| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Joseph A. Adriance | Analyst |
| Ms. Shirley L. Powell | Chairperson | |
| Mr. John P. Infante | Member | |
| Ms. Regan K. Smith | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) for a wound received in action during World War II and any other unit awards to which he is entitled based on his service with the 180th Infantry Regiment.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded during an Artillery barrage on the 14th or 15th of November 1944 and was taken to the field hospital in Nothweiler, Germany for treatment. He further indicates that he served with the 180th Regiment of the 45th Division during combat in Southern Italy through Rome, which included the Anzio Beach invasion and the invasion in southern France and would like any unit awards that were granted during this timeframe.
4. The applicant’s military records were not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost in that fire.
5. The available records do include a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge), which was issued to the applicant on the date of his separation. This document verifies that he entered active duty on 4 June 1943 and confirms that he served on active duty until being honorably discharged on 7 November 1945.
6. The separation document also shows that he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 4 December 1943 to 27 February 1945 and that he participated in the Naples Foggia, Southern France, Rome Armo, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns of World War II. It also shows that earned the following awards and decorations during his tenure on active duty: European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon; Victory Ribbon; American Theater Ribbon with one silver battle star.
7. Block 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the separation document contains the following entry “No Record Available”, which would indicate that there was no record of any wounds received in action available during his separation processing. The separation document also confirms that he was assigned to the Tilton General Hospital, Fort Dix, New Jersey at the time of his separation.
8. The applicant provides some barely legible medical treatment forms in support of his application. These forms show that while he was assigned to the 180th Infantry Regiment he suffered a laceration to his left upper lip, sometime in December 1944, when he jumped from a bank. These documents contain entries that indicate that the cause of the laceration was undetermined and there no reference to his actually being wounded in action against the enemy.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards. Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH. It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who, while serving in any capacity with one of the Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed in action.
10. The regulation defines a wound as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under conditions defined by this regulation. It also specifically states that in order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer. This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.
11. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Campaign Participation Credit Register-World War II) establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during World War II. The award listing contained in this source publication for the 180th Infantry Regiment, the applicant’s unit in the ETO, confirms that the unit earned the Meritorious Unit Citation (MUC) during the period 7 November 1944 to 7 May 1945, as codified in General Order (GO)
226 issued by Headquarters, 45th Division.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Notwithstanding the contention of the applicant, after carefully examining the available evidence of record and the independent evidence submitted by the applicant, the Board finds an insufficient evidentiary basis on which to support awarding the PH.
2. The evidence provided by the applicant does verify that he received a laceration to his upper lip during his tour in the ETO, but it does not provide confirmation that this wound was received in action against the enemy. Thus, while the Board wishes to commend the applicant on his exemplary service during World War II, it is compelled to deny the requested PH.
3. Further, in the opinion of the Board, given the applicant was assigned to a military hospital on the date of his discharge, had there been sufficient medical evidence to support his receiving the PH, it would have been awarded to him and added to his separation document at the time.
4. However, the Board did find the medical treatment reports provided by the applicant were sufficient to conclude that he was in fact assigned to the
180th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Division, which based on the award listing contained in the source publication entitles him to the MUC earned by his unit during his tenure. Therefore, the Board finds that it would be appropriate to add this award to his record at this time.
5. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by adding the MUC to the list of awards contained on the separation document of the individual concerned.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
___slp __ ___jpi___ ___rks __ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
____Shirley L. Powell_____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001052577 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 2001/03/22 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | HD |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | 1945/11/07 |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR 615-361 |
| DISCHARGE REASON | Certificate of Disability |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT PARTIAL |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 46 | 107.0000 |
| 2. 61 | 107.0015 |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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