PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            17 May 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000035822

	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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Calvin M. Fowler		Chairperson	
	Mr. Fred Eichorn		Member	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		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, in effect, that his Prisoner of War (POW) status and the POW Medal be added to his discharge documents.  

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was a POW for approximately 5 months with a group that continually moved until they were liberated by English Paratroopers.  He indicates that his separation qualification record verifies that he was a POW and his record should be corrected at this time.

4.  The applicant’s military records were 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 the applicant’s records were lost in that fire.  

5.  The evidence of record does include a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) and an AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record). These documents show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 26 December 1942, entered on active duty on 2 January 1943, and served on active duty until 1 December 1945. 

6.  The separations documents also show that he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 1 August 1944 to 12 June 1945 and that he participated in the Northern France, Central Europe, and Rhineland campaigns of World War II.  These documents also show that he was wounded in action on 
29 November 1944 for which he was awarded the Purple Heart and that he was a POW for 5 months. 

7.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 on file also verifies that the applicant was honorably discharged, in the rank of Tec 4, on 1 December 1945, after completing 2 years, 10 months, and 29 days of active military service. 

8.  On 17 May 1999, a Department of the Army Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards) was prepared by the Chief of the Army Reference Center of the National Personnel Records Center, in which the applicant was authorized the POW Medal.  

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-9 establishes the criteria for award of the POW Medal.  This award was authorized by Public Law 99-145, section 1128, title 10, United States Code 
(10 USC 1128), 8 November 1985, and 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.  

10.  The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel, who were taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.  For purposes of this medal, past armed conflicts are defined as World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam Conflict, and Persian Gulf War. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention and after carefully examining the evidence or record, concluded that his status as a POW was clearly documented in his separation documents.  Therefore, the Board determined that there was no further modification to these documents necessary to clarify his POW status.

2.  The Board did find that the applicant was properly awarded the POW Medal based on his 5 month internment during World War II.  However, given the POW Medal was authorized and awarded to the applicant subsequent to his discharge, it was not included in his separation documents.  Although the POW Medal was awarded to the applicant subsequent to his discharge, the Board concluded that it would be appropriate, in the interest of equity, to add POW to his separation documents at this time. 

3.  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 issuing the individual concerned a corrected separation document with the POW Medal added to the list of awards earned; and by including a comment in the remarks section of the form which states that he earned the POW Medal based on his being interned as a POW for 5 months during World War II.  

BOARD VOTE:  

__cmf ___  __fe ____  ___rjw __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Calvin M. Fowler_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000035822	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/05/17	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1945/12/01	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  316	131.0600	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.