| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Jessie B. Strickland | Analyst |
| Ms. Karol A. Kennedy | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Mark D. Manning | Member | |
| Mr. Thomas Lanyi | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM was wounded in the wrist during the invasion of Normandy, spent time in two separate hospitals, and should have been awarded the Purple Heart.
4. The FSM’s military records were partially destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which destroyed millions of service records. However, the surviving records show that the FSM was inducted on 19 August 1943 and entered active duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 9 September 1943. He completed his training as a rifleman and departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 6 April 1944. He arrived in the ETO on 19 April 1944 and was assigned to Company A, 175th Infantry Regiment.
5. On 29 June 1944, he was accidently wounded in the left wrist when his rifle accidently discharged while he was cleaning it. The FSM rendered a statement at the time that confirmed the circumstances. He was treated in the ETO and subsequently evacuated on 24 September 1944, to Wakeman Hospital Center, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, for follow-up treatment.
6. On 15 May 1945, he was honorably discharged in the rank of private and was issued a Certificate of Disability for Discharge. He had served 1 year, 8 months and 28 days of total active service and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon.
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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
8. That regulations also states, in pertinent part, that the World War II (WW II) Victory Medal was established by the act of Congress 6 July 1945 (59 Stat 461). It was awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.
9. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register-WWII Era) was published to assist commanders and personnel officers in determining or establishing the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during WWII. It indicates that the FSM’s unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Commendation (PUC) and the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) for the period in which the FSM was assigned to the unit. The PUC and MUC were authorized subsequent to the FSM’s departure.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence of record clearly shows that the FSM was accidently wounded in the wrist when his rifle discharged while cleaning it. The FSM confirmed the circumstances at the time and his wound was classified as non-battle. Accordingly, because his wound was not incurred as a result of enemy actions, he was not then or now, entitled to be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. However, subsequent to his discharge, he was authorized to be awarded the WWII Victory Medal, the PUC and the MUC. Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to award them to him at this time.
3. In view of the foregoing, the FSM’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the FSM the WWII Victory Medal, the PUC and the MUC.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__kak ___ ___mdm_ ___tl____ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
____Karol A. Kennedy_____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001065629 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2002/04/23 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT PARTIAL |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 112 | 107.0066/WIIV |
| 2. 77 | 107.0031/PUC |
| 3. 80 | 107.0034/MUC |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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