| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. W. E. Schnupp | Analyst |
| Mr. John H. Kern | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Thomas Lanyi | Member | |
| Ms. Paula Mokulis | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That he be awarded the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: That his DD Form 214 (actually his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not reflect the award of the Purple Heart. He contends that from November 1943 to April 1945 he was a prisoner of war (POW) of the German government and was abused and suffered injuries while in their hands.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Information herein was derived from reconstructed documents contained in his current official record.
His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted on 19 February 1943, was trained as a rifleman and served in North Africa and the European Theater of Operations from August 1943 to May 1945. He was apparently a POW of the German government during his service (although the period of his captivity is not reflected in the available records). He was honorably discharged with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge on 1 November 1945 in the grade of private first class.
Awards shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55 include the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star and the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button. On 13 October 2000, he was issued the POW Medal by the NPRC.
Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Further, the Purple Heart may be awarded to individuals wounded while prisoners of foreign forces, upon submission by the individual of an affidavit that is supported by a statement from a witness, if this is possible.
During World War II and the Korean War the Purple Heart was not awarded to soldiers who had been injured while in captivity. Injuries sustained while a POW were considered to be the results of war crimes and not of a legal action of war. War Department policy, at the time, required that wounds must have been received in action against the enemy or, in other words, incurred in actual combat. Subsequent public laws and executive orders provided more latitude with respect to award of the Purple Heart to POW’s, as well as the authority to award the decoration to wounded soldiers even in the absence of a formal declaration of war. The issue as to whether this change in policy would be implemented retroactively to POW’s from World War I, World War II and the Korean War was considered several times. Initially it was decided that the change in policy would not be retroactively implemented. It was concluded that it would be inappropriate for the Department of the Defense to retroactively change the standards and, in effect, countermand the decisions of the past leadership. However, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 Congress authorized award of the Purple Heart to any former POW who was wounded before 25 April 1962 while held as a POW, or while being taken captive, in the same manner as a former POW who was wounded on or after that date.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. While the Board has no reason to doubt the statement of events the applicant has provided regarding his injuries while a POW, such individual statements are acceptable only where corroborating evidence is available from other sources. In the absence of evidence corroborating his statements, there are no grounds for the Board to award the Purple Heart.
2. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that satisfies this requirement.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
BOARD VOTE:
___pm__ ____jhk _ ____tl___ GRANT
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2001054936 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010823 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (DENY) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 107.00 | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
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