RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:		DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2014-00437
	XXXXXXXXXX		COUNSEL: NONE
	XXXXXXXXXX (APPLICANT)	HEARING DESIRED:  NO


APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

Her father be entitled to the Silver Star.


APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

Her father was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.  He 
received the Purple Heart; however, he never received the Silver 
Star.

The Board should find it in the interest of justice to consider 
her untimely application because her father was a hero and saved 
lives at Pearl Harbor.

In support of her request, the applicant provides copies of her 
birth certificate, her father’s death certificate, DD Form 2567, 
Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal Application/Information; 
General Order Number 17 (Extract) dated 5 May 1942, and various 
other documents associated with her request.

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


STATEMENT OF FACTS:

According to the member’s WD AGO 53-55, Enlisted Record and 
Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge, the following 
decorations are reflected in Item 33, Decorations and Citations: 
Good Conduct Medal; American Defense ribbon w/1 Bronze Service 
Star; Purple Heart; Asiatic Pacific Ribbon w/1 Bronze Star.

According to General Orders Number 17, paragraph 10, the member 
was awarded the Purple Heart “for outstanding performance of 
duty and meritorious acts of extraordinary fidelity and 
essential service during the attack on Wheeler Field by Japanese 
Forces (aircraft) on 7 December 1941.” 

According to the Report of the Decorations Board, dated 26 Oct 
1944, the majority of the board recommended the member be 
approved for award of the Bronze Star Medal in lieu of the 
Purple Heart awarded in General Order Number 17, Headquarters 
Seventh Air Force, 5 May 1942.  Since the member was not wounded 
in action, cancellation of the award of the Purple Heart was 
also recommended.  On 3 May 1945, the recommendation by the 
board was approved by the order of the Secretary of War.


AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPSID recommends denial.  The Silver Star may be awarded to 
any individual while serving in any capacity with the United 
States Armed Forces, who distinguishes himself or herself by 
gallantry in action under any of the following circumstances: 
while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United 
States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict 
with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly 
foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing 
armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent 
party.  The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than 
that required for award of the Army Distinguished Service Cross, 
the Navy Cross, or the Air Force Cross, must nevertheless have 
been performed with marked distinction.  There is no evidence in 
the applicant's record nor was any provided verifying the member 
was recommended for or awarded the Silver Star.  The applicant 
provided an extracted copy of General Order Number 17 which only 
mentions authorization of award of the Purple Heart to her late 
father.  However, she is misinterpreting the subject line of the 
General Order "Award of the Purple Heart and Silver Star" to 
mean that the member received both the Silver Star and Purple 
Heart.  Based on the full version of General Order Numbers 17, 
dozens of service members, including her late father, were 
listed as receiving either the Silver Star or the Purple Heart; 
however, none of the service members listed received both the 
Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

According to the Report of the Decorations Board, dated 
26 October 1944, a request was placed, presumably by the member, 
to have a more appropriate decoration awarded in lieu of the 
Purple Heart awarded by General Order Numbers 17 for meritorious 
achievement, as the member was not actually injured.  The 
“Decorations Board” approved, by order of the Secretary of War, 
award of the Bronze Star Medal in lieu of the Purple Heart for 
meritorious service with the Bronze Star Medal citation included 
in the report.  Accordingly although the Purple Heart was 
ultimately updated on the member's WD AGO 53-55, due to the 
documentation available, it appears he initiated the request for 
a more appropriate award and was approved for the Bronze Star 
Medal in lieu of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, DPSID recommends 
the member’s WD AGO 53-55 be amended to remove the Purple Heart 
and to add the Bronze Star Medal.

The complete DPSID evaluation is at Exhibit C.

AFHRA/RS recommends denial.  The extract of General Orders 
Number 17, published by Headquarters Seventh Air Force Base 
Command on 5 May 1942, has been misunderstood by the applicant.  
Although the paragraph is titled "Award of the Purple Heart and 
Silver Star," each individual citation under that paragraph 
heading explains which award was to be bestowed either the 
Purple Heart or the Silver Star.

The complete RS evaluation is at Exhibit C.

SAF/MRBP recommends denial.  Additionally, MRBP concurs with the 
DPSID and RS recommendations to remove the Purple Heart from the 
decedent’s WD AG0-53-55 and update his records to reflect award 
of the Bronze Star Medal.

The complete MRBP evaluation is at Exhibit E.


APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On 20 June 2014, copies of the Air Force evaluations were 
forwarded to the applicant for review and comment within 
30 days.  As of this date, no response has been received by this 
office (Exhibit F).


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.  We took notice 
of the applicant's complete submission in judging the merits of 
his request for the Silver Star; however, we agree with the 
recommendations of the Air Force Offices of primary 
responsibility and adopt their rationale as the basis for our 
conclusion the applicant has not been the victim of an error or 
injustice.  We also note that DPSID and SAF/MRBP also recommends 
the member’s WD AGO 53-55 be amended to remove the Purple Heart 
and to add the Bronze Star Medal.  However, since the applicant 
did not request this action, we do not believe it would be 
appropriate to take an action that could conceivably be viewed 
as detrimental to the applicant.  As such, we are not inclined 
to disturb the record as it currently stands.  Should the 
applicant request the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service 
for her father in lieu of the Purple Heart, we would be willing 
to reconsider her request.  In view of the foregoing and 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 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 9 December 2014, under the provisions of 
AFI 36-2603:

      , Panel Chair
      , Member
      , Member

The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR BC-2014-
00437 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 29 November 2013, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant’s Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, AFPC/DPSID, dated 24 April 2014.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, AFHRA/RS, dated 19 May 2014.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 27 May 2014.
    Exhibit F.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 20 June 2014.