IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 February 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080017138
THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).
2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests that the military records of her deceased husband, the Former Service Member (FSM), be corrected to add the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and any other awards or decorations he may have been entitled to receive.
2. The applicant states that her husband's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge), will confirm his entitlement to the awards requested.
3. The applicant provides her husband's WD AGO Form 53-55, a chronology of her husband's unit during World War II, and her husband's death certificate.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicants failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame
provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted,
has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. The FSM's military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed at the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973. The information contained herein was derived from the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55.
3. The FSM was inducted on 28 August 1942 and entered on active duty on 11 September 1942. He was awarded the military occupational specialty of anti-aircraft artillery automatic weapons crewman and was promoted to corporal.
4. He arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 11 May 1943 and was credited with participation in the Naples Foggia, Rome Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns.
5. He was honorably discharged on 26 October 1945 due to demobilization. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal and the "Bronze Service Arrowhead."
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states that the WWII Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946. Another World War II specific award is the Honorable Service Lapel Button.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 513 (European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal), states that this award was established by Executive Order 9265, announced in War Department Bulletin 56, 1942, as amended by Executive Order 9706, 15 March 1947. It is awarded for service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater between 7 December 1941 and
8 November 1945. One bronze service star is authorized for each campaign credited within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater. The boundaries of European-African-Middle Eastern Theater are as follows:
(1) The eastern boundary is coincident with the western boundary of the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
(2) The western boundary is coincident with the eastern boundary of the American Theater.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, provides that bronze service stars are worn on campaign and service medals to denote participation in a named campaign and on the service ribbons to denote an additional award.
Named campaigns are listed in Appendix B of this regulation. Authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal, which in this case is the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. A silver service star is authorized in lieu of five bronze service stars.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. All five campaigns listed on the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 are in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater. As such, the applicant is entitled to correction of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star.
2. Likewise, based on the FSM's dates of service and the fact that he was honorably discharged, the WWII Victory Medal and the Honorable Service Lapel Button should be added to the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 at this time.
BOARD VOTE:
___X____ ____X__ ____X___ 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. As a result, the Board recommends that the WD AGO 53-55 of the FSM be corrected by adding the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, the Honorable Service Lapel Button, and the World War II Victory Medal.
________X______________
CHAIRPERSON
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080017138
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20080017138
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