| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Rosa M. Chandler | Analyst |
| Ms. Jennifer L. Prater | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Arthur A. Omartian | Member | |
| Ms. Regan K. Smith | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant states that he refused a Purple Heart at the time of his injury because he did not want to alarm his parents. In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) and an unidentified photograph of seven soldiers posing for the photographer as one of them has a pressure bandage applied to his forehead by a soldier wearing a helmet with a medic’s insignia on it. Below the photograph, the applicant’s wife states that the applicant was hit in the forehead by shrapnel from a bomb dropped by a German airplane. The applicant’s helmet was blown off of his head and he received “a deep wound.”
4. The applicant’s counsel, the local American Veterans (AMVETS) national service officer, contends that the picture submitted by the applicant shows him being treated “in the field” by a company medic.
5. The applicant's military records are presumed lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information herein is limited to those documents that were obtained from the applicant. It shows that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 15 December 1942 and reported for duty on 22 December 1942. He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 10 January 1944 through 5 October 1945 with Battery A, 66th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Armored Division.
6. On 22 October 1945, the applicant was honorably separated. His WD AGO
53-55 shows that he participated in the Normandy, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Northern France and Central Europe campaigns. It also shows that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Campaign Medal with one silver service star, the Good Conduct Medal, the Distinguished Unit Badge and the Honorable Service Lapel Button (World War II). It does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award and Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) is annotated "None."
7. Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth Department of the Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual military awards, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service ribbons, combat and special skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and trophies and similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments. It provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that: (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
8. AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of:
a. The World War II Victory Medal (WWII Victory Medal). It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.
b. The Army of Occupation Medal (AOM). It is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location. For Germany, service must have been between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955 and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal must have been awarded prior to 9 May 1945.
c. The American Campaign Medal (ACM). This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946. Qualifying service includes service within the continental United States for an aggregate period of one year.
9. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in World War II. This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned was cited for award of the French Fourragere during the periods 27 July to 11 August 1944 and 12-29 September 1944 by Department of the Army General Order 43, 1950. The applicant’s unit was also cited for award of the AOM with Germany Clasp for the period 20 May to 27 December 1945.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. There is no evidence of record, nor has the applicant provided any, to show that he is entitled to award of the PH. The photograph provided by the applicant is insufficient as a source of evidence. It shows seven unidentified soldiers, one of whom appears to be a medic holding a gauze to the forehead of one of the soldiers.
2. The photograph is also insufficient as a source of evidence to support the contention that the soldier being cared for by the medic suffered a "deep [head] wound." Head wounds bleed and the wound described in the comments beneath the photograph would have resulted in a copious amount of bleeding. Neither the soldier being treated in the photograph, nor the medic treating him have any blood on their faces, hands, or uniforms. On the contrary, both are dressed in clean, serviceable uniforms.
3. The applicant is entitled to award of the ACM, WWII Victory Medal, AOM with Germany Clasp, and the French Fourragere.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected, but only as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the ACM, WWII Victory Medal, AOM with Germany Clasp, and the French Fourragere.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__jlp___ __aao___ __rks___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
Jennifer L. Prater
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001064349 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020604 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | 19451022 |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 144.3000 |
| 2. | 107.0015 |
| 3. | 107.0020 |
| 4. | 107.0066 |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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