PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            20 March 2001     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048615

	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	
	Ms. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Mr. William D. Powers		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 unit of assignment be corrected on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).

3.  The applicant states that he was in the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 
2nd Infantry Division for most of his hitch during World War II.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant was inducted on
7 December 1940.  He served as a surgical technician in the European Theater of Operations from 1 September 1942 to 22 August 1945 and was honorably discharged on 3 September 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in item 6 (Organization) that he was assigned to Medical Detachment 289th Infantry Regiment at the time of his separation.

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he was authorized the Combat Medical Badge by Headquarters 9th Infantry Regiment.   

7.  Technical Manual 12-235, which prescribed the policy and procedure for the preparation and distribution of separation documents during the period in question, states that the last unit, or similar element to which the individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was part while moving to a separation activity will be entered in item 6 (Organization) of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  It also notes that assignments to units for the purpose of transfer from a theater to the United States is considered part of the movement to a separation activity.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the applicant’s contention that he was in the 
9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division for most of his service during World War II.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant was awarded the Combat Medical Badge by Headquarters 9th Infantry Regiment during his service in the European Theater of Operations. 

2.  Based on the foregoing, the Board concluded that the current entry in item
6 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 listed the unit from which the applicant was separated, not the unit with which the applicant served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

3.  Based on the foregoing, the Board has determined the applicant is entitled to correction of item 6 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show that he served in the 
9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division during World War II. 
4.  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 in item 6 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 that the individual concerned served in the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division during World War II.

BOARD VOTE:  

FNE____  RJW____  WDP____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Fred N. Eichorn______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048615	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010320	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19450903	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Convenience of the Government (RR-1 Demobilization)	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	100.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.