RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2006-03297
                                       INDEX CODE:  107.00
      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                   COUNSEL: NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED: NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  28 April 2008


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to reflected his award of  the  Purple  Heart  (PH)
Medal.

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He  received  the  PH  in  1996  per  National  Archives  (NA)  Form  13059,
Transmittal of and/or Entitlement to Awards, dated 30 December 1996.   Along
with the transmittal, he received the actual medal from AFPC/  DPPPRA.   His
entitlement to the PH is based on injuries he received to  his  right  ankle
after parachuting out of his  aircraft  when  it  was  shot  down  by  enemy
fighter on 1 December 1943.  He subsequently was captured  and  taken  as  a
prisoner of war (POW) until he was released by Russian troops  on  29  April
1945.  He was never examined or medically treated by his captors.  Over  the
18 months of his captivity, the pain in his ankle subsided,  and  it  seemed
to be well by the time of his release.  He listed the injury on his  medical
examination on 7 October 1945.

In support of his application, the applicant provides copies of the NA  Form
13059, dated 30 December 1996;  WD  AGO  Form  53-98,  Military  Record  and
Report of Separation Certificate of Service; and Certificate of  Retirement.


The applicant’s submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 14 March 1942, the applicant enlisted in the Army Air Corps  at  the  age
of 21 as a Aviation Cadet.  On 9 March 1943, he was honorably discharged  to
accept a commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Corps Reserve and  was
subsequently ordered to active duty on 10 March 1942.  On 1  December  1942,
while flying a mission over Germany, the applicant’s airplane was shot  down
by enemy fire causing the applicant to parachute from the aircraft.  He  was
captured by the enemy and remained a POW until 29 April 1945.  On 2  January
1946, he was released from active duty due to demobilization  and  continued
to serve in the Reserve.  The applicant was progressively  promoted  to  the
grade of lieutenant colonel.

On 5 April 1971, the applicant transferred to the Retired  Reserve  with  28
years and 11 months of satisfactory federal service.   He  was  subsequently
retired from the Air Force effective 17 January 1981 at the age of 60.

On 22 October 1996, the  applicant  requested  award  of  the  PH  from  the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The applicant provides a copy  of
NA Form 13059 indicating he is entitled to the award of the PH medal.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPR recommends denying the applicant’s  request  for  the  PH  medal.
DPPPR states that on 3 March 2006, their office notified  the  applicant  of
the criteria for award of the PH medal and requested he  provide  additional
information which would substantiate  his  claim.   The  applicant  did  not
respond.  DPPPR states there is no evidence in the applicant’s  military  or
medical records to verify  his  injuries  were  a  direct  result  of  enemy
action.

It is DPPPR’s opinion that the  NA  Form  13059,  the  applicant  submitted,
looks like it has been  altered  by  marking  the  PH  block  in  pen.   The
applicant’s discharge does not reflect award  of  the  PH;  therefore,  they
feel the form may have been altered.

The DPPPR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant finds the Air Force advisory opinion  inaccurate  as  well  as
insulting.  The documentation to  which  the  advisory  opinion  refers  was
contained in his original request for award of the PH to the NPRC.  They  in
turn referred his request to HQ  AFPC/DPPPRA.   He  received  a  reply  from
DPPPRA on 9 October 1996 acknowledging receipt of the forwarded request  and
advising him of the application procedures.  He subsequently responded  with
the required documentation.  Shortly thereafter, he received  the  medal  in
the mail along with the transmittal form dated 30 December 1996.  There  was
no letter accompanying the package.  He clearly provided evidence  that  his
plane was indeed shot down by enemy fighters,  that  he  was  injured  as  a
result  of  that  action,  that  he  is  receiving  Veterans  Affairs   (VA)
compensation  for  that  wartime  injury,  and  that  he  fully  meets   the
conditions of Public Law 104-106 (1996) to receive the PH.  He  is  insulted
that the advisory opinion insinuates he, a 30-year retired  officer  of  the
United States Air Force, had forged a document provided to him by the  NPRC.
 That charge is unacceptable, if not libelous, and he  strongly  objects  to
the  advisory  writer  including  it  in  their  opinion.   The  transmittal
document had not been altered, certainly not by his hand, and if  DPPPR  had
checked with the NPRC, they would have known this.  The  applicant  provides
additional documentation through his VA Officer.

The applicant’s rebuttal, 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  the  available
records, we found no evidence that the applicant is eligible for  the  award
of the PH medal.  We note the applicant’s contention that he was mailed  the
PH by AFPC; however, AFPC  has  no  record  to  confirm  this  action.   The
applicant has provided a copy  of  an  NPRC  Form  13059  indicating  he  is
entitled to award of the PH.  In addition, a carbon copy of  the  same  form
is maintained in the applicant’s military  personnel  record;  however,  the
NPRC Form  13059  is  used  as  a  referral  form  from  NPRC  to  AFPC  for
confirmation of award entitlement.  NPRC does  not  have  the  authority  to
award the PH medal.  The Air Force Office of  Primary  Responsibility  (OPR)
determined that there was no conclusive evidence to  justify  the  award  to
the applicant because the available evidence  does  not  indicate  that  his
injury, sustained on 1 December 1942, was incurred as  a  direct  result  of
enemy action.  The applicant has provided no documentary evidence  that  was
previously  unavailable  that  would  show  to  our  satisfaction  that  the
circumstances of his injury met the criteria for award of the  PH  medal  or
that he was recommended for, or awarded, the  PH.   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.  Nevertheless, in view of the above and in absence of  evidence
to the contrary, we find no basis to favorably consider 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 7 March 2007, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                 Ms. Cathlynn B. Novel, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Jeffrey R. Shelton, Member
                 Ms. Dee R. Reardon, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered in connection with  AFBCMR
Docket Number BC-2006-03297:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 18 Oct 06, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 1 Feb 07.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 5 Jan 07.
    Exhibit E.  Applicant’s Rebuttal, dated 16 Feb 07, w/atchs.




                                   CATHLYNN B. NOVEL
                                   Panel Chair