RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 November 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060007401


      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. Beverly A. Young              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Curtis Greenway               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas Ray                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine Taylor                |     |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 award of the Army of Occupation Medal with
Germany Clasp.

2.  The applicant states he served with the 300th Medical Detachment from
November 1945 through April 1946.

3.  The applicant provides a supplemental letter; an affidavit from a
former service member; his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation); a letter addressed to his parents; and a news publication of
Group “A”, Civil Censorship Division.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 24 April 1946.  The application submitted in this case is dated
16 May 2006.

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 on 27 May 1943 and entered
active duty on 3 June 1943.  He held military occupational specialty 673
(Medical Noncommissioned Officer).  He was assigned to the 300th Medical
Detachment in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations
from 30 September 1944 to 4 April 1946.

5.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 24 April 1946.  His WD AGO
Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the World War
II Victory Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

6.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register), dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other
information, occupation credit during World War II.  This document does not
show that the applicant’s unit, the 300th Medical Detachment, received
occupation credit for Germany.

7.  The former fellow service member states he served with the applicant in
the 300th Medical Detachment during World War II and they were shipped
overseas the latter part of September 1944 to France.  The former service
member states they were marshaled at the Calas staging area in France in
December 1945 for occupation duty in Germany.  They were attached to Group
A, Civil Censorship Division and were rotated to the United States for
discharge in April 1946.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of thirty
consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location.
Personnel at a qualifying location as an inspector, courier, and escort on
temporary or detached duty are precluded from eligibility.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant states he served with the 300th Medical Detachment from
November 1945 through April 1946.  However, Department of the Army Pamphlet
672-1 does not show this unit received occupation credit for Germany.

2.  The applicant provided statements from a former fellow Soldier in
support of his claim for award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany
Clasp.  However, absent any other corroborating evidence of record, these
statements alone are not sufficient to support award of the Army of
Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp in this case.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 24 April 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

CG______  TR______  PT______  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.




                                  Curtis Greenway_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060007401                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061114                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0067                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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