RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           3 February 2004   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090052

	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. Klaus P. Schumann		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that the grade on his separation document (WD AGO 53-55) be changed from Private First Class (PFC) to Sergeant (SGT).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that upon completion of basic training he was reassigned to Fort Meade, Maryland where he was promoted to SGT.  He was reassigned to North Africa, where upon arrival he was informed that his records were lost.  He further states, he was reduced to PFC and reassigned to another unit.  Subsequently, it was discovered he should not have been reassigned and he was returned to his original unit in North Africa and promoted back to SGT.  He claims that his records were again lost when he was reassigned to Italy and he was again reduced to PFC pending the receipt of his records.  However, prior to the arrival of his records he was captured at Anzio Beachhead, Italy, and remained a prisoner of war (POW) for 15 months.  He states that when he was released from the Army, his only concern was to get out of the service and he never pursued the issue surrounding his grade.  He further states, he found old newspaper articles, a change of address card and some censored mail in his mother's old albums, which he contends provides clarification to change his rank to SGT on his separation document.

3.  The applicant provides, in support of his application, an undated newspaper article which announces his status as a POW; a self-authored letter, dated 
20 May 1995; two Department of the Army Memorandums, dated 12 September 1996 and 17 October 1996, respectively; a letter addressed to a retired Army Colonel, dated 8 December 2001; an undated newspaper clipping which announces his advancement to the grade of SGT; a notice of change of address (WD AGO 204) with an undecipherable date; an honorable discharge certificate, dated 14 November 1945; and two unreadable documents.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on 14 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 21 April 2003.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  The records available were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant entered active duty on 20 June 1944.  They also show that he was trained and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 055 (General Clerk).  The records further confirm that he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 21 October 1943 through 3 June 1945, and that he was honorably separated from active duty on 14 November 1945. 

4.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) shows that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Ribbon.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) shows that he received the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

5.  The applicant's separation document shows in Item 3 (Grade) that the applicant was a PFC at the time of his separation from the Army on 14 November 1945.  Item 38 (Highest Grade Held) shows that the highest grade the applicant held during his time in military service was PFC.

6.  The applicant's military records contain a final payment work sheet
(WD Form 372A), which also indicates that he was being paid as a PFC when he was separated from the Army in November 1945.

7.  The applicant's military records contain a copy of United States Total Army Personnel Command Permanent Orders 99-1, dated 9 April 1997, which awarded him the Purple Heart.

8.  A POW record on file shows that he was captured in the town of Anzio on 
18 February 1944 and that he was held as a POW at Stalag VIIB in Memmingen, Germany.  This document further shows that his grade at the time of his capture was Private.  In addition, an undated notice of change of address card on file identifies the applicant as a SGT.  

9.  The applicant provides two undated newspaper articles which identify him as a SGT.  One of the newspaper articles was specifically published to announce the applicant's advancement to the grade of SGT.  Further, the applicant also provides two envelopes, one of which is counter-stamped by the United States Army Postal Service, that identify him as a SGT in the return address.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes the Army’s awards policy.  Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on awarding the Purple Heart.  It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is authorized to members who are wounded in action.  A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained in action.  The wound for which a PH is being awarded must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the records of medical treatment for the wound or injury for which the PH is being awarded must have been made a matter of official record.  

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, guidance on award of the POW Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917.

13.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register), dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, occupation credit awarded to units which served during World War II.  This document confirms that during the applicant's tenure with the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, it received occupation credit for Germany and also earned the French Croix de Guerre.

14.  In a 28 March 1983 letter, the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center published the policy regarding award of the French Croix de Guerre to U.S. Army veterans who had served in World War I and World War II.  Essentially, this guidance states that there is no individual emblem presented to or worn by Army soldiers who were in a unit cited by the French Government for the Croix de Guerre.  Thus, former members of any American units which appear in Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register) are not authorized an individual device.  However, the award will be entered in the Remarks block of the separation document as follows:  “French Croix De Guerre-Unit Citation-No Emblem Authorized.”  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence provided by the applicant does not establish a basis to support his contention that he was a SGT at the time he was separated from the Army on 14 November 1945.  Further, the available evidence includes a properly constituted separation document and a final pay worksheet that confirm he held the rank of PFC on the date of his separation.  Therefore, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support granting the requested relief. 

2.  However, the independent evidence provided by the applicant is sufficiently credible to support a conclusion that he did, at some point while serving on active duty, hold the rank of SGT.  Therefore, in the interest of equity, it would be appropriate to correct Item 38 (Highest Grade Held) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the highest rank he held while serving on active duty was SGT.

3.  A review of the applicant's record further confirms that he earned several significant awards that were not included on his separation document.  Although he did not include a request to add these awards to his record in his application, it would be appropriate and serve the interest of equity and justice to add the following earned awards to his separation document at this time:  Purple Heart; Bronze Star Medal; POW Medal; Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; and French Croix de Guerre.  

BOARD VOTE:

__SAC __RKS___CLG               GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: 

a.  amending Item 38 (Highest Grade Held) of his 14 November 1945 
WD AGO 53-55 to read “SGT” vice the current entry of PFC; and 

b.  amending Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his 14 November 1945 WD AGO 53-55 by adding the following earned awards:  Purple Heart; Bronze Star Medal; Prisoner of War Medal; and Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; and 

c.  amending Item 55 (Remarks) by adding the entry “French Croix De Guerre-Unit Citation-No Emblem Authorized.”

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to changing Item 3 (Grade) of his 14 November 1945 WD AGO 53-55.  

		Samuel A. Crumpler
		   CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090052	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2004/02/03	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD,	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.PayGrd	129.0500.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.