IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  30 August 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120001136 


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 his records be corrected to show that he was missing in action (MIA) and he was a prisoner of war (POW).

2.  The applicant states on 27 December 1944 his company was overrun by the Germans and he was wounded and taken prisoner.  He goes on to state he was liberated by another company on the same day and was taken to receive medical attention and was not reported to his unit for a number of hours.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a two-page self-authored letter, dated 27 December 2011
* his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge)
* a statement from his former staff sergeant, notarized on 28 February 1995
* two partially legible Western Union telegrams announcing his being in an MIA status and repatriation
* three additional exhibits consisting of a unit history and photographs

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 applicant's 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 applicant's failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant's military records are not available for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant was born on 2 September 1924.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 9 June 1943 and he entered active service at Fort Bragg, NC on 23 June 1943.  He completed his training as a mortar gunner and he departed for the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations (EAMETO) on 11 February 1944.

4.  He was assigned to Company G, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) and participated in the Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe, and Holland campaigns.  He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action by General Orders Number 15 issued by the 303rd Station Hospital in England on 12 October 1944.

5.  On 25 January 1945, a Western Union telegram was dispatched to the applicant's mother advising her that he had been reported as MIA in Belgium since 27 December 1944.   Although the date is not legible, a subsequent telegram was dispatched to his mother informing her he had been returned to military control on an unreported date and he was hospitalized.

6.  He departed the EAMETO on 10 December 1945 and he arrived in the continental United States on 21 December 1945.  He was transferred to Fort Bragg where he was honorably discharged on 26 December 1945.  He completed 2 years, 6 months, and 4 days of total active service.

7.  He provides a letter of support from his former squad leader, who stated the applicant was shot in the face by the Germans on the night of 27 December 1944 and taken prisoner.  He was held prisoner during that night of battle.

8.  Block 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 the applicant was issued at the time of his discharge shows he was awarded the:

* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Bronze Arrowhead Device
* Distinguished Unit Badge (now known as the Presidential Unit Citation)
* EAME Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Purple Heart
* World War II Victory Medal

9.  On 20 July 2006, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) authorized the issuance of medal sets for the:

* Bronze Star Medal
* Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster (2nd Award)
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Presidential Unit Citation
* EAME Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars and arrowhead device
* World War II Victory Medal
* Combat Infantryman Badge

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states:

	a.  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

	b.  The Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 
7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

11.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), currently in effect, establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  It states for a Soldier with POW documentation (whether or not eligible for award of the POW medal), enter in the Remarks section "PRISONER OF WAR, (unit of assignment/country) (date of capture and release date)."

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that his records should be corrected to show he was MIA and a POW on 27 December 1944 in Belgium has been noted and appears to have merit.

2.  Although the applicant's records are not available for review, he provides two Western Union telegrams and a notarized statement from his former staff sergeant that serve to sufficiently validate his contentions.  Any reasonable doubt should be resolved in his favor, warranting a correction of his WD AGO Form    53-55.

3.  Accordingly, block 33 should be corrected to show the POW Medal and block 55 (Remarks) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to add the entry "MIA/POW – 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Belgium – 27 December 1944."

4.  It is also noted that on 20 July 2006, the NPRC authorized the issuance of a Bronze Star Medal and a second award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, it would be appropriate at this time to correct block 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show these additional awards.



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 all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  deleting from block 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "Purple Heart GO15 HQ 303 STA HOSP 12 Oct 44";

	b.  adding to block 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the:

* Bronze Star Medal
* Purple Heart (2nd Award)
* Prisoner of War Medal

	c.  adding to block 55 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "MIA/POW – 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Belgium – 
27 December 1944."



      ____________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)                                         AR20120001136



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120001136



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