RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        16 August 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040008943


      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             |
|     |Ms. Rosa M. Chandler              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |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 award of the
Army of Occupation Medal (AOM) with Japan Clasp.

2.  The applicant states he was assigned in the area of operations during
the period for which the AOM was authorized.

3.  The applicant provides:

      a.  A copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation - Honorable Discharge).

      b.  A copy of Letter Orders Number 33, Headquarters, 209th Anti-
Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, dated 27 December 1945.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 24 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 12 October 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 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.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25
January 1943 and reported for active duty on 1 February 1943.  He was
trained as a truck driver and was transferred to the Western Pacific
Theater of Operations (WPTO), departing the United States on/about 2
November 1943 and arriving in the WPTO on/about 23 November 1943.

5.  The record shows that the applicant was assigned to Battery D, 497th
Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Gun Battalion, as well as Battery B, 209th
AAA Automatic Weapons (AW) Battalion.  His dates of assignment to these
units are not known.

6.  The applicant was reassigned from the WPTO on/about 31 December 1945
and returned to the United States on/about 14 January 1946.  He was
honorably discharged on 24 January 1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  He was
discharged as a Technician 5th Class (Grade 5) and he was awarded the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Philippine Liberation
Ribbon, and World War II Victory Medal.

7.  In response to a request from the applicant, the National Personnel
Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, Missouri issued the applicant a DA Form
1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 11 October 1989, showing
his entitlement to the Good Conduct Medal, WW II Victory Medal, Philippine
Liberation Ribbon, and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service
stars, representing the following campaigns:  East Indies (1 January-22
July 1942), Bismarck Archipelago (15 December 1943-27 November 1944), New
Guinea (24 January 1943-31 December 1944), and Luzon (15 December 1944-
4 July 1945).  The NPRC denied the applicant's request for the AOM with
Japan Clasp.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth Department of the
Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual military
awards, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service ribbons, combat
and special skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and trophies and
similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments.  It states, in
pertinent part, the AOM is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a
normal post of duty in a qualifying location.  Personnel at a qualifying
location as an inspector, courier, escort, temporary or detached duty are
precluded from eligibility.  Qualifying service in Japan included service
in the Japanese Home Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin-Volcano
Islands between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952.  Service between 3
September 1945 and 2 March 1946 is qualifying only if the Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal was earned prior to 3 September 1945.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 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, including occupation
credit for award of the AOM.  This document does not list the 497th AAA Gun
Battalion.  It does list the 209th AAA AW Battalion and shows that it
participated in 4 campaigns (Bismarck Archipelago, East Indies, Luzon, and
New Guinea), but does not credit the unit with occupation duty in Japan.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review; therefore, there is no affirmative evidence concerning his units of
assignment or the dates of assignment to those units.

2.  The applicant’s records contain a DA Form 1577 (Authorization for
Issuance of Awards), dated 11 October 1989, shows he was issued a Good
Conduct Medal, an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service
stars, a World War II Victory Medal, and a Philippine Liberation Ribbon.
The 4 bronze service stars are not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55. The DA
Form 1577 merely authorizes issuance of decorations, medals, unit citations
and badges and is not sufficient as a basis for entitlement to an award or
correction of military records.  Therefore, the Board will make a
determination regarding the applicant’s entitlement to award of the 4
bronze service stars.

3.  The available evidence suggests that the applicant served with two
units during his World War II service – the 497th AAA Gun Battalion and the
209th AAA AW Battalion.  The 497th AAA Gun Battalion is not listed in DA
PAM 672-1, so occupation credit and campaign credit cannot be determined.
The 209th AAA AW Battalion is listed in the DA PAM and it is not credited
with occupation duty.  It is credited with participation in 4 campaigns:
East Indies (1 January-22 July 1942), Bismarck Archipelago (15 December
1943-27 November 1944), New Guinea (24 January 1943-31 December 1944), and
Luzon (15 December 1944-4 July 1945).  Obviously, the applicant could not
have participated in all four campaigns as he was not even a Soldier at the
time of the East Indies Campaign.

4.  It is impossible to determine which campaigns the applicant
participated in because of the absence of affirmative evidence concerning
his units and dates of assignment.  Therefore, the DA Form 1577
(Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 11 October 1989, which shows
that he participated in four campaigns is not valid and cannot be used as a
basis for correction of his records.


5.  The applicant's entitlement to the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan
Clasp cannot be determined.  Merely having served in Japan in 1945 is not
sufficient for award of the AOM; the applicant must have been assigned to a
unit credited in DA PAM 672-1 with occupation duty.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 24 January 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  The ABCMR was not established until 2 January
1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for
correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  The
applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not
provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__mhm___  __jtm___  __jbg___  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.


                                        Melvin H. Meyer
                                  ______________________
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040008943                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050816                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0067                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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