RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         11 July 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050017076


      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. Carmen Duncan                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |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, award of the Army of Occupation
Medal with Japan Clasp.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he served in Japan for over 30 days
during the period of occupation.

3.  The applicant provides two separation documents (WD AGO Forms 53-55) in
support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 16 May 1947, the date of his final separation from active
duty.  The application submitted in this case was received on 25 November
2005.

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.  This case is
being considered using reconstructed records that consist of two WD AGO
Forms 53-55 submitted by the applicant.

4.  The applicant's separation documents show that he was initially
inducted into the Army and entered active duty on 22 December 1944.  He
departed the United States for the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) on 4
June 1945 and arrived there on 16 July 1945.

5.  On 16 November 1945, the applicant was honorably discharged for the
purpose of immediate reenlistment.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 shows at that
time, he was assigned to Headquarters Company, IX Corps.  It also shows
that during the period of active duty service covered by the separation
document, he earned the Philippine Liberation Medal and Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal.

6.  On 17 November 1945, the applicant reenlisted in the Regular Army, and
continued to serve on active duty until 16 May 1947, at which time he was
honorably separated.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 issued to him at this time
shows the place he entered active duty for the period of service documented
by the separation document was Japan.  It also shows that he departed the
PTO for return to the United States on 28 November 1945.  Finally, it shows
that during this period of active duty service, he earned the World War II
Victory Medal.

7.  A review of the history of the United States Army IX Corps reveals that
after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, IX Army
Corps was assigned the mission of supporting defensive operations along the
central and northern regions of America's western seaboard.  On September
1, 1943, the unit was redesignated IX Corps and a year later, September 25,
1944,
IX Corps closed its headquarters at Fort McPherson, Georgia, preparatory to
overseas movement to Hawaii.  Upon arrival, IX Corps was assigned to Tenth
Army with a dual mission of developing an overall plan for the invasion of
the Japanese-held coast of China, and the preparation of all Tenth Army
units on Hawaii for movement to Okinawa.  With establishment of an overall
command of Pacific Forces under General MacArthur, IX Corps moved to Leyte,
Philippine islands, in July 1945 and was assigned to the Sixth Army. There,
it began planning for the initial invasion of Kyushu, Japan and later,
occupation of Japan in case the Japanese collapsed or surrendered.  In
October 1945, following the surrender of the Japanese military forces, IX
Corps came ashore and established a headquarters at Sapporo.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) contains the Army's awards
policy.  Paragraph 5-10 contains guidance on the AOM, and it states that it
is authorized for service for 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty
(as contrasted to inspector, visitor, courier, escort, passenger, temporary
duty, or detached service) while assigned to a designated country or area
during a qualifying period.  The AOM for Japan was authorized between 3
September 1945 and 27 April 1952, in the four main islands of Hokkaido,
Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, the surrounding smaller islands of the
Japanese homeland, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin-Volcano Islands.
(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).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The applicant's contention that he is entitled to the AOM with Japan Clasp
was carefully considered and found to have merit.  While the applicant
specific period of assignment in Japan cannot be clearly established, the
fact that IX Corps moved to Japan in October 1945, and given he was clearly
in Japan from the time of his reenlistment on 17 November 1945 through his
departure for the United States on 28 November 1945, it is logical to
presume he was with his unit Headquarters, IX Corps when it moved to Japan
in October 1945, and that he served there for at least 30 days.  Therefore,
it would serve the interest of equity to grant the requested relief by
adding the AOM with Japan Clasp to the applicant's final separation
document.

BOARD VOTE:

___JNS _  __CD ___  __JRM  _  GRANT FULL 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 awarding him the Army of Occupation
Medal with Japan Clasp, for his qualifying service in Japan between October
and November 1945; and by providing him a correction to his separation
document that includes this award.




                            _____John N. Slone_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050017076                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/07/11                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]