RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        24 May 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060017737


      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      |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald J. Weaver              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. David W. Tucker               |     |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 WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation) be corrected to show he attended the Cooks and Bakers
School and the Projection Operator School.  He also requests that his WD
AGO Form 53-55 be corrected to show he was a prisoner of war (POW) by
“FFI.”

2.  The applicant states that his WD AGO Form 53-55 fails to show he was a
POW and fails to show he attended any schools.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55; a United States Army
Projection Operator’s Permit; copies of portions of his WD AGO Form
       24 (Service Record); a newspaper article regarding his Purple Heart;
three articles on the POW Medal; and a newspaper article regarding a former
Gulf War POW.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred
on    30 October 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 20
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 was inducted into the Army on 31 January 1943 and entered
active duty on 8 February 1943.

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 24 shows he completed the Cooks and Bakers
School at Camp Edwards, MA on 19 May 1943.

5.  The applicant provided a United States Army Projection Operator’s
Permit that shows he completed a course of instruction in the operation of
the A11 Makes (16mm) sound projector at Camp Butner, NC on 6 June 1944.

6.  The applicant arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 1 July
1944 and departed the theater on 15 October 1945.
7.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 24 does not show that he was a POW.  He is
not listed on the World War II POW Data File as being reported as a POW.

8.  The applicant provided a page from his WD AGO Form 24 in support of his
request to show he was a POW by “FFI.”  The entry states he did/did not
have a Class E allotment running that had been deducted from his pay to
include 31 July 1944; that he was authorized a Class D deduction for
government insurance which was deducted from his pay to include 31 July
1944; that his character and efficiency were “excellent”; and that Charles
F. H___, Warrant Officer Junior Grade, U. S. Army Personnel “OFF”
(Officer), personally verified all entries in that indorsement.  It appears
the applicant highlighted the “OFF” entry and interpreted it to read “FFI.”

9.  The applicant was awarded the Purple Heart on orders dated 28 September
1944.  He provided a newspaper article regarding his Purple Heart.  He
annotated the bond paper the article was attached to with the entry, “While
I was POW,” apparently to indicate he was wounded while he was a POW.

10.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 30 October 1945.  Item
      41 (Service Schools Attended) on his WD AGO 53-55 contains the entry,
“NONE.”  His WD AGO 53-55 does not indicate he was a POW.

11.  The applicant enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps on 30 (sic)
October 1945.

12.  War Department Technical Manual 12-235 (Enlisted Personnel Discharge
and Release from Active Duty), dated January 1945, did not give specific
guidance on how to prepare the WD AGO Form 53-55.  In a sample of how the
document looked when prepared, item 41 contained the name of the school and
the place attended.  There was no specific guidance for entering POW
information.

13.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Document) is the current regulation
that establishes standardized policy for preparing and distributing
discharge documents.  In pertinent part, it directs that, in the case of
POWs, the unit of assignment, country, and dates of capture and release
will be entered in the “Remarks” section of the discharge document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record and evidence provided by the applicant show he
completed the Cooks and Bakers School at Camp Edwards, MA, and he completed
a course of instruction in the operation of the A11 Makes (16mm) sound
projector at Camp Butner, NC.  Although it cannot be determined that the
course of instruction in the operation of the sound projector was a
“service school,” any reasonable doubt should be resolved in favor of the
applicant.  Item 41 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be amended to show
“Cooks and Bakers School, Camp Edwards, MA” and “Operation of the A11 Makes
(16mm) Sound Projector Course, Camp Butner, NC.”

2.  In the context of World War II, “FFI” might mean Forces Francaises de
I’Interieur (French Resistance Army).  However, since the French Resistance
groups cooperated with the Allies, not with the Germans or the
collaborationists of Vichy, France, it cannot be determined exactly what
the applicant means by “FFI” when he requests that his WD AGO Form 53-55 be
corrected to show he was a POW by “FFI.”

3.  Since there is no evidence of record to show the applicant was a POW,
and his name is not listed on the World War II POW Data File as being
reported as a POW, there is insufficient evidence on which to correct his
WD AGO Form 53-55 to show he was a POW.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 30 October 1945; therefore, the time
for   the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on     1 January 1950 (3 years after the Board was
established on 2 January 1947).  The applicant did not file within the 3-
year statute of limitations; however, based on the available evidence, it
would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in
this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__jcr___  __rjw___  __dwt___  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 and to excuse failure to timely
file.  As a result, the Board recommends that item 41 of the WD AGO 53-55
of the individual
concerned be corrected by deleting the entry “NONE” and entering “Cooks and
Bakers School, Camp Edwards, MA” and “Operation of the A11 Makes (16mm)
Sound Projector Course, Camp Butner, NC.”

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
correcting his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show he was a prisoner of war.




                            __Jeffrey C. Redmann__
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060017737                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070524                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schwartz                            |
|ISSUES         1.       |100.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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