IN THE CASE OF:  	  

		BOARD DATE:  9 December 2014	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140007308 


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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show his Prisoner of War (POW) status.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  He was ordered to drive the jeep with a team consisting of Lieutenant (LT) Mxxx, Sergeant Rxxxxx, Corporal (CPL) Hxxxxxxxx, and himself.  They were to check the areas north and south bound, through Hainan, Korea.  As they were driving down the road using blackout, they received a radio call stating to return because of trouble, so he stopped the jeep and turned around.  CPL Hxxxxxxxx stated, "I will drive."  So he got out of the driver's seat and into the back seat.

   b.  As they started back, they were ambushed from both sides of the road.  They began shooting.  He was hit in his back and he fell out of the jeep onto the ground.  The other Soldiers ran out of the jeep.  The enemy came and they were all around him and were talking and then they began shooting again.  This time they tore up his right leg (femur).  Then a Korean officer told the Soldier something and they took him by his arms and dragged him down the road.  The rocks in the road were cutting his skin so he pulled up one time and they stopped.  After that, they tied his arms together, then pulled him down a hill, tied him up, and hung him from a tree.  

   c.  During the evening, he must have passed out.  Later, when he woke up and heard Americans talking, he shouted for help.  They asked, "Where are you? Next, he heard a voice near him, it was LT Mxxxx.  LT Mxxxx stated that he could not help him because he had been shot.  He called for help and two other Soldiers came down the hillside.  They cut him loose from a tree and LT Mxxxx stated that "We have to hurry up, the enemy is all around us."  Then they put him in the back of a vehicle and as they were driving down the road they ran into another vehicle.  He never did return to his outfit, C Battery, 159th Field Artillery.  After they made it to the first aid station, they gave him morphine shots and stated to get him out of there in a hurry.  The enemy was firing and he was placed in back of a truck.  Two Soldiers were holding him down.  He felt some pain, but he held on.  After arriving at the next first aid hospital, they took him in for surgery.

   d.  After the operation was over, he was hospitalized for several days.  Then he was told that they were going to move him or transfer him to Tokyo, Japan.  He stayed in Japan from August to December 1950.  They were going to amputate his leg; it was a miracle that they decided not to.  He was transferred to the United States to Great Lakes, IL.  He stayed there from December 1950 through the later part of 1951.  In 1951, Percy Jones Hospital was reopened in Battle Creek, MI, and he was transferred there.  He stayed there until March 1952.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his DD Form 214 and an article from a former service member.

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 provide in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of the cases 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 sufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations.

2.  The applicant's complete military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 16 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed his records were destroyed in that fire.  However, there was sufficient documentation contained a reconstructed record and those submitted by the applicant for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant's available military records show he enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 March 1948.  He was awarded military occupational specialty 4677 (policeman).  He was assigned to Battery C, 159th Field Artillery Battaion.

4.  His available records contain the following:

   a.  A Casualty Report, dated 6 August 1950, which shows the applicant was slightly wounded in action in Korea.  He was member of a forward operating party and the jeep in which he was riding was ambushed.  He was shot through the leg and back, after which he was dragged about 200 years, tied to a tree and beaten.  

   b.  A WD AGO Form 0365 (Battle Casualty Report), dated 13 August 1950, wherein his mother was advised that he was slightly wounded in action in Korea on 6 August 1950.  The report also advised his mother that she could continue to address mail to him as formerly until new address was received.

   c.  A WD AGO Form 0365, dated 18 October 1950, which shows he was evacuated to the United States on 25 August 1950 from Tokyo.

   d.  A Clinical Abstract which stated he entered the service in March 1948 and was sent to Japan in December 1948.  He remained there until July 1950 when he was sent to Korea.  He served in Korea until he was injured on 6 August 1950.  He was wounded in action in Korea at 2030 hours.  He was struck in the right thigh and left lower back by enemy machine gun fire.  He was captured by the North Koreans after being wounded and received no treatment from them.  He was recaptured in about 8 hours and taken to an aid station where a splint was applied to his leg and he was given morphine, blood, and plasma.  He was then evacuated to Pusan, where x-rays showed a fracture, compound, comminuted of the right femur and he was placed in a cast.  He was then sent to Tokyo where the cast was removed and he was put in skeletal traction.  He arrived at Great Lakes Naval Hospital on 1 September 1950.  He was referred to a medical board for evaluation and disposition.

   e.  A DA Form 199 (Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) Proceeding), which shows a board convened on 20 February 1952 and found him physically unfit to perform the duties of his office, rank, or grade by reason of physical disability.  The PEB recommended his permanent retirement with a combined rating of 50 percent.
5.  He was retired on 31 March 1952 by reason of permanent physical disability.  He was credited with completing 3 years, 11 months, and 29 days of net active service and 1 year, 8 months, and 13 days of foreign service.  His DD Form 214 lists the:

* United Nations Service Medal
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Army of Occupation Medal (Japan)
* Purple Heart
* Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star

6.  The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) World War II POWs Data File does not reveal the applicant was captured and held as a POW during World War II.

7.  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 National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 and 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 and 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 and 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 and a date to be determined.

	c.  The Republic of Korea War Service Medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in Korea and adjacent waters between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953.  The service must have been performed, in part, while on permanent assignment for 30 consecutive days or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days within the territorial limits of Korea or the waters immediately adjacent thereto.

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), in effect at the time, established the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  It directed that in the case of POW's, the unit of assignment, country, and dates of capture and release would be entered in the "Remarks" section of the discharge document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding the absence of his name on the U.S. NARA POWs Data File, the evidence of record shows the applicant was wounded in action in Korea on 6 August 1950 and was captured by the North Koreans after being wounded.  He was recaptured on the same day and he was taken to an aid station where he received treatment.  He retired on 31 March 1952 by reason of permanent physical disability.  Therefore, he met the criteria for POW status and award of the POW Medal.

2.  It would appropriate to correct his DD Form 214 to show he was a POW on 6 August 1950.  In accordance with regulatory guidance, the entry "prisoner of war, Battery C, 159th Field Artillery Battalion, 6 August 1950" should be annotated on his DD Form 214.

3.  The evidence of record shows he completed a qualifying period of service for award of the National Defense Service Medal and Republic of Korea War Service Medal.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his DD Form 214 to show these awards.

4.  In view of the foregoing, his records should be corrected as recommended below.

BOARD VOTE:

____X___  ____X___  ____X___  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined the evidence presented is 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:

* adding to his DD Form 214 the:

* POW Medal
* National Defense Service Medal
* Republic of Korea War Service Medal

* adding to item 38 (Remarks) of this DD Form 214 the entry, "Prisoner of War, Battery C, 159th Field Artillery Battalion, 6 August 1950
* providing him a document to include these changes



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20140007308





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140007308



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