IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  1 April 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130014150 


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, the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) to show he was awarded the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal, Bronze Star Medal (BSM), and Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states her husband is now deceased; however, after going through his records, she found information [related to this request] that her husband never discussed.

3.  The applicant provides:

* the FSM's State of Ohio Certificate of Death
* her marriage license, substantiating her relationship to the FSM 
* the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55
* a letter to the applicant from the Office of the Provost Marshal General, Headquarters, Army Service Forces, Washington, DC, dated 31 August 1944
* a letter to the FSM from the Veterans Administration (VA), dated 4 March 1946, subject: Award of Disability Pension – Service Connected
* Standard Form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records)

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 FSM's service personnel records were lost or destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records available to the ABCMR were provided in part by the applicant and also obtained from alternate sources and are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  On 22 June 1943, the FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States.  He served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II (WWII).   

4.  On or about 25 January 1944, he arrived in the ETO.  He departed the ETO on or about 4 June 1945, and he arrived back in the United States on or about     11 June 1945.

5.  On 12 November 1945, he was honorably discharged from the Army.  His  WD AGO Form 53-55 shows:

* he was discharged in the rank/grade of staff sergeant/E-6
* he was a member of Company B, 115th Infantry Regiment 
* he held military occupational specialty (MOS) 605 (Machine Gun Noncommissioned Officer (NCO)) at the time of his discharge
* he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) 
* he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with bronze arrowhead, and the WWII Victory Medal 
* he participated in the Normandy campaign

6.  The applicant provides a letter to the FSM from the VA, dated 4 March 1946, which classifies the FSM's combat-incurred wounds (gunshot wound to right ankle and frozen feet) as service-connected and awards him an appropriate disability pension.  The FSM's pension award was made effective 24 November 1945, the date he was discharged.

7.  The National Archives WWII Prisoners of War Data File, 7 December 1941 to 19 November 1946, lists the FSM as having been captured in the European Theater on 11 July 1944.  His grade at the time of capture is listed as sergeant and Germany is listed as the detaining power.  He was returned to military control, liberated, or repatriated on 10 May 1945.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  It states:

   a. The POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917.  The POW Medal will only be awarded when the individual’s prisoner of war status has been officially confirmed and recognized as such by the Department of the Army.  

   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.

   c. The Purple Heart is awarded for wound(s) sustained while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

   d. Bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal, including the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. 

   e. The Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp is awarded for qualifying service between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.  

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA Pam) 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) contains a register of unit citations and campaign participation credits for WWII and the Korean War.  This pamphlet shows during the period in which the FSM was assigned, Company B of the 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation, now known as the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), for the period   6 June 1944 in War Department General Orders Number 14, dated 1945.

10.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  It directs that for a Soldier with POW documentation, enter "PRISONER OF WAR (unit of assignment/country) (date of capture and release date)" in the Remarks section.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's request for correction of her deceased husband's WD AGO Form 53-55 to show he was awarded the POW Medal, the BSM, and the Purple Heart was carefully considered.

2.  The evidence of record shows the FSM was held captive by the German Army from on or about 11 July 1944 through on or about 10 May 1945.  As such, he is entitled to award of the POW Medal and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this award and his POW status.

3.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the CIB during his service in WWII.  Accordingly, he is entitled to award of the BSM and to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show it.

4.  VA records show the FSM was granted a service-connected disability pension for a gunshot wound he incurred in combat.  Given that the VA awarded his pension effective the date of his discharge, it is reasonable to conclude his wound occurred in combat, and given the nature of the wound, it is also reasonable to conclude that he would have been treated by military doctors in the European Theater, who would have made his treatment a matter of record.  Therefore, as a matter of equity, it would be appropriate to award the FSM the Purple Heart, for wounds incurred during his combat service in WWII, and to correct his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show it.

5.  The FSM's record shows he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  His records show he participated in one campaign during his service in WWII; therefore, he is entitled to award of a single bronze service star to be affixed to his previously-awarded European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

6.  DA Pam 672-1 shows the FSM's unit of assignment, the 115th Infantry Regiment, was awarded the following awards during the period in which the FSM was assigned:
   a. The regiment was awarded occupation credit for its service in Germany during the period 2 May through 27 December 1945.  Accordingly, the FSM is entitled to the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp and to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this award.

   b. The regiment was awarded the PUC for valor on 6 June 1944.  Accordingly, the FSM is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this award.

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 item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Arrowhead;

b. awarding him the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the combat Infantryman Badge;

   c. adding to item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the:

* Prisoner of War Medal
* Bronze Star Medal
* Purple Heart
* European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with bronze arrowhead and one bronze service star
* Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp
* Presidential Unit Citation

   d. adding the following remarks to item 55 (Remarks) of his WD AGO Form 53-55, "PRISONER OF WAR: Company B, 115th Infantry Regiment, Germany,  11 July 1944 to 10 May 1945."



      _____________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)                                         AR20120009911



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130014150



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