IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  1 February 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100017634


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 widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) to show:

* his correct military occupational specialty (MOS)
* award of the:

* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Bronze Star Medal
* Forward Observer Badge
* Presidential Unit Citation [sic]

2.  The applicant states the FSM's World War II (WWII) discharge paper (WD AGO Form 53-55) shows he was a clerk-typist; however, this MOS was given to him after his return from the European Theater of Operations (ETO).  She states he was a member of the 171st Field Artillery Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, and that he served as a forward artillery observer.  As such, he fought in Sicily and Italy and he was wounded on
6 November 1943 near Sesto Campano, Italy.  After a period of hospitalization, he returned to his unit and landed at Anzio on or about 30 January 1944.

3.  The applicant continues by stating that the FSM was hospitalized for psychoneurosis as indicated by an "Abbreviated Clinical Record" (which was dated 25 June 1944) from the 300th General Hospital, Naples, Italy.  A second 


hospital form shows the applicant was discharged from medical care on 6 July 1944.  Both forms list the applicant's unit as Battery B, 171st Field Artillery Battalion (180th Infantry Regiment), 45th Division.

4.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement; correspondence from the Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St. Louis, MO; a Certified Abstract of a Certificate of Death (State of New Hampshire); and the following:

	a.  WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) which shows the FSM's:

* service dates as 2 February 1942 through 10 October 1945
[44 months]
* grade as Sgt (Sergeant)
* MOS's as:

* 521 (Basic Training) - 2 months
* 405 (Clerk-Typist) - 10 months
* 502 (Administrative NCO) - 31 months

b.  WD AGO Form 53-55 which shows:

* service from 2 February 1942 to 10 October 1945
* entry into the Army of the United States (AUS) at Fort Dix, NJ and discharge at Woodrow Wilson General Hospital , Staunton, VA
* organization - Company M, 2nd Ordnance Training Regiment
* rank - SGT
* branch of service - Ordnance Corps
* MOS - Administrative NCO  502
* qualifications - Marksman (Rifle, M1903), Unit NCO Gas Officer
* campaigns - Sicily, Anzio
* wounds - LWA (lightly wounded in action), Sesto Campano, Italy, 6 November 1943
* awards - Purple Heart, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars, Army Good Conduct Medal,
Overseas Service Bars
* continental United States (CONUS) service - 2 years, 6 months, and
12 days; foreign service - 1 year, 1 month, and 26 days [total service of 3 years, 8 months, and 9 days]

   c.  Four medical documents showing admission for wounds and malaria, and a final diagnosis of "Psychoneurosis, anxiety state, acute, recurrent, mod sv [moderately severe], battle reaction.

	d.  A newspaper article from the Aberdeen Proving Ground (MD) "The Flaming Bomb," dated 17 May 1945.  The article recounts the FSM's combat experience as an artillery forward observer with the 180th Infantry, 45th Division in Sicily and Italy.

	e.  Various photographs of the FSM wearing an unidentifiable unit commendation over his right breast pocket.

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.  This review is being conducted using an incomplete WD AGO Form 53-55 and documents submitted by the applicant.

3.  With prior service in the New York Army National Guard (NYARNG), the FSM was inducted into the AUS on 2 February 1942.  His WD AGO Form 53-55, completed at the time of his discharge, shows:

* service from 2 February 1942 to 10 October 1945
* entry into the AUS at Fort Dix  and discharge at Woodrow Wilson General Hospital
* organization- Company M, 2nd Ordnance Training Regiment
* rank/grade - SGT


* branch of service - Ordnance Corps
* MOS - Administrative NCO  502
* qualifications - Marksman (Rifle, M1903), Unit NCO Gas Officer
* campaigns - Sicily, Anzio
* wounds - LWA, Sesto Campano, Italy, 6 November 1943
* awards - Purple Heart, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars, Army Good Conduct Medal, 2 Overseas Service Bars
* CONUS service - 2 years, 6 months, and 12 days; foreign service - 1 year, 1 month, and 26 days

4.  Evidence of record clearly shows the applicant served in the ETO with
Battery B, 171st Field Artillery Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division; however, his precise MOS is not known.  Also unknown is the date of his departure from CONUS, arrival in the ETO, departure from the ETO, and arrival back in CONUS.  However, medical documents confirm that he was still in the ETO on 6 July 1944.

5.  Historical documents show a U.S. troop ship, General M.C. Meigs, departed Naples, Italy on or about 21 July 1944, stopped in Mers El Khabir, Algeria on or about 24 July 1944, before departing on the same date for CONUS, and arriving in Newport News, VA on or about 4 August 1944.

6.  The history of the 45th Infantry Division in WWII reveals the division departed CONUS on or about 8 June 1943, arriving in North Africa on or about 25 June 1943.  The division entered combat in Sicily on or about 10 July 1943 with an assault landing at Scoglitti.  The division again made an assault landing in Italy at Agropoli and Paestrom (minus the 171st Field Artillery Battalion) on or about 10 September 1943, and fought on the Italian Peninsula through June 1944.  The division's last assault landing was at St. Maxime, in Southern France on 15 August 1944.

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

	a.  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.  Additionally, World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as combat 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 (USAHRC) has advised in similar cases that, during World War II, the Combat Infantryman Badge was normally awarded only to enlisted individuals who served in the following positions:

* Light machine gunner (MOS 604)
* Heavy machine gunner (MOS 605)
* Platoon sergeant (MOS 651)
* Squad leader (MOS 653)
* Rifleman (MOS 745)
* Automatic rifleman (MOS 746)
* Heavy weapons NCO (MOS 812)
* Gun crewman (MOS 864)

All Soldiers are provided basic combat skills training after they enter the Army.  This is provided to ensure that all Soldiers have the survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.  However, no other Soldier in combat is more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers and hardships of war and no other branch of the service suffers more casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and traditional value of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the criteria for award has changed little over the years.

The USAHRC opinion does note that the exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught, but it is not a basis for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

   b.  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.

	c.  The American 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 one year.

	d.  The WWII Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

	e.  The Meritorious Unit Commendation is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least 6 continuous months during the period of military operations against an armed enemy occurring on or after 1 January 1944.  Service in a combat zone is not required, but must be directly related to the combat effort.  CONUS-based units are excluded from this award as are other units outside the area of operation.  The unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions.  The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit to an individual.  Only in rare cases will a unit larger than a battalion qualify for award of this decoration.  For services performed during World War II, awards will be made only to service units and only for services performed between 1 January 1944 and 15 September 1946.

	f.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 is cited twice for the Croix de Guerre, the colors of the fourragere are red and green.  When a unit is cited four times, the colors of the fourragere are yellow and green.  Award of the fourragere 


is not automatic and requires a decree by the French Government, and persons who were only in one action are not authorized to wear the fourragere.  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.

	g.  A "Forward Observer Badge" is not listed as an authorized award.

8.  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.  The 171st Field Artillery Battalion was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 15 August 1944 to 31 January 1945 by General Orders Number 71, Headquarters, 45th Infantry Division.  The unit was not awarded a Presidential Unit Citation until the Korean War.  The unit was also awarded a bronze arrowhead for the assault landing at Scoglitti, Sicily, and a French Croix de Guerre for the period 1-31 January 1944 by Department of the Army General Orders Number 43, dated 1950.

9.  Technical Manual (TM) 12-427 (Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel, dated 12 July 1944) lists WWII MOS's.  It states that MOS 576 was the MOS for forward observers.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests correction of her deceased husband's service record to show that he held the MOS of a forward artillery observer, not MOS 502 (Administrative NCO).  She also requests correction of the FSM's record to show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Forward Observer Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

2.  The FSM's records are not available for review and his WD AGO Form 53-55 was completed at the time of his discharge when he was serving as an Administrative NCO in an Ordnance unit.  Generally speaking, the WD AGO Form 53-55 was completed to reflect the situation at the time of discharge.  Thus many Soldiers like the FSM, who returned to CONUS ahead of their combat organization, received discharge documents that listed their final CONUS-based organization and duty assignment.  In this regard, the FSM's WD AGO Form
53-55 correctly reflects his unit and MOS.

3.  The FSM's records, however, clearly establish that he served in the ETO with the 171st Field Artillery Battalion.  This battalion provided direct artillery support to the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, according to 45th Division order of battle documents.  Additionally, the Aberdeen Proving Ground post newspaper article states the applicant was a forward observer in Sicily and Italy.  There is no reason to doubt the validity of information presented in the article, and the applicant's desire to have the FSM's wartime ETO service memorialized is understandable.

4.  Using the information contained in Item 37 (Total Length of Service) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55, and comparing that information to historical data for the 45th Division, it is probable the FSM departed CONUS on or about 8 June 1943 bound for the ETO, and arrived there on or about 25 June 1943.  Given his length of foreign service as indicated in Item 37, and comparing that data with the FSM's medical documents and troop ship schedules, it is probable he departed Naples, Italy on or about 21 July 1944 and arrived in Newport News, VA on or about 4 August 1944.

5.  The evidence of record does not indicate the FSM was an infantryman; therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and, by extension, the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.

6.  The applicant requests the FSM be awarded the Forward Observer Badge.  A review of WWII badges does not show a Forward Observer Badge.

7.  The black and white photographs submitted by the applicant show the FSM wearing an unidentifiable unit decoration.  However, a review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 does not provide proof of the FSM's entitlement to a unit decoration.  The 171st Field Artillery Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for actions occurring after the FSM's departure from the unit; therefore, he would not be entitled to the Meritorious Unit Commendation.  In addition, the unit was not awarded a Presidential Unit Citation until the Korean War.

8.  The FSM is entitled to other awards which do not appear on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  They are the:

* American Campaign Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
* bronze arrowhead to be worn on his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars
* French Croix de Guerre


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:

	a.  deleting from item 4 (Arm or Service) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "Ord [Ordnance]" and replacing it with the entry "FA [Field Artillery]";

	b.  deleting from item 7 (Organization) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "Co M 2nd Ord Tng Regt" and replacing it with the entry "Battery B, 171st FA Bn";

	c.  deleting from item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars;

	d.  adding to item 33 of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 the:

* American Campaign Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars and one bronze arrowhead

	e.  deleting from item 30 (MOS and Number) of the FSM's WD AGO Form
53-55 the entry "Administrative NCO  502" and replacing it with the entry "Flash Ranging Observer  576"


	f.  adding to item 36 (Service Outside CONUS and Return) of the FSM's
WD AGO Form 53-55 the entries:

* 8 JUNE 1943			ETO			25 JUNE 1943
* 21 JULY 1944		CONUS		4 AUGUST 1944

	g.  adding to item 55 (Remarks) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "French Croix de Guerre--Unit Citation - No Emblem Authorized."

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 award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Forward Observer Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation or any other unit award.



      _______ _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)                                         AR20100017634



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100017634



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