RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:      7 March 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006574


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas H. Reichier            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Scott W. Faught               |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, reconsideration of his application
for correction of his father's record to show his unit of assignment, at
the time of his death, was the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (Philippine
Army (PA)) and not, the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment (Philippine Scouts
(PS)).  The applicant's father is a deceased Army officer.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that there are several errors or
inconsistencies in the "Consideration of Evidence" and in the "Discussion
and Conclusions" rendered by the Board and he has provided specific
passages from the U.S. Army's Center for Military History publication, "The
Fall of the Philippines," that prove the truth of the evidence he has
submitted and the Board failed to believe.

3.  The applicant provides two letters addressed to ABCMR staff members in
support of his request for reconsideration.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records, which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), in Docket Number
AR2003097406, on 27 May 2004.

2.  The applicant submitted his unsigned request for reconsideration of the
decision arrived at by the Board on 24 March 2005.  The applicant followed
this letter up with a second letter dated 4 April 2005 in which he provided
additional support to the arguments he made in his original request for
reconsideration on 24 March 2005.

3.  In his 24 March 2005 letter to the Board, the applicant asks the Board
to, "Please look at the 27 May 2004 Record of Proceedings and note what
the report says in items 6 through 9 of the Consideration of Evidence, on
pages 3 and 4."  Item 6, the applicant states, discusses the letter from
the Commander, 61st Field Artillery, to his mother and then in the
concluding sentence in this paragraph says that the letter does not
identify the unit to which the author was assigned.

4.  The Board refers in Item 8 to publications from the Center for Military
History. One of these publications is, "The Fall of the Philippines," which
is part of the United States Army in World War II series of books published
by the Office of the Chief of Military History.  If the Board had looked at
this book and used the index, it would have seen the 61st Field Artillery
(PA) was removed from the 61st Division (PA) and had been moved to
Mindanao.  The Board would also have seen the 61st Field Artillery was
commanded by the same officer who later wrote to his mother about his
father.

5.  The U.S. Army letter cited in Item 7 (the letter written to his mother
by the commander, 61st Field Artillery), the applicant states, clearly
shows his father was the executive officer of the 61st Field Artillery on
Mindanao during the period 5 through 9 May 1942, after the 23rd Field
Artillery had been surrendered to the Japanese on Bataan on 9 April 1942.

6.  Item 8 in the Proceedings, the applicant states, includes statements
that the 61st Division of the Philippine Army was part of the Visayan-
Mindanao Force and that the 23rd Field Artillery (PS) was part of the North
Luzon Force, both of which are correct.

7.  Item 9 of the Proceedings states that documents from the Center for
Military History have no references to the 61st Field Artillery Regiment
(PA) but, the applicant states, this is not correct as demonstrated by the
above.

8.  Since his father was severely wounded in action on 9 May 1942 while
assigned to the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA) on Mindanao, it is not
possible that he could have been in the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment (PS)
which had been surrendered to the Japanese on Bataan on 9 April 1942 and
had gone on the Bataan Death March.

9.  The applicant states, in effect, he is sure the Board wants to correct
military records when an error has been made and when errors come to the
attention of the Board.  He adds it is unfortunate the casualty report (Non-
Battle Death) dated 12 November 1945 for his father erroneously showed his
organization as Headquarters, 23rd Field Artillery Regiment.  He is aware,
he states, that in the fall of 1945, the Army had a very difficult time in
creating records for the many individuals that had been prisoners of war of
the Japanese since April or May 1942.  Those problems were even more
difficult for those who did not survive, as is the case for his father.
Records were created based upon memories of men that had suffered inhumane
treatment by the Japanese for over three years and some of those memories
were not accurate.  These problems were made worse by the 1973 fire in St.
Louis, which destroyed many records, including those of his father.

10.  The last sentence of the Discussion and Conclusions portion of the
Record of Proceedings, "In the absence of conclusive proof to establish
with certainty the former service member's unit of assignment at the time
of his death, it would be imprudent to correct his records in such a way
that would require the expenditure of funds by the American Battle
Monuments Commission at this time," the applicant states, is an
unbelievable insult to his father.  It definitely is prudent to correct
his father's record.  The Board, he states, should not place more
importance on a minor expense for the American Battle Monuments
Commission than on correcting the records of a deceased member of the
U.S. Army.  The applicant added that the American Battle Monuments
Commission stated to him in a letter dated 17 March 2003 that they will
correct the "Tablets of the Missing" in the Manila American Cemetery if
the Department of the Army tells them the current inscription is not
correct.

11.  In his letter to the Board dated 4 April 2005, the applicant states
he has clearly shown his father could not have been a member of the 23rd
Field Artillery Regiment (PS) – a unit that fought on Bataan and was
surrendered to the Japanese on 9 April 1942.  The Board, the applicant
states, has ample evidence showing his father was a member of the 61st
Field Artillery Regiment (PA) on 9 May 1942, when he was severely wounded
in action and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for that
action.  The applicant states he has provided a copy of the citation for
that award and he has provided references to the Chief of Military
History documents, "The Fall of the Philippines" which shows the 61st
Field Artillery Regiment (PA) was operating on Mindanao during the
defense of that island in May 1942 and was part of the force that was
surrendered to the Japanese on 19 May 1942 on Mindanao.  He summarizes by
asking, "How could any reasonable person believe that the records should
continue to show (erroneously) that [his father] was a member of the 23rd
Field Artillery Regiment?"

12.  As it was stated, in paragraph 1 of the Discussion and Conclusion
section of the Record of Proceedings, by the May 2004 Board, the
available documents have conflicting information pertinent to the
applicant's father's assignment at the time of his death.  However, the
typed casualty report (Non-Battle Death), dated 12 November 1945, for his
father, which was in the Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs)
provided the applicant by the Chief, Freedom of Information and Privacy
Act Office, U.S. Army Personnel Command, [now the U.S. Army Human
Resources Command] on 17 July 2003, shows, on line "13.  References:  201
- [the applicant's father's last name and first name].  The response to
line one calling for the 'Organization' is Headquarters, 23rd FA [Field
Artillery] Regt."

13.  Line 11, of the casualty report, shows the source of the information,
in addition to the 201 (believed to be the 201 File (Personnel Records
Jacket)) to be:  "CHQ, AFPAC (Commander, Headquarters, Armed Forces Pacific
Command, APO (Army Post Office) 500, AG (Adjutant General) Recovered
Personnel Branch letter, dated 22 October 1945, Subject:  Review and
Determination of the Status of [the applicant's father], Headquarters, 23rd
Field Artillery Regiment, file AG 704.5(C) (22 October 1945) AG-KI SR & D
Number 1127, dated 22 October 1945."  (The classification given the
originally prepared document was cancelled on an unknown date.)

14.  The applicant's father was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for
actions on 9 May 1942, the date he was severely wounded in action.  The
citation for this award and the Silver Star, were extracted onto the letter
inviting the applicant's mother to Camp Robinson for a ceremony at which
she would be presented with the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service
Cross.  Both these extracted citations show the applicant's father was a
member of the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA).

15.  A search of morning reports for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery,
61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA), was conducted for the timeframe during
which the applicant's father was allegedly assigned to the unit.  The
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), St. Louis, Missouri,
was unable to find morning reports in which the applicant's father’s name
appeared.

16.  A search of historical files maintained by the National Archives at
College Park, Maryland, for the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA), the
23rd Field Artillery Regiment (PS), and the 21st Field Artillery
Regiment, 21st Infantry Division, was conducted for any information
related to the applicant's father's service.  This “expanded” search
included the files for other units posted in the Philippines at the time
the applicant’s father was allegedly assigned to the 61st Field Artillery
Regiment (PA).  This search failed to produce any documentation showing
the applicant's father's name.

17.  Inquiries were made of the Pentagon Library attempting to have the
applicant's father's commander's book, "There Were Others" put on loan to
the ABCMR.  From these inquiries, it was discovered that this collection
was never published as a book but remained in manuscript form only.

18.  From inquiries made, it was learned that the unpublished manuscript is
in the Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, in box
5 of 19 boxes, of backup papers for the book, "The Fall of the
Philippines."

19.  The Military History Institute was asked by the Pentagon Library about
the possibility of acquiring the manuscript through its interlibrary loan
program.  The Military History Institute replied that they do not send
manuscript holdings through the interlibrary loan program.

20.  In a personal tribute to his father found in the internet, the
applicant states his father arrived in Manila, in the Philippines, on 23
October 1941, and reported to Fort Stotsenberg that night.  Fort
Stotsenberg was approximately 65 miles north of Manila, near Clark Field.
 The applicant's father had to wait until 11 November 1941 for
assignment.  He received orders on this date and proceeded to the Island
of Panay to organize the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA).  The
personal tribute does not specify if his father was assigned to a unit at
Panay, if he was placed on temporary duty at that location, or if he was
attached to another unit while he performed his assigned mission.

21.  Table 1 – Strength of the Philippine Division, Chapter 2, of the book,
"The U.S. Army in World War II:  "Fall of the Philippines" does not show
the 61st Field Artillery Regiment.  This table does show the 23rd Field
Artillery Regiment with a total strength of 401 personnel:  391 enlisted
Philippine Scouts and 10 American officers.  This table was created from
strength figures as of:  31 July 1941, before the applicant's father's
arrival in the Philippines.

22.  An Order of Battle listing extracted from
www.navsource.org/Naval/usarmy provides a listing of 24 units on assignment
in the Philippine Islands.  This listing, which has an as of date of 7
December 1941, does not include the 61st Field Artillery; however, the 23rd
Field Artillery (2.95 Inch) (Pack) Regiment, is shown.

23.  During World War II, it was a practice that has continued to this day,
to temporarily detach officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted
Soldiers from their assigned units and attach them to another organization
for administrative and/or operational control with orders to perform a
special duty or purpose.  Under these circumstances, a Soldier could be
carried on two or perhaps more morning reports to account for them and
would describe their relationship to the unit or organization.
Nonetheless, a Soldier's status and location was known, in most cases,
nearly all the time.

24.  AR 15-185, paragraph 2-9, states that the ABCMR begins consideration
of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The
applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a
preponderance of the evidence.  This same regulation states, in paragraph 2-
2c. that the ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record.  It is not
an investigative body.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Searches of morning reports and historical unit files for a multiple
of units was conducted despite the fact the ABCMR is not an investigative
body.  These searches by trained/experienced archivists/researchers who
perform these searches on a regular basis failed to produce conclusive
documentary evidence that would prove by a preponderance of the evidence
that the applicant's father was a member of the 61st Field Artillery
Regiment (PA) on the date of his death.

2.  This Board acknowledges the references made to the 61st Field Artillery
Regiment (PA), which was frequently referred to in the publication, "The
Fall of the Philippines," which is part of "The United States Army in World
War II" series of books published by the Office of the Chief of Military
History, Center for Military History.  The evidence in this book is clear,
the 61st Field Artillery (PA) was removed from the 61st Division (PA) and
had been moved to Mindanao; however, the applicant's father's assignment
status is not clear.

3.  The publication referred to by the author of the book, "The Fall of the
Philippines," that the applicant referred to in his correspondence with the
Board was not a published work by the applicant's unit commander, but
rather, a manuscript.

4.  The manuscript is located at the Military History Institute.  Its exact
location, as noted in these Proceedings, within the Military History
Institute was also identified.  A request for the manuscript to be put on
loan to the ABCMR was denied based on apparent policies in force at the
Military History Institute.

5.  The typed casualty report (Non-Battle Death), dated 12 November 1945,
for the applicant's father shows, in line 11, a reference which perhaps was
overlooked previously but which further supports this Board's reluctance to
change the decision arrived at earlier.  Line 11 of the casualty report,
shows the source of the information to be the applicant's father's "201
File," in addition to the referenced letter from CHQ, AFPC, Recovered
Personnel Branch, dated 22 October 1945.  On the date the applicant's
father's casualty report was prepared, the 201 File is believed to have
been available since the St. Louis fire had not yet occurred.

6.  The applicant's father's military records, it is believed, were lost
or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  The
applicant acknowledged that this loss of records increased the
difficulties for survivors of those who lost their lives in World War II,
as was the case of his father.

7.  After a review of all the evidence, even though the extracts from the
citation for award of the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star
show the applicant's father's unit of assignment as the 61st Field
Artillery Regiment, it still remains, that the most "official document"
available to the Board is the casualty report which was prepared on 12
November 1945 which records the applicant's father's unit of assignment
as the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment.

8.  In the personal tribute to his father, the applicant states his father
arrived in the Philippines, on 23 October 1941.  He reported to Fort
Stotsenberg that night and had to wait for assignment until 11 November
1941.  He received his orders and proceeded to the Island of Panay to
organize the 61st Field Artillery Regiment (PA).  The applicant did not
mention whether the type orders given his father were for temporary duty or
for a permanent change of station.  It was a practice then, which has
continued to this day, to temporarily detach officers, noncommissioned
officers, and enlisted Soldiers from their assigned units and attach them
to another organization for administrative and/or operational control and
to perform a special duty or purpose.

BOARD VOTE:

__THR___  __SWF__  __A____  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board
determined during their review that the evidence presented was sufficient
to warrant a recommendation for relief.  The applicant has presented
documentary evidence that substantiated the deceased former service
member’s assignment to the 61st Field Artillery Regiment in 1942.  Coupling
data provided in this proceeding with the chronology and other ancillary
unit data provided by the applicant pertaining to the geographical
locations and combat status of the 61st Field Artillery Regiment on
Mindanao versus the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment on Bataan, the Board
concluded that the former service member was assigned to the 61st Field
Artillery Regiment.





2.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case
are sufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in
Docket Number AR2003097406 dated 27 May 2004 and recommends issuance of an
appropriate document showing the unit of assignment of the former service
member’s unit at the time of his death as the 61st Field Artillery
Regiment.




                                  ___James A. Anderholm________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006574                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |20040527                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |                                        |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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