| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy Amos | Analyst |
| Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Fred N. Eichorn | Member | |
| Ms. Gail J. Wire | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, be corrected to show his prisoner of war (POW) status and to add the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, and the POW Medal.
3. The applicant states that he received the Purple Heart after he was released from the service, apparently for a wound to the hand received on the day of his capture. His POW status is listed on his Separation Qualification Record, WD AGO Form 100, but not on his WD AGO Form 53-55. Counsel respectfully submits the case to the Board for deliberation and disposition.
4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.
5. The applicant enlisted and entered active service on 10 September 1940. He arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 15 September 1943 and served as a rifleman during three campaigns. Records at the U. S. Total Army Personnel Command confirm that he was captured by the Germans on 19 September 1944 and released from captivity on 6 May 1945. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. There is no evidence of record to confirm his being wounded. He was demobilized on 22 September 1945. His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show that he was awarded either the World War II Victory Medal or the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Campaign Medal.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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. The POW Medal is awarded to soldiers who were taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States. It will only be awarded when the individual’s POW status has been officially confirmed and recognized as such by the Department of the Army. The BSM is awarded to members of the armed forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy. A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat. A bronze service star is worn on the appropriate campaign medal to denote each campaign for which credit is due.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record shows that the applicant was a POW and is entitled to award of the POW Medal. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, thereby entitling him to award of the Bronze Star Medal. He is also entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars.
2. There is no evidence of record, and the applicant provides none, to substantiate his contention that he was awarded the Purple Heart or to show that he was wounded. In the absence of such evidence it would not be appropriate to add the Purple Heart to his Report of Separation.
3. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to add the Bronze Star Medal, the POW Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars, and to add, in the remarks section, “POW 19 September 1944 to 6 May 1945.”
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__inw___ __fne___ __gjw___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
Irene N. Wheelwright
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001057414 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010809 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015 |
| 2. | 110.04 |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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