IN THE CASE OF:	   

		BOARD DATE:	  19 June 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130018060 


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 records to show his military occupational specialty (MOS) title as medic and reconsideration of his request for award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Medical Badge.

2.  He states:

* he was a medic before being changed to a medical technician after an injury
* this correction would qualify him for award of the Bronze Star Medal
* he was a medic when he first deployed to Europe
* he sustained a head injury in 1945, then he was made a medical technician
* the fact that he was a medic is not documented by the Army

3.  He provides:

* two letters of support
* self-authored statement
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge)
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* letter from the National Personnel Records Center
* unit newsletter



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20100021054 on 22 February 2011.

2.  The applicant presents a new argument that he was a medic prior to being injured on active duty which will be considered by the Board.

3.  The applicant's service personnel records were lost or destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records available to the ABCMR were provided in part by the applicant, including records he received from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, and are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 18 March 1943 and entered active duty on 25 March 1943.

5.  His WD AGO Form 100 shows he completed basic combat and advanced individual training and he was awarded MOS 409 (Medical Technician).  His WD AGO Form 100 further shows he served as a medical technician in the European theater of operations (ETO) for 6 months performing various medical duties as a male nurse assisting in the care and treatment of the wounded.  He cleaned and applied bandages to injuries and wounds.  He applied arm and leg splints, kept records of patients, and took the temperature and pulse respiration rates of patients.  This document does not indicate he served as a medical corpsman, commonly known as medic, during World War II.

6.  On 29 November 1945, he was discharged.  He completed 2 years, 7 months, and 26 days of active service that was characterized as honorable.

7.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he entered the ETO on 7 September 1944 and departed the ETO on 26 February 1945.  Item 33 (Decorations and Awards) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal or Combat Medical Badge.

8.  On 4 August 2010, he applied to the ABCMR requesting correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Combat Medical Badge and award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Medical Badge.  However, his request was denied on 22 February 2011.



9.  He provided a letter from his daughter, dated 26 November 2012, in which she stated:

	a.  Her father (the applicant) began his service as a medic in 1944, was injured by "friendly fire" 8 months later, and was made a medical technician when he returned to duty.

	b.  While the applicant was in the hospital, an officer distributed awards of the Purple Heart to the injured; however, he didn't accept the medal and told the officer to give the medals to those Soldiers who were more deserving.

	c.  After the applicant rehabilitated and returned to the front lines, he and his superiors felt he was better suited as a medical technician due to the lingering ailments from his injury.

	d.  The applicant has a replacement Combat Medical Badge.  He lost the original badge.

	e.  The applicant was told the Army didn't record this badge on any discharge documents until 1947.  Since he was discharged in 1945 after the war was over, the badge didn't appear on his discharge papers.

	f.  The applicant feels he deserves the Combat Medical Badge because he was a medic in a battle zone.

10.  He provided a self-authored statement in which he gave a brief history of his military service during World War II.  He stated:

	a.  He served as a combat medic during 1944 to 1945 while assigned to the 329th Medical Battalion, 104th Infantry Division (Timberwolves).

	b.  He was sent to the Army Specialized Training Program after basic training then to Camp Carson where he trained as a combat medic in the 329th Medical Battalion.

	c.  He was a combat medic in the 329th Medical Battalion for 8 months during 1944 to 1945.  Company C was part of the 415th Infantry Regiment of the 104th Infantry Division (Timberwolves).  At times it was necessary for him to fill in as a rifle company or heavy weapons company medic.

	d.  He crossed the Roer River with the 104th Infantry Division (Timberwolves) and he was given an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in early 1945.  He was ordered to the zone of the interior to prepare for West Point.

	e.  He returned to his station on the day of its destruction by an errant bombing.

	f.  He chose to return to the winter quarter at Ohio State as an alternative to a commission or discharge.

11.  He also provided a letter of support from a former fellow Soldier who stated the applicant was a litter bearer assigned to Company C, 329th Medical Battalion, which was attached to the 415th Infantry Regiment, a part of the Regimental Combat Team.  The medical unit was involved in the "Battle of the Dikes" in late October 1944.  They were given the mission of rendering first aid to the walking wounded, and evacuated those in need of medical care.  They also had the responsibility of clearing the battlefield of the dead.  The area was subject to enemy artillery fire and hidden sniper fire.  He attested he participated in these activities and observed the applicant as he acted professionally and in performing his duties.

12.  Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Military Awards), in effect at the time, provided that the Medical Badge was awarded to a member of the Army Medical Service (colonels and below) who had satisfactorily performed medical duties subsequent to 6 December 1941 while assigned or attached to a medical unit of an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size, or as a member of the medical platoon of an infantry or airborne brigade headquarters company, during any period the infantry unit was engaged in active ground combat.  Battle participation credit was not sufficient; the infantry unit must have been in contact with the enemy.

13.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, change 13, dated 18 May 1966, changed the title of the Medical Badge to the Combat Medical Badge.  However, the eligibility requirements for the award remained the same.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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 for award of the Bronze Star Medal.  This means, in effect, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his MOS as 409 and his WD AGO Form 100 shows he was awarded a medical technician MOS and served in the ETO for 6 months performing various medical duties as a male nurse assisting in care and treatment of wounded.

2.  Although he contends he was a medic when he was first deployed to Europe, the available records are void of evidence and he has not provided sufficient evidence which shows he was awarded the medic MOS.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence with which to correct his records to show his MOS as medic.

3.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that a Soldier must have performed medical duties with an infantry unit that is engaged in active ground combat to be eligible for award of the Combat Medical Badge.

4.  There is no available evidence which shows the applicant was assigned to an infantry unit that was engaged in active ground combat.  Therefore, there is insufficient substantive evidence in this case on which to base correcting his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Medical Badge.

5.  The letters of support provided by the applicant's daughter and former fellow Soldier are acknowledged.  However, these documents alone are not sufficiently mitigating to grant relief in this case.

6.  Based on the foregoing, there is insufficient evidence to grant the requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x___  ___x_____  ___x___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20100021054, dated 22 February 2011.



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20130018060



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130018060



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