RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        27 September 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040008665


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. G. E. Vandenberg              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ronald E. Blakely             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lawrence Foster               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas            |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests his records be corrected to show he was awarded
the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received the Purple Heart but
it was not entered on his discharge document.  He indicates that he was a
Prisoner of War (POW) and had shrapnel removed from his eye.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his 3 April 1963 DD Form 214 (Report
of Transfer or Discharge), an excerpt from his medical record for his first
period of service, and one page of a Medical History form.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 30 April 1963, the date of his retirement.  The application
submitted in this case is dated 23 September 2004.

2.  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 allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant's records show he was a career Soldier who initially
entered active duty on 5 December 1942.

4.  A WD AGO Form Number 24 (Service Record), for the period covering
5 December 1942 to 23 October 1945, is incomplete.  It is marked as TEMP
and was started on 19 May 1945.  It contains very little documentation of
his service prior to 19 May 1945.

5.  The WD AGO Form 24 shows that the applicant was a POW of the German
Government from 21 January 1945 to 16 April 1945.

6.  The WD AGO Form 53-55, issued 23 October 1945, lists his awards as the
Purple Heart (Cluster), the Good Conduct Medal, and the Combat Infantryman
Badge.  It also indicates he participated in two campaigns.
7.  A 20 November 1949 DD Form 214 lists his awards as the Combat
Infantryman Badge and indicates he qualified as an expert with the M-1
rifle and M-2 carbine.

8.  A 21 November 1961 DD Form 214 indicates he received no awards or
decorations during this period.

9.  On 30 April 1963 the applicant retired as a first sergeant (E-8) with
20 years, 4 months, and 19 days of creditable service.  The DD Form 214
issued at that time lists his awards as the Army Commendation Medal.

10.  During the applicant's periods of service the regulations pertaining
to entry of awards on the discharge documents specified that only those
awards granted during that period of enlistment were to be listed in the
awards block on the DD Form 214.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Awards) sets forth Army policy and
procedures concerning awards.  Paragraph 2-9 provides for award of the
Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states the Prisoner of War Medal was
authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past
armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 3-13 provides that the Bronze Star
Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in
military operations against an armed enemy.  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 such 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.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 5-11 states that the World War II
Victory Medal was established by the act of Congress 6 July 1945 (59 Stat
461). It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December
1946, both dates inclusive.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 5-12 authorizes award of the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for qualifying service in
the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations for the period
7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also
authorizes a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each
campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized
bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service
medal including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

15.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 5-14 provides for award of the
American Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying
service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.
Qualifying service includes permanent assignment outside the continental
United States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters
for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the
continental United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for
30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the
enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a
corps commander or higher, or service within the continental United States
for an aggregate period of one year.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 8-44, sets forth requirements for
award of basic marksmanship qualification badge.  The qualification badge
is awarded to indicate the degree in which an individual has qualified in a
prescribed record course, and an appropriate bar is furnished to denote
each weapon with which the individual has qualified.  The qualification
badges are in three classes: Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman, for
weapons for which component bars are authorized are in table 8-2.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, issued 23 October 1945, shows he was
awarded the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.

2.  In accordance with regulations in affect at the time the 30 April 1963
DD Form 214 correctly lists only the award earned during his last period of
enlistment.

3.  Since the Purple Heart is reflected on the appropriate discharge
document no correction to his records is warranted.

4.  It appears that the applicant may not have a copy of the 23 October
1945 WD AGO Form 53-55 which documents his award of the Purple Heart;
therefore, as a courtesy to the applicant a copy of this document should be
forwarded to him.


5.  In addition to the awards listed on his various discharge documents,
the applicant is authorized to several awards for which the correction of
his records does not require Board action.  Therefore, his records should
be administratively corrected to show he is also authorized the Bronze Star
Medal, the Prisoner of War Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the
World War II Victory Medal, and the Expert Badge with Rifle and Carbine
Bars.

6.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_REB ___  __LF  ___  __LMD__  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board
determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis
for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.


3.  The Board determined that an administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show he is also authorized award the Bronze Star Medal, the
Prisoner of War Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the World War
II Victory Medal, and the Expert Badge with Rifle and Carbine Bars.




                                  _       Ronald E. Blakely________
                                            CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040008665                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050927                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |                                        |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107  PH POW                             |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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