RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS IN THE MATTER OF: DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-05029 COUNSEL: NONE HEARING DESIRED: NO APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT: Her brother, a deceased Air Force member, be awarded the following decorations: 1.  The Presidential Unit Citation with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters (PUC w/2BOLC). (Before 1966 the PUC was called the Distinguished Unit Citation, or DUC.) 2.  The Bronze Star Medal (BSM). 3.  The Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (PPUC). (Administratively corrected) 4.  The Purple Heart (PH) Medal. (Administratively corrected) 5.  The Prisoner of War (POW) Medal. (Administratively corrected) 6.  The American Defense Service Medal. (Administratively corrected) 7.  The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. (Administratively corrected) 8.  The World War II Victory Medal. (Administratively corrected) 9.  The Gold Star Lapel Pin. (Administratively corrected) 10.  The Philippine Defense Medal. (Administratively corrected) APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT: Her brother died on 10 Jun 42 while being held as a Japanese Prisoner of War. He qualified for award of the requested decorations, but they are not properly reflected in his military records. The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A. STATEMENT OF FACTS: The deceased member initially entered the Regular Air Force on 13 Aug 40. On 7 May 42, the deceased member was captured by the Japanese and interned as a prisoner of war (POW) at Cabanatuan Prison Camp, Philippines. On 10 Jun 42, the deceased member passed away while still interned as a POW. AFPC/DPSID directed the deceased member’s official military records be administratively corrected to reflect award of the following decorations: 1.  The Purple Heart (PH) Medal. 2.  The Prisoner of War (POW) Medal. 3.  The American Defense Service Medal with Foreign Service Clasp (ADSM w/Foreign Service Clasp). 4.  The American Campaign Medal. 5.  The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service Star (APCM w1BSS). 6.  The Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (PPUC). 7.  Philippine Defense Medal (PDM). 8.  Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII (HSLBWWII). 9.  Gold Star Lapel Button (GSLB). Title 32, Code of Federal Register (CFR), § 578.16(a)(4) states: "Upon letter application, award of the Bronze Star Medal may be made to eligible soldiers who participated in the Philippine Islands Campaign between December 7, 1941 to May 10, 1942. Performance of duty must have been on the island of Luzon or the Harbor Defenses in Corregidor and Bataan. Only soldiers who were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (redesignated the Presidential Unit Citation on November 3, 1966) may be awarded this decoration.” The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application are contained in the memoranda prepared by the Air Force offices of primary responsibility (OPR), which are attached at Exhibits C, D and F. AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFPC/DPSID recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice beyond that which was administratively corrected. The deceased member’s official military personnel records available through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) are very limited. The War Department Report of Death, dated 4 Aug 45, indicates the member’s active duty service dates were from 13 Aug 40 until his death in Cabanatuan Prison Camp, (Philippines) Southwest Pacific Area on 10 Jun 42. Award of The World War II Victory Medal was validated in 1985 by the Department of the Army. A thorough review of the deceased member’s available records verified award of 9 decorations, which included 8 of the 10 decorations requested by the applicant. The two decorations which the applicant requests that could not be awarded administratively were the PUC (which used to be the DUC), and the BSM. The PUC is awarded to units of the United States Armed Forces for extraordinary performance in action against an armed enemy occurring on, or after, 7 Dec 41, for Army units. The applicant contends the deceased member should qualify for the PUC w/2BOLCs for service while assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron per War Department General Order 46 awarded in 1948, General Order 43 awarded in 1942, and General Order 14 awarded in 1942. There was no documentation in the deceased member’s military records which verified he qualified for or was awarded the PUC, nor did the applicant submit such documentation. The BSM is awarded to a person in any branch of the military service who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States on or after 7 Dec 41, shall have distinguished themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in conjunction with military operations against an armed enemy. According to Army Regulation 600-8-22, 3-14(3), dated 11 Dec 06, award of the BSM may be made to eligible Soldiers who participated in the Philippine Islands Campaign from 7 Dec 41 to 10 May 42. There was no documentation in the deceased member’s military records which verified he qualified for or was awarded the BSM, nor did the applicant submit such documentation. A complete copy of the AFPC/DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C. SAF/MRBP recommends denial indicating there is no evidence of an error or an injustice beyond those decorations which have been administratively corrected. After reviewing the deceased member’s service records, supporting documentation, and the recommendation from AFPC/DPSID, MRBP concurs with the administrative corrections made to the member’s record, and recommends disapproval of the additional requested decorations. A complete copy of the SAF/MRBP evaluation is at Exhibit D. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION: In further support of her request, the applicant submitted a personal statement in which she cites three Special Orders which she contends awarded Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) to the units the applicant was assigned to, and an excerpt from the Code of Federal Register (CFR) which indicates recipients of DUC for involvement in the Battles of Bataan and Corregidor are entitled to the BSM. (Exhibit E) ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: AFHRA/RS recommends granting the BSM indicating there is evidence of an error or an injustice. The applicant bases her claims on NARA’s records showing her brother was assigned to Far East Air Force Headquarters/Headquarters Squadron. Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Philippine Department, Air Force, was activated 20 Sep 41 at Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines and redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 5 Air Force in Feb 42. The deceased member’s brother also contended in a letter that accompanied his 1988 responses to the Questionnaire about Military Service that the deceased member, a welder, was sent to Nichols Field in Apr 41. AFHRA found references to the deceased member’s last name in records of the 93d Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group. The last mention of him in the 19th Bombardment Group histories is dated 10 Jan 41. The deceased member is not listed among the combat crews who left Luzon for Batchelor Field, Darwin, Australia so it is likely he remained with the “ground echelon of the 93d, still at Luzon on 29 December [who] joined the other personnel on the Bataan peninsula, where they went into the trenches with the infantry.” After some Air Forces elements moved to Mindanao, “the bulk of Air Forces personnel in Luzon, some 7,000 … were soon employed as infantry on Bataan.” On 9 Apr 42, Bataan fell. Many airmen died during the defense of Bataan, but the others “were a part of the ill and half-starved band of prisoners who were sent into some of the worst of the Japanese Prison Camps.” War Department WD AGO Form 52-1, Report of Death, confirms the deceased member was a military member who died while a Japanese prisoner of war in Cabanatuan Prison Camp north of Manila. Since the deceased member’s name is mentioned in the histories of the 93rd Bombardment Squadron cited above, it is quite likely he served with that unit. The ground echelon of the 93rd was stationed on “Luzon and Mindanao, c. 19 Dec 41-May 42,” and received the following decorations for service in the Philippines: 1) The Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC): 2) Philippine Islands, 7 Dec 41-10 May 42; 3) Philippine Islands, 8-22 Dec 41; Philippines and Netherlands Indies, 1 Jan-1 Mar 42; and, 4) Philippine Islands, 6 Jan-8 Mar 42. In light of the overwhelming circumstantial evidence the deceased member was a member of a unit that served on Luzon during the time period 7 Dec 41 to 10 May 42 and that unit was awarded four Distinguished Unit Citations (thus meeting the criteria of 32 CFR §578.16, Bronze Star Medal), AFHRA recommends the AFBCMR bestow the four PUCs and the BSMs on the deceased member. A complete copy of the AFHRA/RS evaluation is at Exhibit F. APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF THE ADDITIONAL AIR FORCE EVALUATION: A copy of the AFHRA/RS evaluation was forwarded to the applicant on 10 Feb 16 for review and comment within 30 days (Exhibit G). As of this date, no response has been received by this office. THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT: 1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations. 2.  The application was not timely filed. While the applicant claims a date of discovery of less than three years ago, in our view, the reasonable date of discovery of the alleged error or injustice was more than three years ago and the application is therefore untimely. However, it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file. 3.  Sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice. After a thorough review of the evidence of record and the applicant’s complete submission, we believe the deceased member is the victim of an error or injustice. While we note the comments of AFPC/DPSID and SAF/MRBP indicating that relief should be denied because the deceased member’s records contain no documentation substantiating the applicant’s contention her deceased brother should be awarded the PUC or the BSM, we believe a preponderance of the evidence substantiates that corrective action is warranted. In this respect, we concur with the opinions and recommendations of the AFHRA indicating that in light of the overwhelming circumstantial evidence which they uncovered indicating the deceased served as a member of the 93rd Bombardment Squadron during a period of time in which it was awarded four DUCs, and one DUC was for service on Luzon during the time period 7 Dec 41 to 10 May 42, meeting the criteria of 32 CFR §578.16 for award of the Bronze Star Medal, the applicant qualifies for award of four PUCs and a BSM. Therefore, we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected as indicated below. THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT: The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force relating to the APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 10 June 1942, he was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation with three Oak Leaf Clusters (PUC w/3OLC), and the Bronze Star Medal (BSM). The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2014-05029 in Executive Session on 25 Mar 16 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603: Panel Chair Member Member All members voted to correct the records as recommended. The following documentary evidence was considered: Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 9 Dec 14, w/atchs. Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records. Exhibit C.  Memorandum, AFPC/DPSID, dated 1 Jul 15. Exhibit D.  Memorandum, SAF/MRBP, dated 4 Aug 15. Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 Aug 15. Exhibit F.  Memorandum, AFHRA/RS, dated 11 Feb 16. Exhibit G.  Letter, SAF/MRBC, dated 10 Feb 16. 1 2