IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  1 December 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090011365 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant, the son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests his father's record be corrected to show award of the Bronze Star Medal, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Parachutist Badge, and the World War II (WWII) Victory Medal for his father's service in WWII.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he has researched his father's records and the U.S. Army awards for WWII.  Through his research, he has determined that his father's record should be corrected to show the aforementioned awards.  In addition, he states that the FSM did not train as a paratrooper at Fort Benning, GA, but in an unknown location in NY and then in England where he completed his paratrooper training.  He also states that the FSM made one combat jump into Normandy with the 506th Infantry. 

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his request:  the FSM's death certificate, a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) with a separation date of 14 October 1945, an honorable discharge certificate, a Separation Qualification Record, and his own birth certificate.

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 FSM'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 FSM'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.

3.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 31 March 1942 and entered active duty at Fort Thomas, KY.  This form also shows that at the time of his separation, the FSM held military occupational specialty 7657 (medical aidman) and was assigned to the 326th Airborne Medical Company.

4.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed the United States on 5 September 1943 and arrived in the European theater of operations (ETO) on 15 September 1943.  He departed the ETO on 31 May 1945 and arrived in the United States on 13 June 1945.  He completed 1 year, 9 months, and 5 days of continental service and 1 year, 9 months and 9 days of foreign service.  He was honorably discharged on 14 October 1945.

5.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Medical Badge and the Glider Badge.

6.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the Normandy, Ardennes, and Rhineland campaigns during WWII.

7.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Badge.

8.  Upon his discharge, the FSM also received WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) that shows he was a medical aidman responsible for administering first aid to sick, injured, or wounded Soldiers.  The separation record shows he made two combat jumps and that he was held as a prisoner of war in Germany for 4 months. 

9.  The National Archives and Records Administration archived the WWII Prisoners of War Data Files for the period 7 December 1941 to 19 November 1946.  This data file contains a record that shows the FSM was reported as a prisoner of war on 19 December 1944 by his unit, the 326th Airborne Medical Company.  The area where the FSM was captured was in the ETO, specifically in Belgium.

10.  Hospital Admission Records maintained by the Department of the Army, Office of the Surgeon General, for the period 1942 to 1945 shows that the FSM was repatriated, returned to military control, and admitted to a U.S. Army General Hospital on 19 April 1945.  His injuries were classified as disease, non-battle injuries.  He was hospitalized for 21 days and treated for malnutrition and catarrhal inflammation of the eustachian tube.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to members of the Armed Forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat.  It also provides for the wear of one bronze service star on the appropriate campaign or service medal for each credited campaign.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states that 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.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the WWII Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, sets forth requirements for award of the basic Parachutist Badge.  Award of the basic Parachutist Badge requires that an individual must have satisfactorily completed the prescribed proficiency tests while assigned or attached to an airborne unit or the airborne department of the Infantry School, or have participated in at least one combat parachute jump.
15.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Document) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  In pertinent part, it directs that, in the case of prisoners of war, the unit of assignment, country and dates of capture and release will be entered in the "Remarks" section of the discharge document.

16.  Review of the FSM's reconstructed records indicates his entitlement to additional awards which are not shown on his records.

17.  Army Regulation 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, or 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 1 year.

18.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in WWII and the Korean War.  This pamphlet establishes individual eligibility for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, unit citation emblems, and occupation duty credit.  This document shows that the 326th Airborne Medical Company, 101st Airborne Division, to which the FSM was assigned was awarded the following awards, badges, or emblems:

	a.  first award of the Distinguished Unit Citation by publication of War Department General Orders (WDGO) Number 30, dated 1945, for combat actions on during the period 6 to 11 June 1944;

	b.  second award of the Distinguished Unit Citation by publication of WDGO Number 17, dated 1945, for combat actions on during the period 18 to 27 December 1944;

	c.  first assault landing credit for Normandy by publication of WDGO Number 116, dated 1946 for the period 6 to 7 June 1944;

	d.  second assault landing credit for Nijmegen-Arnhem by publication of WDGO Number 70, dated 1945, for the period 17 September 1944;

	e.  award of the French Croix de Guerre by publication of Department of the Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 43, dated 1950, for the period 6 to 8 June 1944;

	f.  award of the Belgian Fourragere by publication of DAGO Number 43, dated 1950, for the period 6 June 1944 and 22 to 27 December 1944; and

	g.  award of the Netherlands Orange Lanyard by publication of DAGO Number 43, dated 1950, for the period 17 September to 28 November 1944.

19.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for the "arrowhead" to be worn on the appropriate service medal to denote participation in a combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, combat glider landing, or amphibious assault landing while assigned or attached as a member of an organized force carrying out an assigned tactical mission.  The regulation specifies that individual assault credit is tied directly to the combat assault credit decision for the unit to which the Soldier is assigned.  The regulation requires that the unit must be credited with a combat assault in order for the Soldiers to receive credit for a combat assault and the Soldier must physically exit the aircraft or the watercraft as appropriate.  The regulation also specifies that the arrowhead is authorized for wear on the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

20.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states, in pertinent part, that the first oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Presidential Unit Citation, formerly known as the Distinguished Unit Citation.

21.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the French Fourragere as an approved foreign unit award.  The French Fourragere may be awarded by the French Government when a unit has been cited twice for award of the French Croix de Guerre.  When a unit was cited only one time for award of the French Croix de Guerre there was no individual device, medal, or ribbon authorized for wear by members of the unit.

22.  In a 28 March 1983 letter, the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center published the policy regarding awards of the French Croix de Guerre to U.S. Army veterans who had served in World War I and WWII.  Essentially, this guidance states that there is no individual emblem presented to or worn by Army Soldiers who were in a unit cited by the French Government for the Croix de Guerre.  Thus, former members of any American units which appear in Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register) are not authorized an individual device.  This is also true of the Belgian Citation in the Order of the day and the Netherlands Military Order of William.  As a result, the only European foreign unit awards that a former Army service member may wear are the French Fourragere, the Belgian Fourragere, and the Netherlands Orange Lanyard.  

23.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Belgian Fourragere.  This regulation states that it may be awarded by the Belgian Government when a unit has been cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.  The award of the Belgian Fourragere is not automatic but must be by special decree of the Belgian Government.  Persons who were present in only one action are not authorized to wear the Fourragere.

24.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 8–11, states that a bronze service star is authorized to be worn on the Parachutist Badge to denote a Soldier's participation in a combat parachute jump.  Orders are required to confirm award of these badges.  A Soldier's combat parachute jump credit is tied directly to the assault landing credit decision for the unit to which the Soldier is attached or assigned at the time of the assault. Should a unit be denied air assault credit, no air assault credit for purpose of this badge will accrue to the individual Soldiers of that unit.  Each Soldier must physically exit the aircraft to receive combat parachute jump credit and the Parachutist Badge with bronze service star.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The FSM received the Medical Badge, currently titled the Combat Medical Badge, in the ETO.  Therefore, he is entitled award of the Bronze Star Medal.

2.  Based on the evidence of record that shows the FSM made two combat jumps and that his unit was credited with two assault landings, the FSM is entitled to award of the Parachutist Badge with two bronze service stars. 

3.  The evidence of record shows that the FSM was held as a prisoner of war from 19 December 1944 to 19 April 1945 in the ETO.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Prisoner of War Medal.

4.  The evidence of record shows that the FSM served a qualifying period for award of the WWII Victory Medal which is not shown on his WD AGO 
Form 53-55.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show this award.

5.  The FSM records show he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  Furthermore, evidence shows he participated in three campaigns during his service in WWII.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of three bronze service stars to be affixed to his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

6.  The evidence shows that the FSM's unit, the 326th Airborne Medical Company, was credited with two assault landings.  Therefore, he is entitled to two arrowheads to be affixed to his previously awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

7.  The evidence of record shows that the FSM's unit was awarded the French Croix de Guerre.  Although he would not have been authorized to wear a ribbon, fourragere, medal, or other device based on a one-time citation, an entry should be made on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this citation.  

8.  The FSM's unit received the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.  Two of these awards are known as the Belgian Fourragere.  The FSM's record shows he was a prisoner of war during the second action that his unit was recognized and awarded the Belgian Fourragere.  Therefore, he is not entitled to the Belgian Fourragere for he was not present with his unit during the second action period.  Award of the Belgian Fourragere requires individual participation in two action periods.  Although he would not have been authorized to wear a ribbon, fourragere, medal, or other device based on a one-time citation, an entry should be made on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this citation. 

9.  The FSM is entitled to correction of his records to show the foreign award, the Netherland Orange Lanyard, based on regulatory criteria.  

10.  The evidence of record shows the applicant served in the continental United States for more than 1 year.  Therefore, he is entitled to have his record corrected to show award of the American Campaign Medal.

BOARD VOTE:

____x____  ____x____  ____x____  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.  awarding the FSM the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge with two bronze service stars; and

	b.  amending the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 to add the Bronze Star Medal, the Prisoner of War Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Parachutist Badge with two bronze service stars, two arrowheads and three bronze service stars to be affixed to his previously-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, one oak leaf cluster to be affixed to his Distinguished Unit Citation, and the Netherland Orange Lanyard; and

	c.  adding in the Remarks block of the FSM’s WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry, "FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE – UNIT CITATION AND ORDER OF THE DAY OF THE BELGIAN ARMY UNIT CITATION – NO EMBLEMS AUTHORIZED."




      ___________x______________
                 CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090011365



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090011365



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