BOARD DATE:	  12 October 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100009930 


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, through a Member of Congress, reconsideration of his request for correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show he was a prisoner of war (POW).

2.  The Member of Congress states the applicant is seeking recognition as a POW.  The applicant was captured by Chinese Soldiers and held for several days in an abandoned house along with some of his fellow Soldiers.  In the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) Record of Proceedings, dated 17 December 2009, it states the newspaper interview the applicant gave to a Rochester, NY, newspaper on 15 January 1951, which was submitted with his application, did not mention being captured or being a POW.  In fact, the article clearly states, “About a month ago the applicant was a prisoner of the Chinese Communists in North Korea.  He and seven of his buddies of the 32nd Regiment, of the 7th Infantry Division, were captured by the Reds near the Chosin River shortly after they broke up an enemy roadblock.”  Further in the article the applicant is quoted as saying, “After the Chinese captured us, they marched us off and locked us up in an old house where we remained for three day.”

3.  The Member of Congress also states the applicant was again interviewed in 2010 about his experiences.  The fact the applicant’s discharge does not mention his POW status is not surprising considering the nature of the capture and the fact he and his buddies were not repatriated in the usual manner.  Based on the previously overlooked evidence as well as the recent article, he honestly believes the applicant is worthy of POW status and the benefits it provides.

4.  Copies of the following documents were provided:

* The entire article from the Rochester newspaper, dated 15 January 1951
* An article from the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspaper, dated 7 February 2010

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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20090010831 on 17 December 2009.

2.  The entire article from the Rochester newspaper and the article from the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspaper were not previously considered by the Board.  They are new evidence which warrants consideration by the Board.

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 his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record and documentation submitted with this request for reconsideration for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant’s available military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on 24 December 1948.  He served in Korea for 2 years, 3 months, and 14 days.  He was honorably discharged on 24 May 1952.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp, and the Purple Heart.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) shows the entry "Gun Shot Wound, Korea, 1 Dec 50."

5.  There is no information in the applicant’s available military records which identified him as a POW during his service in Korea.

6.  The Member of Congress provided a copy of the entire article published in a Rochester newspaper on 15 January 1951, which contained the statements provided in the foregoing "Applicant’s Request, Statement, and Evidence section of this Record of Proceedings."  Also provided was a copy of an article from the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspaper, dated 7 February 2010.  The article stated, “… Crossing a partially destroyed bridge, (applicant's name) met five other wounded men also looking for an aid station.  They came upon a house and started to go inside, only to discover it was full of Chinese soldiers.  The Americans were captured as POWs and taken to a house where their captors fed them frozen Dole grapefruit juice from America.  The Americans were held in the house for three days, while the Air Force strafed and bombed the village.”  “When the Army started issuing Prisoner of War medals, (applicant name) applied and was told they could not verify him ever being a prisoner."… "Several appeals have resulted in consistent denials, because he cannot show his name on rolls the Chinese made after getting prisoners into a POW compound.  His unit records don't reflect his captivity and subsequent escape because many of them were destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973….”

7.  A search was conducted of the National Archives and Records Administration, Records of American POWs During the Korean War, documenting the period between 1950 and 1953 and the Records of Repatriated Korean War POWs, created in 1978, documenting the period 5 July 1950 to 6 October 1954.  These records did not contain the applicant’s name.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive after 5 April 1917.  The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel and other personnel granted creditable U.S. military service who were taken prisoner and held captive:

* while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States
* while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
* while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party
* by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict

9.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  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.  In order for the applicant’s records to be corrected to show he was a POW, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that he was taken prisoner or held captive by governments which the United States was engaged in armed conflict with or by foreign armed forces which were hostile to the United States.

2.  The documentation provided by the Member of Congress was carefully considered; however, there is no available official record confirming the applicant was held captive or met the criteria for the POW medal or POW status.  Therefore, the overall merits of the case, including the latest submissions, are insufficient as a basis to grant the applicant’s requested relief.  It has not been satisfactorily shown an error or injustice exists in the applicant’s records or evidence to corroborate the contentions he is eligible for POW status.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is insufficient basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____x_  ____x____  ____x____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20090010831, dated 17 December 2009.



      ____________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)                                         AR20100009930



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         A