RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: 02-02189
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) Medal.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The applicant and the applicant’s son make the following contentions.

On 13 December 1943, he suffered injuries while bailing out of a crippled B-
17 over enemy territory that resulted in his capture and incarceration as  a
Prisoner Of War (POW).  He was a navigator on a B-17 with the  306th  Bomber
Group.  During a raid on a German position over the  North  Sea,  his  plane
took  a  direct  hit  from  an  anti-aircraft  battery.   He   survived   by
parachuting out of the plane into the frigid waters of the  North  Sea.   He
suffered cuts, bruises, lacerations, trauma,  and  severe  hypothermia.   He
spent time in a  POW  hospital  recovering  from  his  wounds  before  being
transferred to Stalag Luft 1, GE for 19 months.

In support  of  their  appeal,  the  applicant’s  son  provides  a  personal
statement, copies of the applicant’s retirement  orders,  individual  flight
record,  certificate  of  service,  Headquarters,  Army  Air  Forces  letter
regarding, a personal statement from the applicant,  and  bulletin  articles
regarding the POW experience.

Their complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_______________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on  19 March  1941
and entered active duty on same date,  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Air
Corps, and  was  progressively  promoted  to  the  grade  of  sergeant.   He
performed duties  as  a  Radio  Operator.   On  31  December  1942,  he  was
appointed an aviation cadet and  entered  into  Aviation  Cadet  (Air  Crew)
Training.  Having  successfully  completed  training,  he  was  awarded  the
aeronautical rating of Navigator and his appointment as  an  aviation  cadet
was terminated.  He was honorably  discharged  on  4  August  1943  for  the
Convenience of the Government  (Commission).   On  5  August  1943,  he  was
appointed a second lieutenant, Army of the United States, Air Corps.

The applicant was assigned to the 367 Bombardment Squadron, in the  European
Theater of Operations as a Navigator, from 15 November 1943 through 11  June
1945, when he returned to the Continental United States.   He  was  reported
Missing in Action on 13 December 1943 and his status as a  Prisoner  of  War
was confirmed on 21 January 1944.  He was liberated by the Russian  Army  on
1 May 1945 and returned to U.S. military control on 13 May 1945.

On 15 October  1945,  the  applicant  was  appointed  a  second  lieutenant,
Officers’ Reserve Corps, Army of the United States, Air Corps.  He  reverted
to inactive  status  on  15  December  1945,  for  the  Convenience  of  the
Government (Demobilization).  He was credited with 11 months and 5  days  of
continental  service  and  1 year  and  5  days  of  foreign  service  as  a
commissioned officer.  His separation document shows he participated in  the
Air Offensive Over Europe and the European campaigns.  He  was  awarded  the
European-African-Middle Eastern Service Theater Campaign Ribbon.

The applicant enlisted in the grade of master sergeant on 31 July  1946  and
continued to enlist and serve until 1 July 1964, when he was retired in  the
grade of second lieutenant  (the  highest  commissioned  grade  he  held  on
active duty).  He was credited with 22  years,  7  months  and  27  days  of
active service for retirement and 23 years, 3 months and 12 days  of  active
service for basic pay.  As a Reserve officer  in  inactive  status,  he  had
been progressively promoted to the grade of major  and,  therefore,  he  was
transferred to the Retired Reserve Section in his Reserve grade of major.

By letter, dated 26 December  2002,  the  Awards  and  Decorations  Section,
advised the applicant that his military  records  were  thoroughly  reviewed
and that he did not provide  sufficient  information  and  documentation  to
substantiate his claim for the Purple Heart Medal.   In  this  same  letter,
the applicant was advised that a detailed description of  how  he  sustained
his injuries and medical documentation to prove he  was  treated  for  these
injuries would be required in order  to  process  his  request  for  the  PH
award.  On 8 January, 24 January and 10 February 2003,  applicant  responded
by providing additional documentation.

By letter, dated 3 December 2002, AFPC/DPW, requested that  the  applicant’s
discharge document be corrected to reflect he was a  POW  from  13  December
1943 to 13 May 1945 and that he be considered for award of the Purple  Heart
(See Exhibit D).

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied.  DPPPR states there  is  no
evidence in the applicant’s military personnel records that support  he  was
injured as a direct result of enemy action  (hypothermia  is  considered  an
indirect result).  The applicant’s VA medical records  only  make  reference
to hypothermia (by inference) on 22 May  44,  when  the  applicant  said  he
suffered from “exposure,” but did not provide any further information.   The
AFPC/DPPPR evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 11 April 2003, a copy of  the  Air  Force  evaluation  was  sent  to  the
applicant for review and comment.  As of this  date,  this  office  has  not
received a response.

________________________________________________________________

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.  The applicant contends that he  should  be
awarded the Purple Heart for  injuries  suffered  when  he  bailed  out  and
landed in the North Sea.  After a thorough review of his submission and  the
supporting documentation he provided, to include  the  applicant’s  detailed
account of events, we are not  persuaded  that  he  should  be  awarded  the
Purple Heart Medal.  We took notice of his complete  submission  in  judging
the  merits  of  the  case;  however,  we  agree  with   the   opinion   and
recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility  and  adopt
their rationale as the basis for our conclusion that the applicant  has  not
provided any documentation showing he meets the basic criteria for award  of
the Purple Heart.  There is no evidence that  the  injuries  he  alleges  he
sustained at bailout were a direct result of  enemy  action.   In  addition,
hypothermia  is  considered  an  indirect  result  and,  therefore,  is  not
qualifying for award of the Purple  Heart  Medal.   The  applicant  did  not
provide any current medical evidence of scarring or other residuals  of  the
asserted injuries that would persuade  us  that  he  had  an  injury,  which
warranted the  award  of  the  Purple  Heart  Medal.   However,  should  the
applicant obtain testimonies from other former  POWs  or  members  from  his
unit who were on the mission when his plane went down and  can  account  for
his injuries, he may, of course, submit another request and the  Board  will
review this new evidence.  Otherwise, without persuasive  evidence  that  he
was wounded as a direct result of enemy action, we find no compelling  basis
to  warrant  favorable  consideration  of  his  application.   The  personal
sacrifice  the  applicant  endured  for  his  country  is  noted   and   the
recommendation to deny the requested relief in no way  diminishes  the  high
regard we have for his service; however, insufficient  documentary  evidence
has been presented to warrant  relief.   Therefore,  we  find  no  basis  to
recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

________________________________________________________________

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 9 July 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Ms. Brenda L. Romine, Panel Chair
                 Mr. James W. Russell, III, Member
                 Mr. E. David Hoard, Member

The following documentary evidence for AFBCMR  Docket  Number  02-02189  was
considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 3 Jul 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 3 Apr 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFPC/DPW, dated 3 Dec 02 w/atchs.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 11 Apr 03.





                                   BRENDA L. ROMINE
                                   Panel Chair