| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Jessie B. Strickland | Analyst |
| Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Thomas Lanyi | Member | |
| Mr. Jose A. Martinez | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) be corrected to reflect that he was separated in the rank of sergeant.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was promoted to the rank of sergeant shortly before being taken as a prisoner of war (POW). However, it appears that his records were never updated and he was instead separated in the rank of corporal. In support of his application he submits copies of letters that he sent to his family while he was interned as a POW, which indicate that he was serving as a sergeant.
4. The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which destroyed millions of service records. However, reconstructed records show that the applicant was inducted on 16 November 1942 and entered active duty at Fort Sheridan, Illinois on 30 November 1942.
5. He departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 2 April 1943 and served as a heavy machine gunner in the Rome Arno, Naples Foggia and Central Europe Campaigns. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with three bronze service stars. He was returned from the ETO to the United States on 12 June 1945 and was honorably discharged in the rank of corporal on 30 October 1945.
6. On 5 March 1947, the applicant’s former first sergeant (1SG) dispatched a notarized letter to the Army Central Adjustment Office in Chicago, Illinois, which stated that he was the applicant’s 1SG when they were captured and that the applicant was entitled to difference in pay from the rank of private first class (PFC) to sergeant from 18 January 1944 to 9 October 1945. He also indicated that the applicant led a machine gun squad very efficiently for several weeks before he was promoted, that he was captured by the Germans on 22 January 1944, and that it was apparent that his promotion did not reach his records.
7. On 19 July 1955, in response to a congressional inquiry on behalf of the applicant, officials at the Office of the Secretary of the Army informed the congressional representative that the applicant’s records showed that the applicant was promoted from private to PFC on 10 January 1944, that he was reported missing in action (MIA) on 22 January 1944, that he was reported as a POW of the German government and was returned to United States Government control on 6 May 1945. He was promoted to the rank of corporal on 9 October 1945 and was discharged on 30 October 1945 as a corporal. It also indicated that an inquiry of the applicant’s unit revealed that he had not been promoted prior to being listed as MIA on 22 January 1944, nor was there any orders issued by competent authority to that effect.
8. The documents submitted by the applicant with his application consist of a copy of a postcard from himself at a transit POW camp dated 27 January 1944, addressed to his parents. The postcard is a pre-printed notice informing his parents that he was in good health and that he would provide an address for them to contact him at a later date. He signed the form as a sergeant.
9. A review of the available records also shows that the applicant was subsequently awarded the Bronze Star Medal (BSM), the POW Medal, the Good Conduct Medal (GCMDL), the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), the World War II (WWII) Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation (AOM) Medal with Germany Clasp. However, there is no indication that these awards were ever added to his records.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the available evidence of record does not support the applicant’s contention that he was promoted to the rank of sergeant prior to his capture, the evidence provided by the applicant in the form of a letter from his first sergeant in 1947 and a copy of the POW Transit Card are compelling enough for the Board to believe that the applicant was, in fact, promoted to the rank of sergeant.
2. The Board is inclined to believe that in all likelihood, and given the circumstances at the time, that the applicant was promoted while in combat and that the necessary documents to support the promotion were lost.
3. In any event, there is sufficient evidence to believe that he was promoted and the Board finds that any doubt in this matter should be resolved in favor of the applicant. Inasmuch as the Board cannot determine with any degree of certainty when the applicant was promoted, the Board elects to use the date provided by the 1SG, 18 January 1944, as the date he was promoted.
4. The Board also finds that his awards of the BSM, the POW Medal, the GCMDL, the PUC, the WWII Victory Medal, and the AOM with Germany clasp should have been entered into his records and that it would be in the interest of justice to correct that administrative oversight at this time.
5. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION: That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was promoted to the rank of sergeant on 18 January 1944, was discharged in the rank of sergeant and that he was awarded the BSM, the POW Medal, the GCMDL, the PUC, the WWII Victory Medal and the AOM with Germany clasp.
BOARD VOTE:
__jm____ __inw ___ ___tl____ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
___Irene N. Wheelwright___
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001065024 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2001/12/18 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT PLUS |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 319 | 131.0900/ADV GRD |
| 2. 189 | 110.0000/CORR 214 |
| 3. 60 | 107.0014/BSM |
| 4. 77 | 107.0031/puc |
| 5. 113 | 107.0067/aom |
| 6. 112 | 107.0066/wwii |
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