IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  13 January 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140008270 


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 WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) to show the date he departed Hiroshima, Japan. 

2.  The applicant states he wants to have his WD AGO Form 53-55 corrected to show he served 2 months during the occupation of Kuri-Hiroshima from               6 October 1945 to 7 December 1945. 

	a.  He did not get to Hiroshima before 6 October 1945 because it took            2 weeks for the minesweepers to clear the entrance to Kuri Naval Base where he was stationed.  Hiro was known as the Big Red Light city and a house of prostitution was there when he arrived.  He was attached to the 41st Division, which was there for about a month.  This division was relieved by the 24th Division.  Within a month, their commander had the Army and civilian government closed down the prostitution houses due to an outbreak of venereal disease.  

	b.  He has some pictures he took there.  One of the replacements that joined his unit before they left Mindanao brought a camera with some film.  There are just three sets of photos.  He is now 90 years of age and would like this corrected.  He arrived in Kuri-Hiroshima on 6 October 1945 and departed by truck on 5 December 1945 to Nagoya, Japan.  He left Nagoya for the United States on 7 December 1945.   He had served at Buna, New Guinea, D-Day at Leyte, and Mindoro and Mindanao in the Philippines. 

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55, Honorable Discharge Certificate, a page from an article regarding radiation exposure, and twelve 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 complete military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 March 1943 and entered active duty at Fort Dix, NJ on 17 March 1943.  This form shows he held military occupational specialty 055 (Clerk, General) and he was assigned to the 2nd Field Hospital. 

4.  Item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. (CONUS) and Return) of his      WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed CONUS on 26 May 1944 and arrived in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations (APTO) on 14 June 1944.  He departed the APTO on an unknown date and arrived back in CONUS on             3 January 1946. 

5.  He completed 1 year, 2 months, and 22 days of continental service and 1 year, 7 months, and 8 days of foreign service, with no time lost.  He was honorably discharged on 9 January 1946 at Fort Shelby, MS. 

6.  His reconstructed records contain: 

	a.  A faded entry on a semi-burned WD AGO Form 24 (Service Record) that shows he was assigned to 2nd Field Hospital on or about 14 July 1944. 

	b.  Special Orders Number 16, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Field Hospital on 16 January 1945 appointing him to the temporary grade of private first class.

	c.  Special Orders Number 173, issued by Headquarters, 2nd Field Hospital on 30 June 1945 appointing him to the temporary grade of technician fifth grade, effective 1 July 1945.

	d.  An entry on a semi-burned WD AGO Form 24-3 (Insert to WD AGO Form 24 - Service Record) that reads "Soldier landed with initial occupation forces,      7 October 1945 at Kure-Hiroshima and Honshu, Japan." 

7.  War Department Technical Manual 12-236 (Preparation of Separation Forms) provides that the appropriate separation form will be prepared for all enlisted personnel separated from the service by reason of discharge, retirement, or release from active duty or transfer to a Reserve Component.  It states that item 36 will show service outside CONUS and return in a theater of operations such as the European Theater of Operations (ETO).  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant served in the APTO during World War II.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 reflects his date of arrival in the APTO but not his date of departure.  There is insufficient documentary evidence to establish his exact or approximate date of departure from the APTO.  In the absence of a specific date provided by the applicant and supported by documentary evidence, there is insufficient evidence to correct his date of departure from the APTO. 

2.  The entry in item 36 on the WD AGO Form 53-55 is meant for foreign service in a theater of operations such as the APTO and ETO.  It is not meant to list every country a Soldier visited or landed in during the war.  Hiroshima, the Philippines, Okinawa, Midway, and many others were part of the APTO.  As such, his WD AGO Form 53-55 correctly lists the overseas theater and there is no reason to change it. 







BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X____  ____X____  ____X____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.



      __________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)                                         AR20140008270





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140008270



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