RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: 02-02730

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be awarded the Purple Heart  (PH)  and  the  Distinguished  Flying  Cross
(DFC).

_________________________________________________________________

THE APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He should be awarded the PH because he was hit by shrapnel from  enemy  fire
and should be awarded the DFC because he completed over 25 combat missions.

The applicant states that on 9 August 1944, shrapnel  from  enemy  fire  hit
him shortly before their plane was shot down.

The applicant also states that during the period in question,  the  8th  Air
Force had an established  policy  whereby  the  DFC  was  awarded  upon  the
completion of 25 combat missions.  He completed  over  25  combat  missions;
however, he was shot down over Belgium/Germany on his 28th  combat  mission,
and interned as a Prisoner-of-War (POW),  where  he  remained  until  9  May
1945.  Although he was awarded the Air Medal, with  Two  Oak  Leaf  Clusters
(AM, 2 OLC), he never received the DFC.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant’s records were destroyed by  fire  in  1973  at  the  National
Personnel Records Center (NPRC); therefore,  the  following  information  is
obtained from the documentation provided by applicant.

On 4 March 1943, the applicant enlisted  in  the  Army  Air  Corps  and  was
progressively promoted to the grade of technical sergeant.

During the period 6 May  1944  through  12  June  1945,  he  served  in  the
European Theater of Operations.  He participated in the  Normandy,  Northern
France, Rhineland, Central Europe, Europe Air  Offensive,  and  the  Western
Europe Campaigns,  and  was  awarded  the  Air  Medal,  with  Two  Oak  Leaf
Clusters.

On 19 October 1945, he was honorably discharged.  He completed  2  years,  7
months and 16 days of active service.

On 1 October 2002, his records were administratively corrected to show  that
he was awarded the POW Medal (Germany: 9 Aug 44 -  13 May  1945),  the  Good
Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the  World  War  II  Victory
Medal.

The PH is awarded for wounds received as a direct  result  of  enemy  action
(i.e., gunshot  or  shrapnel  wounds,  hand-to-hand  combat  wounds,  forced
aircraft bail out injuries, etc.) that required  or  received  treatment  by
medical personnel.

The DFC was established by Congress  on  2 July  1926  and  is  awarded  for
heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in  aerial  flight.
The performance of the act of heroism must be evidenced by voluntary  action
above and beyond the call of duty.

During the period in question, the 8th Air Force had an  established  policy
whereby a DFC was awarded upon the completion of 25  heavy  bomber  missions
and an AM was awarded upon the completion of five heavy bomber missions.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied and states,  in  part,  that
the applicant has not provided documentation showing that  he  completed  25
combat  missions  or  that  a  written  recommendation  was  submitted  into
official  channels  recommending  him   for   the   award.    Without   such
documentation, his eligibility for  the  DFC  cannot  be  determined.   They
contacted the applicant and asked him to  provide  documentation  indicating
that he completed 25 combat missions, and he did not respond.

The AFPC/DPPPR evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT’S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

A complete copy of the Air Force evaluation was forwarded to  the  applicant
on 25 October 2002 for review and response within 30 days.  However,  as  of
this date, this office has received no 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.  After thoroughly  reviewing  the  evidence
of record and noting the applicant’s contentions, we are not persuaded  that
he has been the victim of an error or  injustice.   The  personal  sacrifice
the applicant endured for his country is noted and our decision  in  no  way
diminishes the high regard we have for his  service;  however,  insufficient
documentary evidence has been presented to warrant awarding him  the  Purple
Heart.  While the 8th Air Force did award DFCs upon  the  completion  of  25
combat missions during the period in question, the  applicant  has  provided
no evidence to substantiate that he completed 25 combat missions.   Although
we are not questioning his integrity regarding the total number of  missions
he completed, in the absence of documentary evidence  to  substantiate  that
he completed 25 combat missions, we find no basis to  warrant  awarding  him
the DFC.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we find  no
compelling  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  Docket  Number  02-02730  in
Executive Session on 10 March 2003 under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                       Mr. David W. Mulgrew, Panel Chair
                       Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Member
                       Mr. Mike Novel, Member






The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 21 Aug 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 20 Sep 02, w/atch.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 25 Oct 02.




                                   DAVID W. MULGREW
                                   Panel Chair