PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            5 August 1999     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999020007

	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. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr.  Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that his records be corrected to reflect award of the POW Medal.

3.  Reconstructed records indicate the applicant entered active duty on 21 August 1943 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations in April 1944.  According to a War Department letter, he was reported as missing in action on 20 December 1944 and by April 1945 was determine to be in the hands of enemy forces.  He returned to US control in early May 1945 and returned to the United States on 29 May 1945.

4.  The applicant was released from active duty on 23 December 1945 as a result of demobilization.  Although officials at the Army Reserve Personnel Center authorized issuance of the POW medal in 1988 there is no indication the award was ever added to his separation document.

5.  The POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the applicant was a prisoner of war during World War II and as such is entitled to award of the POW Medal.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the POW Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__mdm__  ___aao__  ___ewl__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999020007	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990805	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	 DENY 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.