BOARD DATE: 9 September 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140014155
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 daughter of a former service member (FSM), requests, in effect, correction of the FSM's record to show the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp.
2. She states the FSM served in Japan during the period of occupation and should be awarded the Army of Occupation Medal. The FSM is now near the end of his life and wants to set the record straight so he may personally give the proper medals and ribbons to his grandchildren.
3. She provides:
* correspondence to and from a U.S. Senator's office
* correspondence from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
* Durable Power of Attorney
* letter from the health care center where the FSM now resides
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM's complete military records are not available for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at NPRC, St. Louis, MO, in 1973. It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents the applicant has provided.
2. The FSM's WD AGO Form 100 shows he entered active duty as an enlisted member on 22 November 1943. He received a brief period of training as an infantryman and in 1944 he completed the 13-week Signal Corps School at Fort Monmouth, NJ. He served for 16 months as a telephone and telegraph installer and achieved the grade of technician fourth class. He was separated on 17 February 1946.
3. The Summary of Military Occupations section of his WD AGO Form 100 shows he served with the 586th Signal Depot Company in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations.
4. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) is not available for review. Any awards and decorations he was authorized at the time of his separation would have been listed on that form.
5. On 27 June 2014, NPRC notified a U.S. Senator's office that they had authorized shipment of the following awards for the FSM:
* Good Conduct Medal
* American Campaign Medal
* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars
* World War II Victory Medal
* Philippine Liberation Ribbon
* Honorable Service Lapel Button
* Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
6. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists occupation credit granted to units during World War II. It shows the 586th Signal Depot Company received occupation credit for Japan for the period 15 September 1945 to 20 February 1946.
7. Department of the Army Lineage and Honors for the 586th Signal Company shows, in part, that the unit was constituted on 12 January 1944 as the 586th Signal Depot Company and activated on 29 January 1944. The unit was inactivated on 28 February 1946 in Japan.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location. For award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp for service in the Army of Occupation of Japan, the service must have occurred between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952 in the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, the surrounding smaller islands of the Japanese homeland, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin-Volcano Islands. Service between 3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946 qualifies only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for service before 3 September 1945.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The FSM's WD AGO Form 100 shows he was assigned to the 586th Signal Depot Company in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 shows the unit received occupation credit for Japan for the period 15 September 1945 to 20 February 1946.
2. NPRC found he was entitled to the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars. Bronze service stars to be worn with this medal were not awarded for any service occurring after 2 September 1945; therefore, he would have become eligible for the award before that date, meeting one of the criteria for the Army of Occupation Medal.
3. Based on his separation date of 17 February 1946, it is reasonable to presume that he served with the 586th Signal Depot Company in Japan during the period for which the unit received occupation credit. It is also reasonable to presume that he served for 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty. Considering the likelihood that most of his records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at NPRC, any doubt should be resolved in his favor.
4. In view of the foregoing, it would be appropriate to correct the FSM's record by issuing an appropriate document verifying his entitlement to the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and issuing the award to him.
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 issuing an appropriate document verifying his entitlement to the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and issuing the award to him.
_______ _ 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) AR20140014155
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140014155
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