RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2002-03598
            INDEX CODE:  107.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When he parachuted out of the airplane and hit the  frozen  ground  he
was knocked unconscious.  When he became conscious  he  saw  a  pistol
pointed at his face.  He was marched down an icy road for 4 or 5 miles
and placed in a guarded shack room until the German military came  and
took charge of him.  While in transit  to  Stalag  Luft  Interrogating
Center they were paraded in  a  large  railroad  station  in  Manheim,
Germany, where it was announced over the PA system that they were  the
terror fliegers who had bombed Regensburg.  An  angry  mob  surrounded
them and they made ugly faces and started screaming and began to  beat
them with their fists.  They were going to hang them in  the  railroad
station, however, in the middle of the frenzy and air raid siren  went
off and everybody ran off immediately for  their  shelters.   The  few
Germans who were guarding them hustled them down to a basement  locker
and hid them from the mob.  The next day when all was clear  from  the
mob they put them on a train  to  go  to  Stalag  Luft  in  Frankfurt,
Germany.

The applicant did not provide any  documentation  in  support  of  the
appeal.

Applicant's complete submission is attached at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant served on active duty during the period 14  August  1943
to 8 January 1946, with an overseas tour in the  European  Theater  of
Operations during the period 30 November 1943  to      12  June  1945.
His Report of Separation reflects the award of the Air  Medal  with  2
Oak Leaf Clusters, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with
4 Bronze Service Stars, and World War II Victory Medal.   He  is  also
entitled to the American Campaign Medal and POW Medal, which have been
added to his Report of Separation.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR states that on 6 January 2003, they informed the  applicant
that specific information and documentation were needed to verify  his
claim for award of the Purple Heart Medal.  He responded on 16 January
2003,  but  still  did  not  provide  any  official  documentation  or
statements of corroboration to support his claim of being  injured  or
wounded as a direct result of enemy action.  Since  his  records  were
destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel  Records  Center,
the only documents regarding his military service are those he and the
VA provided.

The  only  service  injury   found   regarding   the   applicant   was
reconstructed from hospital admission  cards  by  the  Office  of  the
Surgeon General.  It  shows  that  the  applicant  sprained  his  knee
playing baseball in December 1943 and was in the hospital for 20  days
because of this injury.  No  further  hospital  admission  cards  were
found.

The applicant did not make a VA claim until 1996, when his POW  status
was verified to the VA.  The applicant stated he  had  never  received
the POW Medal, but he never applied for it.  He has  been  provided  a
complete set of his awards and decorations.

In the VA medical examination, the applicant was diagnosed with normal
joint impairment due to age.

The applicant was not seen by the VA until 1996  and,  at  first,  was
denied compensation due to  lack  of  documentation  showing  service-
connected disability.  However, the VA has presumed service connection
for the applicant’s arthritis and inability to be employed at age  74.
Although the applicant was a POW during WWII, he never applied for the
award of the medal or update of his Report of Separation.  His  Report
of Separation reflects no wounds received in  action.   The  applicant
has not provided  any  official  documentation  showing  that  he  was
wounded or injured as a direct result  of  enemy  action  or  that  he
received medical treatment at any time for such  a  wound  or  injury.
Without documentation to substantiate his claim, DPPPR  cannot  verify
the applicant’s eligibility for the award of the Purple Heart Medal.

On 7 February 2003, AFPC/DPPRSP informed the applicant that there  was
an error on his WD AGO Form  53-98,  Military  Record  and  Report  of
Separation Certificate of Service, effective 8 January 1946,  and  the
DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form  214,  Certificate  of  Release  or
Discharge from Active Duty, had been completed to correct item  29  of
his  WD  AGO  Form  53-98.   Therefore,  they  recommend   denial   of
applicant’s request.

A complete copy of the evaluation, with attachments,  is  attached  at
Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

Applicant states that they were almost “hanged” by an angry mob  in  a
German railway station in Mannheim, Germany where they  were  punched,
pushed, shoved, spit at, ridiculed, etc, before they were miraculously
saved by an air raid.

After being interrogated at Stalag Luft and spending several  days  in
solitary confinement because he  refused  to  tell  the  interrogators
anything but his name, rank, and serial number - then they placed  him
and many other POWs into “40 & 8” box cars for four (?)  days’  travel
to Barth, Germany on the Baltic  Sea  -  Stalag  Luft  1.   They  were
treated like animals, being bunched together with  no  sanitation.   A
few times the train would stop and they would let them get out  to  go
urinate or defecate or whatever if one had  not  already  done  it  in
their clothing.  They had no rest or sleep during this train ride.

In addition to this, he wants to add his following remarks:

    1.  Getting shot down  and  being  thrown  around  in  a  spinning
aircraft was a result of enemy action.  He ricocheted  off  the  walls
and the protruding ends of 50 cal machine guns and  other  instruments
located in the nose  of  their  B-17  bomber.   This  type  of  injury
definitely is a result of enemy action.

    2.  Bailing out of a doomed aircraft was frantic and  treacherous.
Their B-17 eventually wound up in a horribly severe spin that provided
centrifugal force such that they could  barely  move,  their  downward
spin must have lasted for over 12,000 feet because,  as  they  learned
later in life, they were reported dead because no parachutes were seen
by other aircraft as their plane headed for a crash!  This document is
from a 97th Bomb Group history book entitled “The Hour Has Come” - The
97th Bomb Group in  World  War  II.   Copyright  @  1993,  Library  of
Congress Number 93-060460-pages 152 and 153.

    3.  After finally bailing out of doomed aircraft he crashed on  to
the frozen ground and was knocked unconscious.  This injury, also, was
the result of enemy action!

In  response  to  his  previous  letter  of  16  January  2003   under
discussion, it was stated that the  applicant  had  not  provided  any
official documentation showing that he was wounded  or  injured  as  a
direct result of enemy action or that he received medical treatment at
any time for such a wound or injury.

Now he asks the Board how could he have received any medical treatment
at the time of these injuries, and he cannot provide any documentation
to substantiate his claims.  All he can do is tell it to  the  way  it
was.

A copy of applicant’s response is attached at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing  law
or regulations.

2.  The application was not  timely  filed;  however,  it  is  in  the
interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented  to  demonstrate
the  existence  of  error  or  injustice.   We  took  notice  of   the
applicant's submissions in judging the merits of the case; however, we
agree with the opinion and recommendation of the Air Force  and  adopt
their rationale as the basis for the conclusion that the applicant has
not been the victim of an error or injustice.  The applicant  has  not
provided any corrobrative documentation or  witness  statements  which
would lead us to believe he was wounded or injured as a direct  result
of enemy action or that he received medical treatment at any time  for
such a wound or injury.   While  we  are  not  unappreciative  of  the
applicant’s service to  the  nation,  without  some  medical  evidence
relating to treatment, evidence of scarring from  a  wound  or  injury
which qualifies under the criteria  for  award  of  the  Purple  Heart
Medal, or witness statements in support of the applicant’s claims, the
applicant’s request is not favorably considered.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The  applicant  be  notified  that  the  evidence  presented  did  not
demonstrate the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the
application was denied without a personal  appearance;  and  that  the
application will only be reconsidered upon  the  submission  of  newly
discovered relevant evidence not considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the  Board  considered  this  application  in
Executive Session on 29 April 2003, under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. Richard A. Peterson, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Gregory A. Parker, Member
                       Mr. James W. Russell, III, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in  connection  with
AFBCMR Docket No. BC-2002-03598:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 8 Nov 02.
      Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 4 Feb 03, w/atchs.
      Exhibit D. Letter, AFBCMR, dated 28 Feb 03.
      Exhibit E. Applicant’s Response, dated 23 Mar 03.




                             RICHARD A. PETERSON
                             Panel Chair