BOARD DATE:	  25 July 2013

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120021948 


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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

2.  The applicant states he was awarded the CIB after the Battle of Normandy.  He never received the award or documentation concerning the award.  It is not entered on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55.

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 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 applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, this case is being considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of his WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 26 June 1941.  He arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations (EAMETO) on 10 May 1943.

4.  General Orders Number 12, issued by Headquarters, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82nd Airborne Division, dated 13 August 1943, shows the applicant was awarded the CIB for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy in the Sicilian Campaign from 9 July 1943 to August 1943.  (The fourth and eighth digits of the applicant's Army serial number on the orders differ from the serial number shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  This appears to be a typographical error.)

5.  The Office of the Surgeon General files (commonly referred to as the SGO files), a health record research project, involved transposing hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean Conflict onto magnetic tape.  These records show the applicant was hospitalized as a battle casualty for a sprained ankle incurred during a parachute jump in June 1944, confirming he was serving in an airborne unit at the time of the Allied invasion of Normandy.  The files show he was released from the hospital in August 1944.

6.  The applicant departed the EAMETO on 2 September 1944.  He was subsequently discharged on 16 June 1945 with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge.

7.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:

* item 31 (Military Qualification and Date (i.e., infantry, aviation, and marksmanship badges, etc.) the entry "None"
* item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) the entry "None"
* item 33 (Decorations and Citations) the:

* Distinguished Unit Citation (currently now known as the Presidential Unit Citation)
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars

* Item 37 (Total Length of Service) he served 2 years, 7 months, and
16 days of continental service
* item 41 (Service Schools Attended) he completed The Parachute School at Fort Benning, GA.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.

	a.  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 CIB or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

	b.  The American Campaign Medal is awarded for aggregate service of 1 year within the continental United States during the qualifying period between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.

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

	d.  The arrowhead device is worn on the appropriate service medal, to include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign 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.  Only one arrowhead will be worn on any ribbon.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards and campaign participation credit received by units serving during World War II.  This document shows that during the applicant's period of assignment, the 505th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division:

* was credited with participating in the following three campaigns:

* Normandy (6 June - 24 July 1944)
* Sicily (9 July - 17 August 1943)
* Naples-Foggia (9 September 1943 - 21 January 1944)
* 
was cited twice for the French Fourragere for the periods 5-6 June 1944 and 6-20 June 1944, by War Department General Orders (WDGO) 43 dated 1950
* received assault landing credit for Gela (Sicily) for the period 9-11 July 1943, as announced in WDGO 70, dated 1945
* received assault landing credit for Normandy for the period 6-7 June 1944, as announced in WDGO 116, dated 1946

10.  Department of the Army Training Manual (TM) 12-235 (Enlisted Personnel – Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms), in effect at the time, prescribed the separation documents prepared for Soldiers upon retirement, discharge, or release from active military service or control of the Army.  It established standardized policy for the preparation of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  It states for:

* item 31, enter attainments of special proficiency and date.  Example:  "Expert Infantryman," "Combat Infantryman," "Expert Gunner," ""pilot," etc.
* item 32, enter battles or campaigns
* item 33, enter decorations or citations

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded the CIB for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy in the Sicilian Campaign.  Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show this qualification badge.

2.  Based on his award of the CIB, it would be appropriate at this time to award him the Bronze Star Medal and to correct his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this award.

3.  The applicant served during a qualifying period for entitlement to the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.  Therefore, his
WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show these awards.

4.  The evidence of record indicates the applicant was assigned to the 505th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, during periods for which the unit received assault landing credit.  Therefore, it would be appropriate at this time to correct his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show one arrowhead device to be worn on his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

5.  The 505th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division was also cited for award of the French Fourragere during his period of assignment.  Therefore, his WD AGO Form
53-55 should be corrected to show this award.

6.  Evidence shows the applicant participated in three campaigns during his service in the EAMETO.  Therefore, he is entitled to three bronze service stars for wear on his already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show these bronze service stars.

7.  Based on his campaign participation, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show the specific campaigns.

BOARD VOTE:

___x__  __x______  __x______  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is 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.  deleting from item 31 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the current entry and replacing it with the entry "Combat Infantryman Badge, 13 August 1943";

	b.  deleting from item 32 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the current entry and replacing it with the entry "Normandy, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia";

	c.  deleting from item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars;

	d.  awarding him the Bronze Star Medal effective 13 August 1945 based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge; and

	e.  adding to item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the:

* Bronze Star Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars and one arrowhead device
* World War II Victory Medal
* American Campaign Medal
* French Fourragere



      _________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)                                         AR20120021948



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120021948



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