PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            18 January 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047503

	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. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 he be awarded the Army of Occupation Medal with the Japan clasp (AOM-Japan).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his separation document did not credit him with receiving the AOM-Japan which he was entitled to based on his service in Japan from August 1945 through 14 April 1946.  He claims that he in fact received his Parachute Badge after completing training at the Jump school at Sendei, Japan on 9 February 1946.  

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 available evidence includes a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge).  This document verifies that he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 16 March 1944.  It also confirms that he served on active duty until being honorably discharged, on 2 May 1946, in the rank of private first class (PFC).

6.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 also documents that he arrived in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations (WPTO) on 12 August 1945 and served there until his departure for the United States on 14 April 1946.  It also confirms that during his tenure on active duty he earned the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 5-10 contains policy pertaining to the award of the Army of Occupation Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that the AOM is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty while assigned to a qualifying overseas area.  The Army of Occupation of Japan was authorized for service performed, in the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, the surrounding smaller islands of the Japanese homeland, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Bonin-Volcano Islands, between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952.  Finally, it directs that service in this area between 3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946 will be counted only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for service before 3 September 1945. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he was entitled to the 
AOM-Japan and finds this claim has merit.  By regulation, the AOM-Japan is authorized for members who served in Japan between 3 September 1945 and 
27 April 1952 or between 3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946 if they had previously earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal for service before 
3 September 1945.  

2.  The confirmation contained in the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, that he served in the WPTO from 12 August 1945 to 14 April 1946 and that he had been awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, is sufficient to conclude he is entitled to receive the AOM-Japan.  Thus, the Board finds that it would be appropriate to add this award to the applicant’s service record 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 showing the individual concerned received the AOM-Japan for his service in the WPTO between 12 August 1945 and 23 April 1946 and to provide him a corrected separation document that reflects this change. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___jtm __  __mm___  ___js____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____John N. Slone______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047503	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/01/18	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1946/05/02	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365 	
DISCHARGE REASON	Demobilization 	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  113	107.0067	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.