RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
         AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  02-03059
            INDEX CODE:  107.00

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS:

Award of the Purple Heart Medal.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

As a German Prisoner of War  (POW),  no  record  of  his  ankle  injury  was
recorded in official records.  A change in Public Law  authorizes  award  of
the Purple Heart.

In support of  his  request,  applicant  submits  a  personal  statement,  a
statement from a flight crewmember and additional documents associated  with
the issues cited in his contentions.  The applicant’s  complete  submission,
with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Applicant contracted his enlistment in the Regular Air Force on  10 Nov  43.
The applicant’s Enlisted Record and Report of  Separation  reveals  that  he
participated in the European Theater of Operation (ETO)  during  the  period
13 Sep 44 through 15 May 45.  He was awarded the Air Medal with 2  Oak  Leaf
Clusters, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1  Silver  and
1 Bronze Service Star, American Campaign Medal, Distinguished Unit  Citation
and American Campaign Medal.  The POW Medal and the  World  War  II  Victory
Medal have  subsequently  been  added.   On  30 Oct  45,  he  was  honorably
discharged for the convenience of the government (Demobilization)  from  the
Army Air Corps.  The applicant was serving in the grade  of  staff  sergeant
(E-5) and had completed a  total  of  1  year,  2  months  and  10  days  of
continental service and 9 months and 14 days of foreign service at the  time
of discharge.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPPR recommends the application be denied.  DPPPR stated  that  the
applicant was a POW during the period 12 Mar 45 - 29 Apr  45.   In  response
to DPPPR’s letter of 2 Jan 03, the applicant indicated that he  injured  his
left ankle from a parachute landing on 12 Mar 45 when he was  taken  POW  by
the Germans.  He returned to the U.S. on 30 May 45 and was  not  demobilized
until 30 Oct 45.  His Report of Separation shows no wounds were received  in
action.

DPPPR  states  that  the  applicant   has   not   provided   the   necessary
documentation to substantiate his claim  that  he  injured  his  ankle  when
parachuting from an aircraft on 12 Mar  45.   No  one  saw  him  receive  an
injury since the crewmembers did not see him until  the  day  after  bailing
out of the aircraft.  The applicant’s records were  destroyed  in  the  1973
fire at the  National  Personnel  Records  Center;  therefore,  no  military
medical records are available.   The  only  medical  records  available  are
those from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).   The  first  time  the
applicant was seen at a DVA Medical Center was in 1988 and his  ankles  were
considered normal at that time.  The  information  the  applicant  submitted
from the Purple Heart Organization Web Site, including the Public  Law  104-
106, dated 10 Feb 96, pertains to POWs who were injured or wounded prior  to
the Vietnam Conflict.  None of the documentation  pertains  to  his  alleged
injury.  The applicant is unable to provide any documentation  showing  that
he received an injury as a direct  result  of  enemy  action  that  required
medical treatment, that he received any medical treatment  at  the  time  or
later, or an eyewitness account by an individual who  witnessed  the  injury
occur.  The HQ AFPC/DPPPR evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant reviewed the advisory opinion and indicated that he was  under
the impression during WWII that the criterion for the Purple Heart (PH)  was
a wound that drew blood or was fatal.   He  recently  learned,  through  the
Internet site, that injuries during parachute jumps involving  enemy  action
were considered an eligibility criterion.  The injury  of  his  left  ankle,
and the related left knee, have troubled him since WWII.   He  has  provided
seven excerpts from his VA medical records from 1988 that  show  he  claimed
injury to his left ankle.  In the 1950s,  while  experiencing  pain  in  his
ankle and knee, his civilian physician told him to take aspirin,  which  was
the treatment for arthritis at that time.  No individual in the crew saw  or
had knowledge of the fate or  experiences  of  any  other  crewmember.   The
first  opportunity  to  compare  notes  between  those  captured  and  those
reaching the Russians was after returning to the  states.   He  submitted  a
letter to verify his claim, written by the ball turret gunner to the  pilot.
 This letter was written in 1945 while the ball turret  gunner  was  in  the
hospital recovering from  his  injuries  and  contains  an  account  of  his
(applicant’s) condition when he was first  united  with  the  crew  members.
Since it was written at a time long before he had his claim, and it  was  by
a third party, he was sure it would be acceptable  proof;  however,  it  was
dismissed out of hand.  The Nazis did not give any medical treatment and  by
the time he was released, his ankle had healed.  A  complete  copy  of  this
response, with attachments, is 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.  After a  thorough  review  of  applicant’s
submission and the supporting documentation he provided, we are  unpersuaded
that he should be awarded the Purple Heart.  In our opinion,  the  available
evidence does not substantiate that the applicant’s  ankle  injury  was  the
direct result of enemy action that required medical treatment  as  a  result
of parachuting from an aircraft on 12 Mar 45.  Should the  applicant  secure
further medical documentation to substantiate an  ankle  injury  that  fused
itself over time without medical intervention, the Board may be  willing  to
reconsider his application.  Without  convincing  evidence  to  support  his
contentions, we are in agreement with the opinion and recommendation of  the
Air Force office of responsibility and adopt the rationale expressed as  the
basis for our decision that the applicant has failed to sustain  his  burden
that he has suffered either an error or an injustice.  We  do  not  wish  to
deprive the applicant of an award to which he is  entitled;  however,  based
on the evidence before us, we have no recourse  but  to  conclude  that  his
request for the Purple Heart should be denied at this time.
_________________________________________________________________

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 10 Apr 03, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Ms. Olga M. Crerar, Panel Chair
                  Mr. James W. Russell III, Member
                  Ms. Cheryl Jacobson, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with  AFBCMR
Docket Number BC-2002-03059.

   Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 23 Aug 01, w/atchs.
   Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
   Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPR, dated 19 Feb 03, w/atchs.
   Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 28 Feb 03.
   Exhibit E.  Letter from Applicant, dated 29 Mar 03, w/atchs.




                                   OLGA M. CRERAR
                                   Panel Chair