BOARD DATE:	  30 October 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140005574 


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 son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests that his father be awarded or authorized the Bronze Star Medal, the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal, and that his father's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) be corrected to show these awards.

2.  The applicant states he recently discovered his father had been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and was entitled to the Bronze Star Medal because of that award.  In 1986, the family was told of the POW Medal and that procedures would soon be in place to apply for the medal.  The family was also told his father should have been awarded the World War II Victory Medal.

3.  The applicant provides:

* the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* the FSM's Honorable Discharge Certificate
* two Western Union Telegrams
* seven letters, dated between 16 January 1945 and 15 April 2014
* two pages of newspaper articles to include the FSM's obituary
* orders
* a certificate
* a birth 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 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 complete 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 that the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, the applicant provided the FSM's WD AGO 53-55 and sufficient documents to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 14 April 1944.  He entered active duty on that date at Camp Dodge, IA.  He held military occupational specialty 745 (Rifleman) and his last unit of assignment was with the 38th Engineer Training Battalion, Army Service Forces (ASF) Training Center, Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  

4.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 5 October 1944 and he arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater of Operations on 13 October 1944.  He departed the EAME Theater of Operations on 22 April 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 5 May 1945.  

5.  His WD AGO 53-55 shows in:

* item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) that he participated in the Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe campaigns
* item 33 (Decorations and Citations) the EAME Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge


6.  The specific unit he served with while in the EAME Theater of Operations is not known.  

7.  He was honorably discharged with a certificate of disability on 18 October 1945 at the ASF Regional Station Hospital, Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  

8.  The applicant provides:

	a.  A Western Union telegram, dated 15 January [1945], sent to the FSM's spouse, wherein it informed her the FSM was reported as missing in action since 18 December [1944] in Luxembourg and she would be notified as further details were received. 

	b.  A Western Union telegram, dated 21 April [1945], sent to the FSM's spouse, wherein it informed her the FSM was returned to control on 2 April 1945. 

9.  The FSM's WD AGO 100 shows, in part, he was a German POW for 5 months.  He was captured in Luxembourg and liberated by Americans on 2 April 1945.  

10.  The applicant provides the FSM's obituary, undated, that shows the FSM died but it does not show the date of his death. 

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states:

   a.  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.

	b.  The POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and 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 POW status has been officially confirmed and recognized as such by the Department of the Army.  

	c.  The World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence shows the FSM was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.  Based on this award, he is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 accordingly.

2.  The FSM's record shows he was a POW for 5 months during World War II; therefore, he is entitled to the POW Medal.  Additionally, the FSM served during a qualifying period for award of the World War II Victory Medal; therefore, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show these medals.  

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:

* posthumously awarding the FSM the Bronze Star Medal, based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge
* adding to item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the Bronze Star Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, 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)                                         AR20140005574





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