enemy towns, until it reached the Rhine River.  In mid-April, the 28th Infantry drove north as part of the campaign to destroy or capture all enemy forces trapped in the Ruhr-Sieg pocket.  After a brief period of occupation duty in the Ruhr-Rhine area, the Regiment was ordered to cross the Elbe and advance toward the Baltic Sea.  The final days of 

the war for the Regiment were spent managing huge numbers of Wehrmacht prisoners of war, refugees and former prisoners of the Germans.  During its eleven months of combat, the Regiment played a major part in four allied campaigns - winning three Presidential Unit Citations embroidered Normandy, Bergstein and Stockheim.  It suffered over 4,300 total casualties and captured more than 115,000 prisoners of war and vast stores of enemy material.  The Regiment was inactivated in 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests that his rank be corrected to show that he was a "Gunnery Sergeant."  Gunnery Sergeant is a United States Marine Corps rank; the Army equivalent was Technical Sergeant (T/SGT).

2.  On his transatlantic crossing, the applicant was recommended for an indeterminate promotion to an NCO rank.  This was approved and it is assumed he was promoted.  However, such promotions were usually temporary and were not formally processed through the enlisted personnel system.  Most probably, the applicant's commander needed a Soldier to supervise other Soldiers during the crossing and he chose the applicant.  Once the applicant reached Ireland, the need no longer existed and, when assigned to the 28th Infantry Regiment, he reverted to Pvt or Pfc.

3.  All of the applicant's existing records support that he was a Pfc during his tenure with the 28th Infantry Regiment.  Unfortunately, there are no records to show any promotions to T/Sgt, permanent or temporary.  Therefore, the applicant's request for correction of his rank cannot be accomplished, nor can he be paid for such a correction.

4.  The applicant was, by all accounts, an excellent combat infantryman.  He saw fierce combat in the Huertgen Forest and was awarded the coveted Combat Infantryman Badge.  However, his record shows he is entitled to other awards which do not appear on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  The applicant is entitled to award of the:

	a.  Bronze Star Medal based upon his receipt of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

	b.  World War II Victory Medal.

	c.  Distinguished Unit Citation by War Department General Order Number 32.
BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

__wdp___  __mjf___  __sjs___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding to him the Bronze Star Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to changing his rank to Technical Sergeant, or any rank other than Private 1st Class.  



						William D. Powers
______________________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20070010966
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20071211
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(GRANT)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.0000
2.
131.0900
3.

4.

5.

6.