IN THE CASE OF:  	  

		BOARD DATE:  8 September 2015	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150001341 


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 the records of his deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show his prisoner of war (POW) status. 

2.  The applicant states:

* there is no record of his father being in a POW status; the change should be granted to honor the FSM and allow identification of the FSM’s POW status on the FSM's grave
* there are no official documents to confirm the FSM's status but there is certain information in the FSM's memoirs that support this contention
* he has spent the past year collecting documents to honor his father and he has contacted multiple agencies in an effort to confirm this status 
* none of the agencies he contacted were able to confirm whether or not his father was held as a POW 
* he is providing a 5-page letter that his late father wrote to his (the applicant's) grandfather upon his return to England 
* the letter was copied from the FSM's diary while a prisoner of Germany; the FSM was very specific on dates, places, names, foods, and even the weather 
* despite the non-official nature of this letter, the factual information in it, together with the newspaper articles, should help the Board draw the conclusion that the FSM was a POW 


3.  The applicant provides:

* previous correspondence with and from the Board
* letter, dated 27 October 2014 from the National Archives
* Congressional correspondence
* newspaper articles dated 17 August 2014 
* self-authored memoirs 
* letter, dated 29 August 2014 from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC)
* Certificate of Death
* letter, dated 11 November 2013 from the National Personnel Records Center
* Application for Headstone or Marker
* photograph of a headstone with the name "Edward G. Bxxxxxve" engraved on it
* WD AGO Form 53-56 (Military Record and Report of Separation-Certificate of Service) 
* Army of the United States Certificate of Service

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 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, the applicant provides sufficient documents for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-56 shows he entered active duty on 15 April 1942.  At the time of his separation, he held military occupational specialty 1930 (Engineer Combat Liaison Officer) and he was assigned to the 23rd Armored Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Division. 

4.  The FSM’s WD AGO Form 53-56 shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 5 September 1943 and arrived in the European African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater of Operations on 13 September 1943.  He departed the EAME Theater on 10 July 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 23 July 1945.  

5.  The FSM completed 1 year, 9 months, and 21 days of continental service and 1 year, 10 months, and 19 days of foreign service.  He was honorably discharged at Camp Shelby, MS, on 24 December 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-56 shows in:

* Item 28 (Battles and Campaigns), the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns
* Item 29 (Decorations and Citations), the Purple Heart and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars
* Item 30 (Wounds Received in Action), the entry "EAMETO"

6.  The FSM's available records do not contain any documentation, such as the ones listed below, reporting him in a missing in action or POW status:

* Western Union Telegram issued by the Army notifying his next of kin of duty status change 
* duty status reports, morning reports or casualty reports
* security debriefing that is customary upon liberation of a Soldier from captivity  

7.  The FSM's name is not listed on the National Archives WWII POW Data File for the period 7 December 1941 to 19 November 1946 as having been captured or imprisoned.  This data file was created by the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office using copies of reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross, the agency that produced records of the U.S. military and civilian POWs and internees, as well as for some Allied internees.  The record for each prisoner provides the serial number, personal name, branch of service or civilian status, grade, date reported missing, race, state of residence, type of organization, parent unit number and type, place of capture (theater of war), source of report, status, detaining power, and POW or civilian internee camp site.  

8.  The applicant provides: 

	a.  Self-authored memoirs, detailing the FSM's captivity in Le Mans, France from 2 August 1944 to 27 August 1944.  He describes his injury, treatment by German soldiers and/or French nurses, his daily activities, and return to U.S. military control in Paris upon advancement of U.S. troops and liberation of Paris.  

	b.  Newspaper article, dated 11 September 1944, indicating the FSM was transferred to a hospital in England after having been wounded in France and captured by the Germans.  The article states he was reported missing on 2 August 1945 while in France as a liaison officer and consulting engineer with an engineer battalion.  He sent his wife a letter telling her of his experiences as a German prisoner and that he was now safe.  He stated he had been wounded in the leg and German doctors operated on him.  He remained in a French hospital until American troops liberated Paris.  He remained there for 2 more days and then was transported to England.  

	c.  A newspaper article, dated 17 August 1944, that states the FSM had been missing in France since 2 August and that the War Department had notified the parents.  He had been stationed in England until the first phase of the invasion after which his group took part in the Cherbourg Peninsula campaign. 

	d.  A letter, dated 29 August 2014, from HRC directing him to apply to this Board. 

	e.  A letter, dated 27 October 2014, from the National Archives regarding records of the FSM's status as a POW.  The letter states after a careful search with particular focus on the records of The Office of the Provost Marshall General, POW Division, American POW Information Branch, they were unable to locate any records pertaining to the FSM concerning his POW status. 

	f.  Congressional correspondence to and from a Member of Congress in relation to the applicant's father's POW status and request for assistance.

9.  The U.S. Army transferred punch card records of World War II POWs to National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in its 1959 transfer of all of the U.S. Army’s Departmental Archives.  In 1978 the Veterans Administration borrowed most of the punch card records of repatriated U.S. military personnel for a study of repatriated U.S. military POWs, migrated the data on almost all of the borrowed cards to an electronic format, and returned the punch cards and two electronic records data files to NARA.  In 1995 NARA migrated the data from the remaining punch card records to an electronic format and has subsequently preserved all of the records in a single case file.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides guidance for the issuance of the POW Medal.  The POW Medal 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 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, or 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 or 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.  

	a.  Personnel officially classified as missing in action are not eligible for the POW Medal.  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.  

	b.  To validate award of the POW Medal (POW status) applicants must provide casualty reports, official War Department messages, telegrams, unit journals, diaries, sworn eyewitness statements or affidavits, photos, identification cards or other documents taken or obtained while in captivity. 

	c.  There are no statutory or regulatory time limits pertaining to award of the POW Medal.  Award of the POW Medal may be made at any time after submission of sufficient evidence that all criteria have been met. 

11.  Army Regulation 635-8 (Separation Processing and Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  In pertinent part, it directs that, if a Soldier has been in a POW status, enter in the remarks section of the separation document the unit of assignment, country, and dates of capture and release.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  None of the FSM's military records are available for review with this case.  However, the available evidence, consisting of a WD AGO Form 53-56 and a Certificate of Service, show the FSM served in the EAME Theater from 13 September 1943 to 10 July 1945.  Nothing in his records or records maintained by NARA shows he was captured by the enemy during WWII.  His record is void of a telegram, notification to the next of kin, a casualty report, morning report, eyewitness statements, or any other documentation confirming his captivity.  The self-authored memoirs and/or the newspaper articles are insufficient evidence without at least one official source document to corroborate the information contained in those documents. 
2.  In the absence of additional evidence such as duty status reports, morning reports, security debriefings, or any other corroborating evidence that conclusively confirms he was captured by the enemy, there is, regrettably, insufficient evidence to grant the FSM POW status.

3.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the FSM in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.

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)                                         AR20150001341



3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150001341



6


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1