RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        10 July 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060017375


      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.

|     |Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano          |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Susan A. Powers               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Edward E. Montgomery          |     |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, that his military record and
separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) be corrected to reflect his
Prisoner of War (POW) status.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, while serving with Company D of the
28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, he was captured by Germans.
He states that when the war was over, he was processed out and the fact he
was a POW in France for 26 to 28 days was not entered in his record or
separation document.  He asks that it be included in his Army records at
this time.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55 and a Unit History
Document Extract (2 Pages) in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 16 October 1945, the date of his separation.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 15 November 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 (NPRC) 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, which primarily
consist of the applicant's separation document and the unit history
documents he provided.

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army
and entered active duty on 17 November 1942.  He served in the European
Theater of Operations (ETO) from 17 December 1943 through 29 June 1945, and
he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central
Europe campaigns of World War II.
5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he served in military
occupational specialty (MOS) 745 as an infantry squad leader in Company A,
28th Infantry Regiment, and that he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he earned the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and Purple Heart
1st Oak Leaf Cluster (2nd Award).  The WD AGO Form 53-55 contains no
information indicating the applicant was held as a POW, and the applicant
authenticated this document with his signature in Item 56 (Signature of
Person Being Separated) on the date of his separation, which was 16 October
1945.

6.  The applicant provides documents extracts that outlines the actions of
his regiment between 24 August and 31 August 1944.  These documents
indicated, in pertinent part, that communications with Companies E and G
were severed and a patrol was sent out to investigate and an Artillery
forward observer reported two Companies of United States troops moving
south appeared to be prisoners and were believed to be Companies E and G
having been cut off and captured.  A breakdown of casualties shows that
Company A reported 2 officers and 30 enlisted men missing in action (MIA),
Company E reported 1 officer and 46 enlisted men MIA and Company G reported
1 officer and 19 enlisted men MIA.  No names of the MIA were listed.

7.  The applicant's NPRC contains no documentation that indicates he ever
requested POW status or applied for the POW Medal.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) contains the Army's awards
policy.  Paragraph 2-9 contains guidance on award of the POW Medal.  It
states, in pertinent part, that it is awarded to any member who was taken
prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of
the United States.  It further states that all requests for award of the
POW Medal for past armed conflicts will be initiated by former POWs or
their next of kin, using a personal letter.  The following documents, as
applicable, should be submitted with POW Medal applications to assist in
validating the award:  Army separation documents; casualty reports;
messages/letters/telegrams sent home; unit journals; diaries; sworn
eyewitness statements or affidavits; photos, ID Card, or other documents
taken or obtained while in captivity; news clippings and other evidence in
support of the request.  Applications or personal letters should be
forwarded to the National Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Avenue,
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100 for members retired or discharged prior to
1 October 2002.  Statutory and regulatory time limits pertaining to award
of the POW Medal do not apply. Award of the POW Medal may be awarded at
anytime after submission of documented evidence that all criteria have been
met.

9.  Chapter 3 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of the
Bronze Star Medal (BSM).  Paragraph 3-13d (2) states, in effect, that the
BSM is authorized to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who,
after
6 December 1941, were cited in orders or awarded a certificate for
exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7
December 1941 and 2 September 1945.  This paragraph also stipulates that
for this purpose, an award of the CIB is considered as a citation in
orders.

10.  Paragraph 5-12 of the awards regulation contains guidance on award of
the World War II Victory Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is
awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both
dates inclusive.

11.  Paragraph 5-13 contains guidance on the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that a bronze
service star is authorized with this award for each campaign a member was
credited with participating in while serving in the ETO.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that his record and separation document
should be corrected to reflect his POW status was carefully considered.
However, there is insufficient evidence to support granting the requested
relief.

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 52-55 provides no indication that the
applicant was a POW during World War II, and the applicant authenticated
this document with his signature on the date of his separation.  In effect,
his signature was his verification that the information contained on the
separation document was correct at the time it was prepared and issued.

3.  The applicant provides document extracts that outlines the actions of
his unit during a period in August 1944.  Although these documents indicate
Companies E and G may have been taken prisoner, and shows that members of
the regiment were reported MIA during the action in question, there is no
specific information contained in these documents related to the applicant.


4.  The veracity of the applicant's claim that he was taken as a POW is not
in question.  However, there is no indication in his NPRC file that he has
ever attempted to obtain POW status or the POW Medal, and he fails to
provide any casualty reports or sworn eyewitness statements or affidavits
that corroborate his claim.  As a result, there is an insufficient
evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief at this late
date.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 16 October 1945.  Therefore, based on
the date the Board was established, 2 January 1947, the time for him to
file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1
January 1950.  He failed to 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 failure to timely file in
this case.

6.  The evidence does show that based on his having earned the CIB during
World War II, the applicant is entitled to be awarded the BSM, for his
exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy while serving in
the ETO.  It also shows that he is entitled to the World War II Victory
Medal for his World War II service and to 4 bronze service stars with his
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal based on his campaign
participation in the ETO.  The omission of these awards from his separation
document is an administrative matter that does not require Board action.
Therefore, the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis,
Missouri, will administratively correct his record as outlined in paragraph
3 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___KAN _  __SAP __  __EEM__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice related to his Prisoner of
War status.  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.

3.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests
that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the
individual concerned to show his entitlement to the Bronze Star Medal,
World War II Victory Medal and 4 bronze service stars with his European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; and by providing him a correction to
his separation document that includes these awards.




                                  _____Kathleen A. Newman____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060017375                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2007/07/10                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1945/10/16                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Ms. Mitrano                             |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0029                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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