BOARD DATE:  18 June 2014	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130018401 


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 reflect sergeant (SGT/E-5) as the highest grade held based on his battlefield promotion and back pay associated with that promotion.  (The applicant has since died and his son, as the executor of his father’s estate, requests same correction.  The applicant will be referred to as a former service member (FSM) from hereafter in this Record of Proceedings.)

2.  The FSM received a battlefield promotion at Anzio, Italy, and later became a prisoner of war.  This correction is needed for a burial marker.

3.  The applicant/FSM provided:

* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge)
* DD Form 2510 (Prisoner of War (POW) Medal Application/Information)
* Witness Statement, dated 15 December 2000
* War Claim Commission Letter, dated 20 July 1951
* Morning Report, dated June 1944
* Certificate of Death
* North Carolina, Wilkes County Court Document
* Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim)



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/FSM and based on reconstructed records which are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he:

* enlisted into the Army of the United States on 5 December 1942 and entered active duty on 28 April 1943
* served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater from                  24 November 1943 through 1 May 1945

4.  His record contains:

	a.  A statement from the Commander, 45th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, 45th Infantry Division which reads:

		"Pvt 1cl [FSM], 1 June 1944 was part [of] a patrol which was contacting the 81st Rcn CP west of Aprilia, Italy.  The patrol rounded a bend in the road at West of Aprilia, Italy and was pinned down by enemy fire.  Pvt 1cl [FSM] was one of 5 EM at the end of the column and because of the enemy fire he was unable to get back to the rest of the patrol.  Pvt 1cl [FSM] was an Acting Section Sgt at the time of the mission.

		It is my assumption that Pvt 1cl [FSM] was taken prisoner by the enemy."

	b.  An Extract of Service Record of Promotions, Reductions, Court-Martial and Character and Efficiency Ratings, dated 24 August 1945, shows he was promoted to private first class (PFC/E-3) in February 1944.

	c.  A memorandum issued by Headquarters, Fourth Service Command, Army Service Forces, Atlanta, GA, SUBJECT:  Promotion of Personnel of Projects      P and R.  This documents shows the FSM received a temporary appointment to corporal (CPL), effective 3 September 1945.

5.  The National Archives World War II Prisoners of War Data File lists the FSM as having been captured on 1 June 1944 in the European Theater: Germany.  His grade at the time of capture is listed as PFC.

6.  The FSM was honorably discharged by reason of Convenience of the Government (Demobilization).  He had completed 2 years, 6 months, and 
19 days of active service.  His time as a POW is not reflected on this form.

7.  Item 3 (Grade) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "CPL" and item 38 (Highest Grade Held) contains the entry "CPL."  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he was awarded the:

* American Theater Service Medal
* Purple Heart
* Victory Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal
* Good Conduct Medal

8.  The applicant/FSM provided:

	a.  A witness statement from a fellow Soldier who contends the FSM was recommended for promotion to sergeant on 26 May 1944 after two of their line sergeants were wounded during a patrol.

	b.  A Morning Report, dated June 1944, which shows the FSM's pay grade as PFC.

	c.  A POW Medal application, dated 18 November 1997, which shows his time as a POW was from 1 June 1944 through 6 April 1945.

	d.  A War Claims Commission memorandum, dated 20 July 1951, which shows the FSM was awarded the sum to $310.00 to cover his period of imprisonment and/or internment from 1 June 1944 to 6 April 1945.

9.  War Department, The Adjutant General's Office, Letter AG 383.6 (Procedures for Processing, Return, and Reassignment of Recovered Personnel (Short Title:  POW)), dated 31 May 1945, provided guidance on the policy for an immediate one grade advancement of those individuals who presumably would have been advanced in grade but for their loss to United States military control.

10.  The Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM) (now known as the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC)) previously advised the Board that a message, date time group 212259 September 1945, from the Military Personnel Division, Army Service Forces, Washington, D.C., stated that all recovered enlisted personnel, below the grade of master sergeant, who had been absent from military control under honorable conditions for at least 18 months, would receive a one grade promotion.

11.  War Department General Staff Disposition Form, dated 24 September 1945, Subject:  Promotion of Recovered Prisoners of War, directed that upon their return to military control, necessary action would be taken to promote one grade all enlisted personnel below the grade of master sergeant who were a prisoner of war, evader, or escapee, provided such personnel were in such status for a period of 18 months or longer and further provided that the circumstances surrounding their loss to the Army were honorable.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards.  It 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests that the FSM's record be corrected to reflect SGT as the highest grade held based on his battlefield promotion and back payment associated with that promotion.

2.  The record shows that the FSM was serving as an "acting sergeant" at the time he became a POW on 1 June 1944.  The record further shows that on 
3 September 1945, after he was returned to military control, he received a temporary appointment to CPL.  This pay grade is confirmed on his WD AGO Form 53-55 as the highest grade held.  Promotions were granted on the basis of potential and available allotments of vacancies in a specific grade and not based solely on combat service.  There is no evidence in the FSM's available records nor has the applicant provided evidence to show that the FSM's commanding officer promoted him to a higher grade.

3.  Evidence shows that the FSM’s records contain an administrative error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore, administrative correction of the FSM’s records will be accomplished by the Case Management Support Division as outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

4.  In view of the above, there is no basis to grant the requested relief.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___x_____  ___x_____  _x____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board determined that an administrative error in the records of the individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the ARBA CMD administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to add the following entries his WD AGO 53-55:

* Prisoner of War Medal in item 33
* the entry "PRISONER OF WAR: 45th Cavalry, Germany, 1 June 1944 to 
   13 April 1945" to the Remarks section



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20130018491



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130018401



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