RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

      IN THE MATTER OF:            DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-03670
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
                                  COUNSEL:  NONE
                                  HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

The Purple Heart (PH) Medal be added to his official records.

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

His job in the Army was a demolition/explosive expert.  He was  responsible
for looking for mines and deactivating them.  He also placed mines and blew
up items as directed to include hedgerows, trucks, tanks and buildings.  He
was part of the invasion on D-Day and at Omaha Beach.  His injury  occurred
when “E” Company ran out of ammunition during a battle near St. Lo  France.
They took a jeep with a trailer attached along with ammunition supplies and
headed to “E” Company.  The route took them on a road with a  20-foot  bank
on each side.  They came under fire from German artillery.   The  artillery
shells were landing all around leaving deep craters in the road.  The  jeep
hit one of the craters and he was thrown from the jeep.  He was transported
to an aid station and then to a field  hospital.   He  stayed  there  three
weeks before returning to his unit.  He was awarded the  PH  in  the  field
hospital.  An officer, doctor and chaplain came to his bedside and gave him
the PH.  The chaplain sent the PH and  paperwork  to  his  mother  in  East
Texas.  He was later awarded the Bronze Star for the  same  action  by  his
company commander.  When the war ended, he was  assigned  to  the  military
police company until transportation was available for him to go  home.   He
did not notice his PH was not in his paperwork; he just wanted to go home.

In support of his request, the applicant submits a  personal  statement,  a
statement from his daughter, a copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate,
a WD AGO Form 58, Army of the United States (Appointment), a WD AGO Form 53-
55,  Report  of  Separation  Honorable  Discharge,  an  affidavit   and   a
photograph.

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

_______________________________________________________________




STATEMENT OF FACTS:

Data extracted from his available military records reflects he enlisted  in
the Army Air Corps on 6 September 1940.

He was retired in the grade of technical sergeant on 31  August  1963  with
service characterized as honorable.  He served a  total  of  22  years,  11
months and 20 days on active duty.

_______________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSIDR recommends the request be denied.  DPSIDR  states  no  official
documentation (medical documentation, eyewitness statements and etc.,)  was
located in the applicant's  record  or  submitted  by  the  applicant  that
verifies he was injured  due  to  direct  enemy  action.   The  applicant's
request was submitted to the Purple Heart Review  Board  for  consideration
and was disapproved on 31 December 2007.

The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit B.

_______________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant's daughter responded stating the request is not for the award
of the PH.  The request is  to  correct  an  error  on  her  father’s  Army
discharge records to show he received the PH.   The  decision  for  him  to
receive the PH was made by military officials during World War II.  It  was
presented to him while in an Army hospital in France  over  60  years  ago.
His PH was forwarded by a military chaplain to  his  mother  who  kept  the
medal on her dresser until he returned home.  During the massive exodus  of
personnel  after  the  war,  many  records  were   incorrectly   annotated.
According to her father, the data on his discharge papers was not important
at the time; all he wanted after spending over a year overseas (in some  of
the greatest battles of the war) was to get back to his family.  They  have
made several inquiries and cannot find official records or live witnesses.

The complete response is attached at Exhibit C.

_______________________________________________________________

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.  In this case, the  applicant  states  that
he was presented the Purple Heart  while  in  an  Army  hospital  in  France
during World War II.  It appears that during the chaotic  exodus,  a  period
of time in which many records were lost and administrative  procedures  were
overlooked, a Purple Heart was never  annotated  in  his  military  records.
The applicant's intact military  record  was  available  to  the  board  for
review.  Because of the lack of available evidence, his award of the  Purple
Heart cannot be substantiated.  While we are not questioning  his  integrity
in this matter, we unfortunately cannot in good faith,  correct  his  record
based on the evidence before us.  Consequently, we are left  with  no  other
recourse but to decline his request to correct his record  based  solely  on
the lack of official evidence.   Our  decision  in  no  way  diminishes  our
appreciation of his sacrifices and contributions  in  the  service  of  this
Nation.  Should he secure supporting documentation, we  would  certainly  be
willing to reconsider his application.  In the absence of  evidence  to  the
contrary, 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 a material error or injustice; that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and  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 AFBCMR Docket Number BC-2007-
03670 in Executive Session on 27 February 2008, under the provisions of AFI
36-2603:

                 Mr. Michael J. Maglio, Panel Chair
                 Ms. Dee R. Reardon, Member
                 Ms. Josephine L. Davis, Member









The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket  Number  BC-
2007-03670 was considered:

      Exhibit A. DD Form 149, dated 26 October 2007, w/atchs.
      Exhibit B. Letter, AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 3 January 2008.
      Exhibit C. Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 18 January 2008.
      Exhibit D. Letter, Applicant, dated 24 January 2008.



      MICHAEL J. MAGLIO
      Panel Chair