| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock | Analyst |
| Mr. Fred N. Eichorn | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | Member | |
| Ms. Karen A. Heinz | Member |
2. The applicant requests that her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal.
3. The applicant states that the FSM was a prisoner of war near Steden in Germany during World War II. She forwards a copy of a marriage certificate showing her marriage to the FSM on 14 April 1947 and a copy of a certificate of death, showing that the FSM died on 29 December 2001.
4. The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.
5. The 2 April 1945 morning report of the 136th Quartermaster Truck Company, then located in Muhlheim, Germany, shows that on 1 April 1945 a convoy consisting of two 2 1/2 ton trucks and one 1/4 ton truck and one officer and 15 enlisted soldiers was ambushed near Altenstadt, Germany, and that all men were taken prisoner. At 1800 hours the lieutenant returned to the company area with one truck after escaping during the night of 1 April. At 1830 hours on 2 April 1945 four enlisted men, including the FSM, returned to the company area after escaping the morning of 2 April 1945 near Steden, Germany.
6. A copy of a Finance Department Form No. 33, Soldier's Deposit Book, shows that the FSM was a member of the 136th Quartermaster Truck Company.
7. The applicant's discharge documents are not available to the Board. A final payment work sheet, however, shows that the applicant, a corporal in the Quartermaster Corps, was discharged on 11 October 1945 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Prisoner of War Medal to military personnel who were taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States. The POW Medal may be awarded posthumously.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence suggests that the FSM was a POW from 1 April to 2 April 1945, during World War II. Consequently, he is entitled to award of the POW Medal.
2. The records of the FSM should be corrected to show award of the POW Medal. The POW Medal should be issued to the applicant, his next of kin.
3. 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 awarding the POW Medal in the name of the FSM and issuing the medal to the applicant, his next of kin.
BOARD VOTE:
__FNE __ __MHM__ __KAH__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
____Fred N. Eichorn________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2003085946 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030916 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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