APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, the applicant requests a retroactive promotion.  

APPLICANT STATES:  He states that he learned that he may have been inadvertently passed over for promotion during the time he was a prisoner of war (POW) of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II from 6 May 1942 to 
1 October 1945.  He enlisted in the Army in January 1941.  He was a private first class (PFC) from May 1942 until September 1945 and he feels that he would have been promoted during the period he was a POW.  

The applicant encloses a copy of a letter from an official of an organization named, American Ex-Prisoners of War, in which that official responds to an inquiry from an individual by saying, “The fact that a person was a prisoner of war did not make them eligible for an automatic promotion.  Those who were prisoners of war for 18 months or more should have been considered for at least one promotion. Those who were prisoners of war for less than 18 months were considered on an individual basis.”    

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records may have been lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant received an Honorable Discharge Certificate dated 9 October 1946.  His rank on this certificate is Corporal.

War Department AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) shows that he was discharged at Philmont, New York on 9 October 1946.  His rank is shown as Cpl (Corporal), with a date of rank of 
2 September 1945. 


On 21 September 1988 the applicant was notified by the Army Reserve Personnel Center at St. Louis that he was authorized the POW medal.

An office of the Surgeon General automated hospital admissions card, dated 30 September 1994, covering the period from 1942-1945, shows that the applicant was a repatriated prisoner of Japan, repatriated in 1945.

War Department Message, dated 21 September 1945,
Subject: POW Promotions (also known as Project R),
directed that soldiers who were POW's for 18 months or
longer, under honorable conditions, would receive a
promotion of one grade if not previously promoted after
return to military control.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, and advisory opinion(s), it is concluded:

1.  By his own admission the applicant states that he was a PFC when he was captured in 1942 until his repatriation in 1945.  His record shows that he was promoted to Corporal in September 1945, and discharged with that rank in October 1946.  The applicant was promoted after his return to military control in accordance with the provisions of the War Department directive.  No further action is deemed necessary by this Board.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant’s request.


DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT          

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION




						Karl F. Schneider
						Acting Director