RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         09 DECEMBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004106089


      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. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael Flynn                 |     |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 that his deceased father, a former service
member (FSM) be awarded the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal.

2.  The applicant states that his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation) does not reflect that he was wounded in action or
that he was a prisoner of war.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a card signed by a captain and two
lieutenants, a copy of a message, a copy of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55,
and a copy of a certificate of death.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM was inducted into the Army on 19 November 1942, served in the
European Theater of Operations during World War II with the 495th Field
Artillery Battalion, departing for that theater in July 1944 and returning
to the United States in June 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show
award of the Purple Heart.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of that
form contains the word, "NONE."

2.  A copy of a "card" dated 1 April 1945 shows that three individuals (a
captain and two lieutenants) certified that the FSM was wounded in the
right leg by enemy action and doctored in the PW group.

3.  In an undated message the FSM informed his father that he was "OK" and
on his way home.  A statement apparently affixed to that message indicates
that the message was from a liberated prisoner of war.  Both documents were
provided by the applicant.

4.  On 20 May 1951 the War Claims Commission informed the FSM that his
claim for benefits had been adjudicated and an award of $36.00 made to him
to cover the period of imprisonment and/or internment from 31 March 1945 to
        5 May 1945.

5.  The War Claims Commission was created as a temporary agency by the War
Claims Act of 1948. The Commission was made responsible for settling
certain claims of former United States World War II prisoners of war,
civilian internees captured or in hiding to avoid capture in the
Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, and the Midway Islands, and certain
religious organizations in the Philippines which had aided American forces
during the war.  In 1952, the Commission was assigned, additionally, the
administration of claims of Philippine religious organizations which
sustained losses of their educational, medical, and welfare facilities in
the war, and of benefits to United States prisoners of war for inhumane
treatment during internment by the enemy.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for
a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence
must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action,
the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have
been made a matter of official record.

7.  That regulation authorizes award of the POW Medal, and states that the
POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity
with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5
April 1917.  The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military
personnel who were taken prisoner while engaged in an action against an
enemy of the United States.

8.  The Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp is awarded for service
in Germany between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.

9.  The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register shows that
the
495th Field Artillery Battalion was award the Army of Occupation Medal for
the period 2 May 1945 to 31 October 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board does not dispute the information contained in 1 April 1945
statement offered by the applicant.  Nonetheless, there is no medical
evidence to substantiate that the former service member was wounded in
action, or any record that he had been treated for that wound, either at
the time that he was supposedly wounded or at any time thereafter.  There
is simply insufficient evidence to support the applicant's contention.
Consequently, his request that the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart cannot
be granted.

2.  The evidence does support the applicant's contention that the FSM was a
prisoner of war.  Consequently, the FSM is entitled to the posthumous award
of the Prisoner of War Medal.

3.  The FSM is entitled to the posthumous award of the Army of Occupation
Medal with Germany clasp.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___MM__  ___LS  __  ___MF __  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board
recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual
concerned be corrected by posthumous award of the Prisoner of War Medal and
the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
award of the Purple Heart.




                            ______Melvin Meyer_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004106089                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041209                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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