IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 June 2011 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100027737 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 award of the Ranger Tab. He also requests, in effect, correction of item 6 (Organization) of his WD AGO Form 53 (Report of Separation) to show he served in the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill’s Marauders). 2. The applicant states: * He served in Merrill's Marauders and would like this shown on his military discharge * He would also like the Ranger Tab because he has the Combat Infantryman Badge * He wants Merrill's Marauders on his grave marker because it was an elite unit 3. The applicant provides: * His WD AGO Form 53 * An article on the Ranger Tab * Excerpts from Volume I of "The Merrill's Marauders/War in Burma" * Orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge * His service medical records 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, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. 3. His WD AGO Form 53 shows he enlisted in the Army National Guard on 16 November 1939 and he entered active service on 15 October 1940. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) from 10 June 1942 to 4 August 1944. He was honorably discharged on 23 December 1944. Item 38 (Total Length of Service - Continental Service/Foreign Service) of his WD AGO Form 53 shows he served in the continental United States (CONUS) for 2 years and 15 days and he was credited with 1 year, 10 months, and 14 days of foreign service. 4. Item 6 of his WD AGO Form 53 shows his organization as Headquarters Section, 1591st Service Unit, Camp Perry, Ohio. Item 33 (Battles and Campaigns) shows the: * New Georgia Islands (a battle during the Northern Solomon Campaign) * Northern Solomons Campaign * Guadalcanal Campaign * India-Burma Campaign 5. Item 34 (Decoration and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53 shows the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with three bronze service stars and the American Defense Ribbon (properly known as the American Defense Service Medal). It also shows, in Item 57 (Remarks), the Combat Infantryman Badge. 6. He provided service medical records, dated from January to June 1944, which show he was assigned to the 5307th Composite Unit (unofficially known as Merrill's Marauders). The National World War II Museum describes the 5307th Composite Unit thusly: a. The 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also commonly known as Merrill’s Marauders after its commanding officer, Brigadier General Frank Merrill, was an elite regimental-sized unit created and trained for long-range penetration of Japanese lines in Burma during World War II. b. In February 1944, the 5307th marched into the Burmese jungle with an initial strength of 2,750 officers and men. Their mission was to wreak havoc on Japanese lines of supply and communication with the ultimate objective of capturing the Japanese air field and town of Myitkyina, nearly 800 miles away. c. Over their 5-month march to Myitkyina, the Marauders fought victoriously against larger Japanese forces by consistently achieving the element of surprise and employing their expertise in marksmanship and small-unit tactics. The Marauders also faced hunger and disease, exacerbated by inadequate aerial resupply drops. Malaria, typhus, and amebic dysentery inflicted more casualties on the Marauders than did the Japanese. d. When in August of 1944, the town of Myitkyina fell to the Marauders and elements of the Chinese Army, only 130 officers and men out of the original 2,750 were fit for duty. A week later, the 5307th was disbanded. In recognition of their incredible feat, the unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and each Soldier of the unit was awarded a Bronze Star Medal. e. Although Merrill’s Marauders were only operational for 6 months, the legacy of their gallantry is honored by the U.S. Army through the modern day 75th Ranger Regiment, which traces its lineage directly to the 5307th Composite Unit. 7. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in World War II and the Korean War. This document shows the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), to which the applicant was assigned, was cited for award of the Distinguished Unit Citation (now known as the Presidential Unit Citation) for the period 3 March 1944 to 17 May 1944 by War Department General Order Number 54, dated 1944. 8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Ranger Tab is awarded for successful completion of a Ranger Course conducted by the U.S. Army Infantry School or the Ranger Training Command. It is also awarded to any person who was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge while serving in World War II as a member of a Ranger Battalion (1st to 6th inclusive) or in the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill’s Marauders). 9. Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), effective 13 October 1949, provided in pertinent part, that 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. 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. 10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant requests correction of his WD AGO Form 53 to show he served in the 5307th Composite Unit; it currently shows Headquarters Section, 1591st Service Unit, Camp Perry, OH. 2. Evidence shows the applicant is a decorated combat veteran of the elite 5307th Composite Unit. This all-volunteer unit operated as Rangers in the harshest terrain in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Although lightly equipped and always greatly outnumbered by the Japanese, they inflicted huge losses on the enemy while suffering minimal casualties of their own. They accomplished their assigned mission, and it was not the enemy, but rampant disease in the jungles of Burma that finally made them combat-ineffective after 6 months of operations. 3. During World War II, returning Soldiers were assigned to administrative units such as Service Units for mustering out of active service. As the last unit of a Soldier's active duty service, this was entered in Item 6 of his WD AGO Form 53. However, it is completely understandable that the applicant desires to have his affiliation with the proud, elite Merrill's Marauders unit listed on his WD AGO Form 53. Therefore, as an exception to policy, his WD AGO Form 53 should be corrected to show his organization as the "5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) [Merrill's Marauders]." 4. As a member of the 5307th Composite Unit, the applicant is entitled to award of the Presidential Unit Citation and the Ranger Tab. Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53 should be corrected to show these awards. 5. As a member of the 5307th Composite Unit, the applicant is also entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal. Additionally, he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge while serving in World War II which entitles him to a second award of the Bronze Star Medal. Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53 should be corrected to show the Bronze Star Medal (2nd Award). 6. He served a period of qualifying service for award of the World War II Victory Medal. Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53 should be corrected to show this medal. 7. Additionally, Item 38 (Total Length of Service - Continental Service/Foreign Service) of his WD AGO Form 53 is incorrect. The applicant served on active duty from 15 October 1940 through 23 December 1944 (4 years, 2 months, and 9 days). He departed the United States for his overseas service tour on 26 May 1942 and he arrived back in the United States on 18 August 1944. Based on his total active service and the dates he departed and returned to the United States, he served in CONUS for a period of 1 year, 11 months, and 15 days and overseas for a period of 2 years, 2 months, and 24 days. Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53 should be corrected accordingly. BOARD VOTE: __X_____ ___X___ ___X____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was 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 6 of his WD AGO Form 53 the entry "Hq, Section 1591st Service Unit, Cp. Perry, O." and replacing it with the entry "5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) [Merrill's Marauders]"; b. adding to item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53 the: * Bronze Star Medal (2nd Award) * World War II Victory Medal * Presidential Unit Citation * Ranger Tab c. deleting from item 38 of his WD AGO Form 53 the entries "Continental Service: 2 0 15" and "Foreign Service: 1 10 14" and replacing it with the entries "Continental Service: 1 11 15" and "Foreign Service: 2 2 24." _________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) AR20100027737 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100027737 6 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1