RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 

AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 

IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2010-02213 

 COUNSEL: NONE 

 HEARING DESIRED: NO 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: 

 

1. Her deceased father’s records be corrected to reflect he was 
a Prisoner of War (POW). 

 

2. His records be corrected to reflect award of the Prisoner of 
War (POW) Medal. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: 

 

The decedent was granted POW status by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (DVA) on 15 May 93. 

 

In support of her request, the applicant provides extracts of 
the decedent’s personnel records, DVA decisional documents, and 
death certificate. 

 

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at 
Exhibit A. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

STATEMENT OF FACTS: 

 

On 19 Mar 43, the decedent entered the Army Air Corps and was 
honorably discharged on 5 Nov 45. 

 

The decedent’s master personnel records were destroyed by the 
1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. 

 

His WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, 
Honorable Discharge, reflect he arrived in the European Theater 
on 26 Dec 44 and returned to the United States on 11 Aug 45. He 
is credited with serving in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central 
Europe Campaigns. 

 

In accordance with DoD 1348-33M, Manual of Military Decorations 
and Awards: General Information, Medal of Honor, and Defense/ 
Joint Decorations and Awards, C6.2.1.2.3, the POW Medal shall be 
issued only to those taken prisoner by foreign forces that are 
hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the 
Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under 


which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed 
forces during periods of armed conflicts. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

HQ AFPC/DPWC recommends denial for awarding POW status and 
defers to HQ AFPC/DPSIDR on award of the POW Medal. 

 

DPWC states that during World War II, the decedent’s aircraft 
was shot down and he was detained as an internee by Russia in 
Poltava, Russia (Ukraine) for a period of 50 days, from 
17 Mar 45 to 6 May 45. 

 

The Department of Defense Joint Publication 1-0 defines 
“prisoner of war” as a detained person as defined in 
Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the 
Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 Aug 49. In particular, one 
who, while engaged in combat under orders of his or her 
government, is captured by the armed forces of the enemy. In 
contrast, “interned” is defined as “the casualty is definitely 
known to have been taken into custody of a non belligerent 
foreign power as a result of and for reasons arising out of any 
armed conflict in which the Armed Forces of the United States 
are engaged.” 

 

The DVA’s decision to treat for the purposes of benefits and 
compensation to certain World War II veterans who were forcibly 
detained in allied or neutral countries (under similar 
conditions to those veterans who were forcibly detained by enemy 
governments) does not by itself qualify the member for POW 
status. In this context, mistreatment may qualify veterans for 
VA compensation, but it does not qualify them for official POW 
status on their military record. Additionally, despite numerous 
attempts, the treating DVA hospital failed to provide records. 

 

The National Archives do not have the decedent listed as a POW 
in their Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947. 
Additionally, the Army Repatriation and Family Affairs Division 
do not have him listed in their POW database. Moreover, 
substantiating documentation was not provided with the 
application. 

 

The complete DPWC evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B. 

 

HQ AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial for award of the POW Medal. 
DPSIDR states that with HQ AFPC/DPWC unable to validate the 
decedent being considered to have POW status, they are unable to 
verify his entitlement to the POW Medal. 

 

The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 


 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

Copies of the Air Force evaluations were forwarded to the 
applicant on 22 Oct 10 for review and comment within 30 days 
(Exhibit D). As of this date, this office has not received a 
response. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

The SAF/MRB Legal Advisor recommends denial. He states that 
being detained after crash landing a plane is not being taken 
prisoner and held captive within the meaning of the statute. 
Secondly, at this time in the war, Russia was an ally of the 
United States and Switzerland was a neutral country. 

 

The complete SAF/MRB Legal Advisor’s evaluation, with 
attachments, is at Exhibit E. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: 

 

A copy of the SAF/MRB Legal Advisor’s evaluation was forwarded 
to the applicant on 18 Feb 11 for review and comment within 
30 days (Exhibit F). As of this date, this office has not 
received a response. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 

 

1. The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by 
existing law or regulations. 

 

2. The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the 
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 

 

3. Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to 
demonstrate the existence of error or injustice. We took notice 
of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of 
the case; however, we agree with the opinion and recommendation 
of the Air Force offices of primary responsibility and the 
SAF/MRB Legal Advisor and adopt their rationale as the basis for 
our conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error 
or injustice. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the 
contrary, we find no basis to recommend granting the relief 
sought in this application. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 


THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT: 

 

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did not 
demonstrate the existence of material error or injustice; that 
the application was denied without a personal appearance; and 
that the application will only be reconsidered upon the 
submission of newly discovered relevant evidence not considered 
with this application. 

 

_________________________________________________________________ 

 

The following members of the Board considered Docket Number 
BC-2010-02213 in Executive Session on 12 April 2011, under the 
provisions of AFI 36-2603: 

 

 , Panel Chair 

 , Member 

 , Member 

 

The following documentary evidence was considered: 

 

 Exhibit A. DD Forms 149, dated 30 May and 2 Aug 10, w/atchs. 

 Exhibit B. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPWC, dated 21 Sep 10, w/atch. 

 Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSIDRA, dated 7 Oct 10. 

 Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 22 Oct 10. 

 Exhibit E. Letter, SAF/MRB Legal Advisor, dated 10 Jan 11, 

 w/atchs. 

 Exhibit F. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 18 Feb 11. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Panel Chair