RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:     .


      BOARD DATE:           30 November 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004104511


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Shirley L. Powell             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann             |     |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, in effect, campaign participation credit for
Okinawa.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his separation document (WD AGO
Form 53-55) gives no indication of his campaign participation and he
arrived in Okinawa on 19 May 1945.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 in support of
his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 19 February 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 17 February 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 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.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of the
applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, a Separation Qualification Record (WD AGO
Form 100) and associated documents that remain on file at the National
Personnel Records Center (NPRC).

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted into the
Army and entered active duty on 5 June 1943.  He served in military
occupational specialty (MOS) 766 (Radio Operator) and held the rank of
technician five (Tec5) on the date of his separation.
5.  The separation document also shows that the applicant served in the
Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) from 2 February 1945 through 30 January
1945 and that during this tour, he was assigned to the 82nd Signal
Battalion.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) contains the entry “None” and
Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he earned the World War II
Victory Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal and Asiatic-
Pacific Campaign Medal during his active duty tenure.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 5-10 of the
awards regulation contains guidance on award of the Army of Occupation
Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that Army of Occupation Medal with
Japan Clasp is authorized to members who served on the Ryukyu Islands
between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952 (Service between 3 September
1945 and 2 March 1946 will be counted only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Medal was awarded for service before 3 September 1945.

7.  Paragraph 5-13 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that a
bronze service star is authorized with this medal for each campaign a
member participated in while serving in the PTO.

8.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Campaign Participation
Credit Register-World War II) establishes the eligibility of individual
members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit
citation badges awarded during World War II.  This source confirms that
during his tenure of assignment, the applicant’s unit (82nd Signal
Battalion) received occupation credit for Japan and campaign participation
credit for the Ryukyus campaign of World War II.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that he was not given campaign participation
for his participation in Okinawa was found to have merit.

2.  The evidence of record confirms that during his tenure of assignment,
the applicant’s unit was credited with campaign participation in the
Ryukyus campaign, which included the invasion of Okinawa.  Therefore, this
campaign participation should be documented in Item 33 of his WD AGO Form
53-55.

3.  The record further confirms that based on his service and campaign
participation in the PTO, the applicant is entitled to the Army of
Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and 1 bronze service star with his
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.  Therefore, it would also be appropriate to
add these awards to his record and separation document at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

___JNS_   __SLP___  __PHM _  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by amending his WD AGO Form 53-55 by
deleting the current None entry in Item 32 and replacing it with the entry
“Ryukyus”; by amending Item 33 by adding the Army of Occupation Medal with
Japan Clasp and 1 bronze service star to the current Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal entry; and by providing him a corrected separation document
that reflects these changes.




            ____John N. Slone_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004104511                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2004/11/30                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1946/02/19                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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