PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            6 May 2003        
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003083933

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Member	
	Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		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 he be awarded the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp.

3.  The applicant states that he earned the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp and is proud of it.  He provides his WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record), his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), and a copy of an envelope postmarked 24 November 1945 with a return address of Army Post Office (APO) 317 as supporting evidence.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 22 January 1943 and entered active duty on 29 January 1943.  He arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 13 May 1945.  He departed the theater on 28 January 1946.  He separated on        21 February 1946.

6.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 100 shows he served in the Netherlands East Indies, the Philippines, and Japan as a military policeman and truck driver.

7.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location.  Qualifying service in Japan included service in the Japanese home islands, the Ryukyu Islands and the Bonin-Volcano Islands between 3 September 1945 and 27 April 1952.  Service between                  3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946 is qualifying only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was earned prior to 3 September 1945.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal for service in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater between 7 December 1941 and         2 March 1946.  However, the last bronze service stars for campaign participation credit in this theater were awarded for periods ending on 2 September 1945.

10.  The Military Postal Service Agency verified that on 24 November 1945 APO 317 was located in Kobe, Japan.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence shows the applicant arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 13 May 1945.  Although his WD AGO Form100 shows he served in the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines in addition to Japan, the Board has determined that it is more likely than not that Japan was his last assignment.  

2.  The Board accepts the provided envelope as sufficient evidence to show the applicant was assigned to Japan on 24 November 1945.  Since the Board accepts that Japan was his last assignment, and since he departed the theater on                28 January 1946, the Board concludes that he served at least 30 consecutive days at a normal post in Japan, thus qualifying him for award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp.  

3.  Since the applicant was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star (the last campaigns for which awarded having ended on              2 September 1945), he met the additional eligibility criteria of having been awarded that campaign medal prior to 3 September 1945.

4.  Therefore, the Board accepts the applicant's WD AGO Form 100, his WD AGO Form 53-55, and the envelope with the 24 November 1945 postmark and APO 317 return address as sufficient evidence to show he served in Japan long enough to have earned the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp.  

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to add the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp and that he be authorized issuance of this service award.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fne___  __lem___  __lcb___    GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003083933	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030506	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0067	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.