RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 May 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060017130
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. Gerard W. Schwartz
Acting Director
Ms. Wanda L. Waller
Analyst
The following members, a quorum, were present:
Mr. Ronald Weaver
Chairperson
Mr. Jeffrey Redmann
Member
Mr. David Tucker
Member
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 reconsideration of an earlier request to correct item
6 (Organization) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) to show Company B, 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division instead of Company K, 109th Infantry Division.
2. The applicant states, in effect, that he served his country with pride and honor during World War II and fought side by side with his brothers of the 106th Infantry Division. He contends that he was captured during the Battle of the Bulge, taken prisoner, and went through hell in the prisoner of war camp with his brothers of the 106th Infantry Division, not with anyone from the 109th Infantry Division.
3. The applicant provides a letter, dated 16 December 1985, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question; a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record); an undated eyewitness statement from a fellow Soldier at the time in question; a letter, dated 5 April 1990, from the 106th Infantry Division Association; a photograph of a Soldier; a fact sheet on the 106th Infantry Division; a Morning Report, dated 19 December 1944; and documentation pertaining to the 106th Infantry Division Association (The Golden Lions).
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20050017581 on 29 August 2006.
2. The applicant provided a Morning Report, dated 19 December 1944, and a by-name list from Company B, 422nd Infantry Regiment which shows his duty status was changed to missing in action in Germany on 16 December 1944.
3. The applicant also provided an undated eyewitness statement from a fellow Soldier assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 422nd Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division at the time in question. He attests that the applicant was a member of the 106th Infantry Division.
4. The applicants submissions are new evidence which will be considered by the Board.
5. The applicants 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 applicants 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.
6. The applicant was inducted on 30 March 1944. He served as a rifleman in the European Theater of Operations from 29 October 1944 until approximately
12 May 1945 and was honorably discharged on 21 October 1945.
7. Item 6 on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "CO [Company] K 109TH INF [Infantry].
8. Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms) established the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) during World War II. This regulation states the last unit, or similar element, to which an individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was a part while moving to a separation activity, will be entered in item 6 of the WD AGO Form 53-55.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The entry on the Morning Report provided by the applicant which shows he was assigned to Company B, 422nd Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division on 19 December 1944. While there is no evidence of record to show he was reassigned to the 106th Infantry Division after his liberation, this Morning Report is accepted as sufficient evidence on which to amend item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55. Therefore, item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show Company B, 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division.
BOARD VOTE:
RW____ __JR____ _DT_____ 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 amendment of the ABCMRs decision in Docket Number AR20050017581, dated 29 August 2006. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. deleting the entry in item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and
b. adding the entry, Company B, 422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division in item 6 on his WD AGO Form 53-55.
___Ronald Weaver______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20060017130
SUFFIX
RECON
20060829
DATE BOARDED
20070524
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION
GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.
100.0000
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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