RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

      IN THE MATTER OF:            DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-02030
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
      XXXXXXX                     COUNSEL:  NONE

                                  HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 12 OCTOBER 2007

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her husband be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) Medal  and  the  Purple  Heart
with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster (PH w/1 OLC).

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her husband was wounded when his aircraft was attacked by  enemy  fire  and
again while he was a prisoner of war in Germany.

In support of her request, the applicant provided a personal letter, a copy
of her husband’s Enlisted Record; WD AGO Form 55-98,  Military  Record  and
Report of Separation Certificate of Service;  WD  AGO  Form  55,  Honorable
Discharge Certificate; Certificate of  Service;  Missing  Air  Crew  Report
11733; World War II Prisoner of War Report; a Letter  from  a  former  crew
member; an excerpt from  Army  Regulation  600-45,  Personnel  Decorations;
Public Law 104-106 and copy of his death certificate.

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

_______________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The former member enlisted in the Air Corps on 15 April 1944.

He was discharged with an honorable discharge on 21 November 1945.  He  had
1 year, 7 months and 6 days of total active service.

His WD AGO Form 55-98 reflects award of the European/African/Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal and 6 months and 4 days of Foreign and or Sea Service.

AFPC was able to verify the former member’s entitlement to the World War II
Victory Medal, the Prisoner of War Medal, and the American  Campaign  Medal
and will update his official records to reflect the awards.
The Purple Heart is awarded for wounds received as a direct result of  enemy
actions (e.g., gunshot  or  shrapnel  wounds,  hand-to-hand  combat  wounds,
forced aircraft bail-out injuries, etc.).  A recent change now  extends  the
eligibility for award of the PH to former prisoners of war (POWs) that  were
held prior to 25 April 1962 and suffered wounds or injuries at the hands  of
their captors.  In addition, it is necessary  that  the  wound  required  or
received treatment by medical  personnel.  Indirect  injuries  do  not  meet
criteria for award of the PH.   These  include,  but  are  not  limited  to,
injuries received while seeking  shelter  from  mortar  or  rocket  attacks,
aircraft bombings, grenades, and  injuries  incurred  while  serving  as  an
aircrew member or in a passenger  status  as  a  result  of  the  aircraft’s
evasive measures against hostile fire.

_______________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends the request  be  denied.   DPPPR  states  that  after
review of the former member’s  record,  they  were  unable  to  verify  his
entitlement to the PH based on the fact she did not provide  an  eyewitness
statement nor were they able to locate official  medical  documentation  to
verify the injuries.  Furthermore, they  requested  additional  information
from  the  applicant’s  family;  however,  they  were  unable  to   provide
documentation to substantiate their case.  Therefore,  applicant’s  request
does not meet the criteria for award of the PH Medal.

The complete DPPPR evaluation is attached at Exhibit C.

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant states she has been trying to obtain the PH for the  last  30
years.  She believes her deceased husband should  be  entitled  to  the  PH
based on what she observed and the information he provided about  his  time
spent as a POW, and being captured by one of the guards who struck  him  in
the back with a shovel.  The applicant states her husband  always  suffered
with lower back pains and was overly nervous.   She  believes  one  of  the
reasons why he denied all injuries and  operations  while  in  service  was
because he just wanted to get home.  She also believes the request for  the
PH keeps getting denied because the injury occurred while he was  captured;
therefore he was not eligible for the PH.   She  believes  the  rules  have
since changed.  The  applicant  also  provided  medical  records  from  the
Veterans Administration  for  consideration.   Particularly  a  psychiatric
evaluation performed 22 October 1952 stating he was  beat  to  some  extent
when taken as a prisoner.  The records also  reference  lower  back  pains,
nervousness, anxiety, inability to walk, and malnutrition.

Her complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit D.
_______________________________________________________________

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 the  available
evidence  and  the  applicant’s  complete  submission,  the  Board  is  not
persuaded that his records should be corrected to show he was  awarded  the
Purple Heart (PH). We took notice of the applicant’s complete submission in
judging the merits of this case.  However, we were  not  persuaded  by  the
available records that his injuries were a direct result of  enemy  action.
We are not unmindful or  unappreciative  of  his  service  to  his  Nation.
Should  he  secure  supporting  documentation,  we  would  be  willing   to
reconsider his  application.   Therefore,  in  the  absence  of  persuasive
evidence to the contrary, we find no compelling basis to warrant  favorable
consideration of his application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented did  not  demonstrate
the existence of a 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  no
considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered Docket  Number  BC-2006-02030
in Executive Session on 2 November 2006, under the provisions  of  AFI  36-
2603:

            Mr. James W. Russell III, Panel Chair
            Mr. Todd L. Schafer, Member
            Ms. Maureen B. Higgins, Member
The following documentary evidence pertaining  to  Docket  Number  BC-2006-
02030 was considered:


      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 23 June 2006, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
      Exhibit C. Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 21 August 2006
      Exhibit D. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 16 September 2006.
      Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 21 September 2006






      JAMES W. RUSSELL III
      Panel Chair