| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy Amos | Analyst |
| Mr. John N. Slone | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Richard T. Dunbar | Member | |
| Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr. | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded and issued the Glider Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Purple Heart, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC).
3. The applicant states that a glider plane was transporting them to Southern France in bad weather and they crashed into the side of a mountain. He suffered a major injury to his right knee. He was treated by field medics but he chose to “tough it out” and remain with his unit. Several weeks later, a German artillery shell hit the truck he was in and exploded. He suffered a shrapnel wound to his right hand. After his company commander cleaned the wound with water and sulfa powder and wrapped it up, he again chose to stay with his unit. He provides six statements from fellow unit members who substantiate his injuries; the orders awarding the unit the Distinguished Unit Badge; an extract from the book, Beyond Valor; two newspaper clippings concerning his career as a boxer; his discharge certificate; and his Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55 as supporting evidence.
4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973. The information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.
5. The applicant entered the Army on 29 April 1943. He arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 28 May 1944. He departed in December 1945 and was separated on 31 December 1945. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his organization as Anti-Tank Company, 442d Infantry Regiment and that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Glider Badge, and the Army Good Conduct Medal along with various service medals.
6. Of the six letters of support provided by the applicant, all six of them substantiate his contention that he injured his knee when the glider he was in crashed. One of the six letters substantiates, with minor discrepancies, his contention that he was later injured by enemy shrapnel. This letter states the injury happened several days after the glider crash and that the applicant tended to his wound himself.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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. Statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment. It provides for the award of the Bronze Star Medal to any person who distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy. It also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal 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.
8. Effective 3 November 1966, the Distinguished Unit Citation was redesignated the PUC.
9. General Orders 89, Headquarters, 5th Army, dated 17 July 1945, provided by the applicant to substantiate his right to award of the PUC, shows that the Distinguished Unit Badge was awarded to the 2d Battalion 442d Regimental Combat Team. The Center for Military History has stated that the 442d Regimental Combat Team consisted of three battalions and several separate companies – Headquarters Company, Service Company, Medical Company, Anti-Tank Company, and Cannon Company. The separate companies did not belong to any one of the battalions. However, Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 shows that the Distinguished Unit Citation was awarded to the 442d Infantry Regiment, less 2d Battalion, on General Orders 34, War Department dated 10 April 1946.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Glider Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.
2. Based upon award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.
3. Although the applicant is not entitled to the PUC based upon the orders he provided, his unit was awarded the PUC on a later set of orders.
4. The Board acknowledges the applicant’s combat service with the incomparably brave 442d; however, there is insufficient evidence to show he met the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart. While all six of his supporting letters substantiate that he injured his knee when his glider crashed, neither those statements nor his own statement of the incident indicates that the crash was the result of enemy action. Only one of the letters substantiates that he was later injured by enemy shrapnel. Without further substantiating statements, such as from the commander that dressed his wound, the Board concludes that the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart was not met for this second incident.
5. 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 and the Presidential Unit Citation.
2. That the applicant be issued/re-issued the Bronze Star Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Glider Badge, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
3. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__jns___ __rtd___ __dph___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
John N. Slone
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001060114 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010828 |
| 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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