IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180006095 BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 June 2018 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180006095 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests, in effect, correction of his separation documents to show his prisoner of war (POW) status, which would also qualify him for the French Legion of Honor. 2. The applicant states he wants to correct the error on his discharge papers. He was never in Germany. He was in St. Nazaire, France, when captured and spent from January to May 1945 in a German prison camp in St. Nazaire, France. He was released to U.S. control in May of 1945. He spent approximately 2 weeks at Camp Lucky Strike to be fed and cared for, and then he went home. The injustice is that the men of the 66th Infantry Division who spent time in St. Nazaire and Lorinet are entitled to the French Legion of Honor. His discharge papers state Battle and Campaigns: Rhineland. This is incorrect and disqualified him for this prestigious award. His son discovered this error when organizing his military records. He would like to have the correction made not just for him but for his family, who have been a huge part of keeping him connected with his military brothers who are still here. 3. The applicant provides: * WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) * Letter from the National Personnel Records Center * Congressional correspondence * Request pertaining to military records * Western Union Telegrams * Letters from the War Department Adjutant General’s Office * Red Cross letters * Personal letter CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The applicant's records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. The Board believes that his records may have been lost or destroyed in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. 3. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 20 March 1943 and he entered active service at Fort Thomas, KY, on 27 March 1943. This form also shows at the time of his separation: * he held military occupation specialty 745 (Rifleman) * he was assigned to Company A, 263rd Infantry Regiment 4. His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 15 November 1944 and he arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 26 November 1944. He departed the ETO on 9 June 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 19 June 1945. 5. He was honorably separated due to demobilization on 10 December 1945. He completed 2 years, 1 month, and 9 days of CONUS service and 7 months and 5 days of foreign service. His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows in: * Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date, i.e., infantry, aviation, and marksmanship badges, etc.) the Expert Infantryman Badge * Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns), Rhineland * Item 33 (Decorations and Citations), the American Theater Ribbon, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze star, Good Conduct Ribbon, Purple Heart, and World War II Victory Medal * Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), the entry "Not available 6. National Archives and Records Administration POW records show he was held as a POW of the Germans at St. Nazaire, France. It is unclear if he was in this location for the duration of his imprisonment or was captured there and later transported to Germany. 7. He provides multiple letters, Western Union Telegrams, Red Cross letters, and a Provost Marshal letter that show he was initially reported missing in action on 11 January 1945. He was then reported in a POW status in France from 18 January 1945 and ultimately liberated from a German prison camp on 18 May 1945. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 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. The POW Medal is to be issued to U.S. military personnel who were taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force. 2. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) indicates the 263rd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, received campaign participation credit for the Rhineland campaign. 3. Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents. In pertinent part, it directs that, for a Soldier with POW documentation, enter "PRISONER OF WAR, (unit of assignment/country) (date of capture and release date)" in the Remarks section. 4. War Department Technical Manual 12-236 (Preparation of Separation Papers), dated April 1945, governed the preparation and processing of the WD AGO Form 53-55. It stated that item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) reflects the battles and campaigns as authorize by Department of the Army General Orders. 5. The French "Legion of Honour," with its full name National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur) is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte and retained by all the divergent governments and regimes later holding power in France, up to the present. It is awarded by the President on behalf of the Republic of France for excellent civil or military conduct delivered, upon official investigation. The military distinctions are awarded for bravery (actions de guerre) or for service. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant served in the ETO from 26 November 1944 to 9 June 1945. He was captured by enemy forces and held in a POW status in France from 11 January 1945 to 18 May 1945. He is authorized award of the POW Medal and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show his POW status and the POW Medal. 2. The entry in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) on the WD AGO Form 53-55 reflects the battles and campaigns as authorized by Department of the Army General Orders. The applicant arrived in the European Theater of Operations in November 1944 and was presumably assigned to the 263rd Infantry Regiment. He was not captured until January 1945. This unit received campaign participation credit for the Rhineland campaign. This campaign is properly listed in item 32 of his WD AGO Form 53-55. Of note is the fact that National Archives and Records Administration POW records confirm he was captured in France and held at a German prison camp at St. Nazaire, France. 3. This Board may only correct U.S. Army records. Award of the French Legion of Honor is the prerogative of the Republic of France. BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: * adding to item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the POW Medal * adding to the Remarks section of his WD AGO Form 53-55 the entry "PRISONER OF WAR: 263rd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, Germany/France, 11 January 1945 to 18 May 1945" I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180006095 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180006095 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2