IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  16 December 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100010311 


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 requests, through his Member of Congress, the records of his father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart, and payment of combat pay for his actions on 26 December 1944.

2.  The applicant states his father was a member of a heavy machine gun squad during World War II (WWII).  He held an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) which should make him eligible for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  He participated with his unit, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, in ground combat operations against enemy forces on 26 December 1944 in the village of Sommocolonia, Italy.  The entire battalion was actively engaged in and suffered significant casualties near that village.  The FSM was one of only a handful of survivors of this battle.  He was able to reach British lines and he was eventually turned in to U.S. Forces.  He was treated for injuries sustained as a result of this ground combat action at a U.S. military facility in Viareggio, Italy, during January 1945.   The Department of the Army has acknowledged that African-American Soldiers were, as a general rule, not recommended for high military awards which was reflective of the national racism climate at the time. 

3.  The applicant provides:

* letter from the National Archives and Records Administration
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* letter orders, dated 7 June 1945
* letter from the Center of Military History
* various photographs of Soldiers
* letter from the National Personnel Records Center
* self-authored letter of the criteria for the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal
* letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* WD AGO Form 53-55 ((Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge)
* WD Form 372 (Final Payment Worksheet)
* various correspondence with members of Congress
* an article about racism and delayed medal to an African-American Soldier
* an article about the 1944 battle of Sommocolonia, Italy

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 and entered active duty in New York City, NY, on 10 April 1941.  This form also shows at the time of his separation, the FSM held MOS 667 (Message Center Clerk) and he was assigned to Company A, 226th Engineer Battalion.

4.  His WD AGO Form 100 shows that subsequent to completion of basic combat training, he held MOS 667 for a period of 24 months and MOS 605 (Ammunition Bearer - Heavy Machine Gun) for a period of 24 months.  Additionally, item 13 (Summary of Military Occupations - Title - Description - Related Civilian Occupation) of this form shows the FSM "dispatched vehicles and kept a record of incoming and outgoing vehicles."

5.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed the United States on 28 March 1944 and arrived in the Atlantic theater of operations on 6 April 1944.  He departed the Atlantic theater of operations on 29 April 1944 and arrived in the Mediterranean theater of operations on 3 May 1944.  He departed the Mediterranean theater of operations on 23 October 1945 and arrived back in the continental United States on 9 November 1945.

6.  The FSM completed 2 years, 11 months, and 25 days of continental service and 1 year, 7 months, and 12 days of foreign service.  He was honorably separated on 16 November 1945.

7.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-1) on 5 August 1943.  It does not list award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

8.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the Naples-Foggia, Po Valley, and Rome-Arno campaigns during WWII.

9.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, and the American Service Medal.  Item 33 does not show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart.

10.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None."

11.  The FSM's reconstructed records do not contain orders awarding him the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Purple Heart.

12.  The FSM's WD Form 372, dated 12 November 1945, does not indicate he received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay and/or expert infantry pay.

13.  The applicant submitted the following documents:

	a.  a letter, dated 7 June 1945, from Headquarters, 226th Engineer Regiment, wherein the Adjutant stated some individuals, including the FSM, were placed on temporary duty with the 602nd Grave Registration Company for an indefinite period to help recover bodies of the 366th Infantry Regiment's killed Soldiers.

	b.  a letter, dated 6 July 2004, from the National Archives and Records Administration informing him that their research yielded thousands of pages pertaining to the 366th Infantry Regiment's summaries of operations, conditions, unit strength, changes in command, and the like.  He was invited to research these documents.  A section on Company H included a picture of the FSM.

	c.  various photographs of Company H, 366th Infantry Regiment, Soldiers.

	d.  a letter, dated 5 February 2009, from the National Personnel Records Center regarding the FSM's authorized medals.

	e.  a letter, dated 29 October 2009, from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, VA, denying the FSM award of the Combat Infantryman Badge due to insufficient evidence that he held an infantry MOS or satisfactorily participated in combat while assigned to an infantry unit.

	f.  various articles pertaining to a climate of racism during WWII and some of the challenges encountered by African-American Soldiers in obtaining awards and an article about the battle in question.

14.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The Expert Infantryman Badge was to be awarded for attainment of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory performance of duty in action against the enemy.  The Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War Department Circular 186-1944 further provided that the Combat Infantryman Badge was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of brigade, regimental, or smaller size.

15.  Additionally, WWII holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay and holders of the Expert Infantryman Badge were entitled to expert infantry pay.  Therefore, Soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct. Thus, pay records are frequently the best available source to verify entitlement to this award.  The Military Awards Branch of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command has advised in similar cases that during WWII the Combat Infantryman Badge was normally awarded only to enlisted individuals who served in the following positions:
* 
light machine gunner (604)
* heavy machine gunner (605)
* platoon sergeant (651)
* squad leader (653)
* rifleman (745)
* automatic rifleman (746)
* heavy weapons noncommissioned officer (812)
* gun crewman (864)

16.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York, on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

18.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, were 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 Combat 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.

19.   Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  The regulation also authorizes a bronze service star based on qualifying service for each campaign listed in appendix B of this regulation or listed in item 32 of the WD AGO 
Form 53-55.  This regulation states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that the records of his father should be corrected to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, and payment of combat pay, and the evidence he provided, was carefully considered.  

2.  With respect to the Combat Infantryman Badge, there are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The Soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat:

	a.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 100 shows he held MOS 667 for 24 months followed by MOS 605 (infantry) also for 24 months.  The WG AGO Form 100 listed the MOSs in the order served.  The FSM was inducted in 1941 and was honorably separated in 1945.  It is reasonable to presume he held his infantry MOS during the last 2 years of his service, from in or about November 1943 to in or about November 1945.  Therefore, he held an infantry MOS during the battle in question.

	b.  The photographs submitted by the applicant show the FSM was assigned to H Company of the 366th Infantry.  Additionally, the HRC letter established the FSM was assigned to an infantry unit during the battle in question.  

	c.  The historical documents clearly established that the 366th Infantry suffered heavy casualties during the battle in question.  Given he held an infantry MOS and was assigned to the unit involved in the contested battle, it is therefore reasonable to presume he satisfactorily performed his infantry duties.  

	d.  With respect to the absence of evidence that he received infantry combat pay, it is reasonable to presume that this administrative matter was overlooked given the heavy casualties the unit received and the FSM's subsequent reassignment to an engineer unit.

3.  Therefore, the FSM appears to have met the requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal based on award of this badge.  He is also entitled to payment of combat pay based on this award.

4.  His records show he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  Furthermore, his records show he participated in three campaigns during his service in WWII.  Therefore, he is entitled to three bronze service stars to be affixed to his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

5.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

6.  Again, the FSM's service in WWII is not in question.  However, notwithstanding his sincerity, there is no evidence in the FSM's record that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.  Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows he sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that the FSM was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient basis for awarding him the Purple Heart in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____X___  ___X____  ___X____  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 the FSM the Combat Infantryman Badge and Bronze Star Medal (based upon award of the Combat Infantryman Badge)
* Adding to his WD AGO Form 53-55 the Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star Medal, and three bronze service stars to his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.
* Auditing his pay records and paying him combat pay based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge effective 26 December 1944

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 the Purple Heart.



      __________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)                                         AR20100010311



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100010311



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