PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           19 November 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002077265

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		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 her late father, the former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds received during World War I.  

3.  The applicant states that the FSM was wounded on 2 November 1918, in Argonne, France.  He was not issued the Purple Heart.

4.  In support of her request, the applicant submits the FSM’s Honorable Discharge, Enlistment Record, Draft Registration, a Death Certificate and a copy of her own Birth Certificate and Marriage License.

5.  The FSM’s military records show that he was born on 5 September 1895.  He enlisted on 23 February 1918 and departed for service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France on 8 September 1918.  He served in the infantry, rose to the rank of corporal, participated in the Meuse-Argonne campaign, was wounded in action on 2 November 1918, and returned to the United States on 22 January 1919.  He was honorably discharged on 15 February 1919, and died on 18 July 1946.

6.  The record shows that the only decoration the FSM was issued was the Silver Victory Button.

7.  His Enlistment Record shows that he received a gun shot wound to the right arm in action at Argonne, France on 2 November 1918.  His medical condition was noted as “Poor” at the time of his discharge.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides that the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U. S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded.  The wound must have been sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

9.  The same regulation provides that the World War I Victory Medal is awarded for service between 6 April 1917 and 11 November 1918.  A battle clasp, which is a bronze bar with the name of the campaign on it (Muse-Argonne in this instance), is worn on the medal.

10.  The awards regulation also provided for award of the World War I Victory Button in silver for persons wounded in action.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the FSM suffered a gunshot wound on 2 November 1918, as a result of enemy action in France during World War I.  He is therefore entitled to award of the Purple Heart for that wound.

2.  The record also shows that he is authorized the World War I Victory Medal with Muse-Argonne Clasp and the World War I Victory Button in silver showing that he had been wounded in action.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the FSM’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 that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action in France on 2 November 1918, the World War I Victory Medal with Muse-Argonne Clasp and the silver World War I Victory Button.

BOARD VOTE:  

__mhm__  ___svw__  ___jns___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________John N. Slone_________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002077265	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20021119	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.