RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          23 August 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040009906


      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. Richard P. Nelson             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Marla J. N. Troup             |     |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 promotion to the rank of corporal while he was a
prisoner of war (POW) during World War II.

2.  The applicant states that because of his POW status, he was never
promoted from private first class to corporal.  He further states that he
earned the right to be promoted to corporal as a result of having been a
POW.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) and his discharge
certificate.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error that
occurred on 22 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 11 November 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 limitation 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 were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were
obtained from alternate sources and consist of the documents provided by
the applicant and an undated DD Form 2510 (Prisoner of War (POW) Medal
Application/Information).

4.  The applicant was inducted on 18 November 1943 and entered on active
duty on that same date.  He was trained as an infantryman, was awarded
military occupational specialty 745 (Rifleman), and deployed to the
European Theater of Operations on 6 August 1944.  In January of 1945, the
applicant’s status was changed to POW.  He was returned to U.S. military
control in April of 1945 and his status was changed from POW to present for
duty at that time (the exact day is not known).

5.  The applicant returned to the United States on 29 May 1945 and was
honorably separated from active duty on 22 November 1945.  His separation
document shows he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Service
Medal with three bronze service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the
American Campaign Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  This document
also shows that he participated in the Northern France, Rhineland, and
Central Europe Campaigns.

6.  Under a War Department policy announced in 1945, individuals who were
POW's for 18 months or longer during World War II were eligible for an
automatic one-grade promotion upon return to military control.  Individuals
lost to military control for periods less than 18 months were not eligible
for promotion under this policy.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was a POW for less than 18 months.  As such he did not
meet the criteria and was not entitled to be promoted in accordance with
War Department policy in effect at the time.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 22 November 1945, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, 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.
However, 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 failure to
timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___kan__  ____wdp_  ___mt___  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.




            __________Kathleen A. Newman________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040009906                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050823                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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