PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 17 January 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001064848


         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Chairperson
Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		Member
Mr. Kenneth W. Lapin		Member

         The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS :

1. The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

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2. The applicant requests, in effect, that the Purple Heart (PH) be added to his separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55)

3. The applicant states, in effect, that the PH he earned was not added to his separation document or included in his records.

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 7 April 1943 and that he continuously served on active duty until being honorably separated on 11 June 1945.

6. The separation document also shows that he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) with Company D, 358^th Infantry Regiment, from 9 July to
13 December 1944. It also verifies that he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, and Germany campaigns of World War II and that he earned the following awards during his tenure on active duty: Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB); European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon with
3 bronze service stars; and Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).

7. Block 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s separation document contains an entry that indicates that he was wounded in action in the ETO on
16 November 1944. It also shows that at the time of his separation he was assigned to the Convalescent Hospital, Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, and that he was released from active duty with a certificate of disability after completing a total of 2 years 1 month, and 28 days of active military service.

8. Also on file is a military record finding report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dated 19 November 2001. This document contains information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) for the period 1942-1945. It indicates that the applicant was treated as a battle casualty by medical personnel in the ETO on
16 November 1944, after having received a penetrating wound to the thoracic wall from artillery shell fragments.

9. The applicant also provides a copy of a PH certificate, dated 10 March 1952, issued to him for wounds received in action while serving as a private first class in France on 16 November 1944.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH. It states, in pertinent part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that a member was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action. The wound or injury for which the PH is being awarded must have required treatment by a medical officer, this treatment must be supported by medical treatment records that were made a matter of official record.

11. Paragraph 3-13 outlines the criteria for the award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM). Paragraph 3-13d (2) states, in effect, that the BSM is authorized to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, were cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, inclusive, or whose meritorious achievement was otherwise confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. This paragraph also stipulates that for this purpose, an award of the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.

12. Paragraph 5-11 contains guidance on awarding the World War II Victory Medal and it states, in pertinent part, that this award is authorized to members who served on active duty between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes the applicant’s contention that he earned the PH for wounds he received in the ETO during World War II and finds that this claim has merit. In addition, the Board finds that the applicant is also eligible to receive the BSM and World War II Victory Medal, which he did not specifically request.

2. By regulation, 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 the medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record. The Board finds that the medical casualty record pertaining to the applicant, provided by the OTSG and contained in the NARA report, sufficiently satisfies the burden of proof mandated by the regulation.

3. The medical evidence documented in the NARA report is consistent with the applicant’s claim of entitlement to the PH and the record clearly establishes that he was wounded in action while serving as a private first class in the ETO on
16 November 1944. Therefore, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to add the PH to his record at this time.

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4. By regulation, the BSM is authorized for members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, have been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy during World War II and for this purpose the CIB is considered as a citation in orders. Given the fact the applicant was awarded the CIB, the Board concludes that it would also be proper to award him the BSM based on this regulatory criteria and to add this award to his record at this time.

5. Finally, the available evidence confirms that based on his World War II service, the applicant is entitled to the World War II Victory Medal and the Board also concludes that it would appropriate to add this award to his record at this time.

6. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the PH for wounds he received in action on 16 November 1944, while serving as a private first class, in the ETO; by awarding him the BSM for meritorious service for the period 9 July to
13 December 1944, based upon his exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy during World War II; by showing he earned the World War II Victory Medal; and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects these changes.

BOARD VOTE:

__JLP __ _ _CJP __ __KWL GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  __Jennifer L. Prater__
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064848
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	2002/01/17
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1945/06/11
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-361
DISCHARGE REASON	Certificate of Disability
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 60	107.0014
2. 61	107.0015
3. 112	107.0066
4.
5.
6.