MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


         IN THE CASE OF:
        


         BOARD DATE: 17 October 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002067686

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

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Mr. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson
Ms.Margaret V. Thompson		Member
Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

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

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APPLICANT REQUESTS: That his military records be corrected to show that he was awarded three Purple Hearts.

APPLICANT STATES: In effect, that he was a prisoner of war (POW) in France during World War (WW) II. While a prisoner, he was beaten on three occasions in three separate POW camps. The Purple Heart was omitted from his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation. He contends that while in the hospital he was told he would receive three awards of the Purple Heart, but never received them.

In support of his request, he has provided a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, and WD AGO 100, Separation Qualification Record.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Information herein was derived from the documents furnished by the applicant.

His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted on 3 May 1944 and served in the European Theater of Operations from 17 October 1944 through 9 June 1945, principally with Company L, 141^st Infantry. He was honorably discharged at demobilization on 10 November 1945, in the rank of private first class. The report of separation does not show that he was a POW. Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) contains the entry "Rhineland."

His awards include the American Theater Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the WWII Victory Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon with one Battle Star.

His WD AGO100 (Separation Qualification Record) reflects that he was taken prisoner by the Germans and was liberated on 18 April 1945.

The applicant’s name is not listed as a casualty in the hospital admission files created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, for the WWII period.

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.





During WWII and the Korean War the Purple Heart was not awarded to soldiers who had been injured while in captivity. Injuries sustained while a POW were considered to be the results of war crimes and not of a legal action of war. War Department policy, at the time, required that wounds must have been received in action against the enemy or, in other words, incurred in actual combat. Subsequent public laws and executive orders provided more latitude with respect to award of the Purple Heart to POW’s, as well as the authority to award the decoration to wounded soldiers even in the absence of a formal declaration of war. The issue as to whether this change in policy would be implemented retroactively to POW’s from WWI, WWII and the Korean War was considered several times. Initially it was decided that the change in policy would not be retroactively implemented. It was concluded that it would be inappropriate for the Department of the Defense to retroactively change the standards and, in effect, countermand the decisions of the past leadership.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 1966 also addressed the award of the Purple Heart to persons wounded while held as prisoners of war before 25 April 1962. It states that this provision extends the current criteria for the Purple Heart to former POW that were held prior to 25 April 1962 and suffered wounds or injuries at the hands of their captors. (Previously, only those who became POW after 25 April 1962 and were wounded while prisoners of foreign forces could be awarded the Purple Heart.) Former POW, or the next of kin of former POW, may make application for award of the Purple Heart to the appropriate Service. The application should be in the form of a sworn affidavit supported by: (1) verification of former POW status, (2) documentation of the wound or injury (i.e., repatriation medical examination, separation documents, etc.) and (3) a sworn statement from a witness attesting to the incident, if possible. It is the responsibility of the applicant to fully document and substantiate any entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, provides, in pertinent part, that subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during WWII, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the CIB or the Combat Medical Badge for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

The same regulation provides that a Bronze Service Star, based on qualifying service for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation, will be worn on the appropriate service medal. In the applicant’s case, his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon should reflect three bronze service stars.




The same regulation provides that the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985, and is awarded to individuals who in past-armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned, the 141^st Infantry Regiment, 36^th Infantry Division, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for actions between 24 November – 2 December 1944, by Department of the Army General Orders 43, 1950, Occupation credit for Germany for the period 2 May – 31 October 1945, and was credited with participation in the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and Rhineland Campaigns.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. The Army Regulation in effect at the time of his captivity provided that it was not the Army’s policy to award the Purple Heart to former POW’s for injuries received during their captivity. That policy was changed in 1996, but to receive the Purple Heart, the individual had to provide three forms of supporting documentation. The applicant did not provide the necessary documentation and therefore his request for award of the Purple Heart must be denied, at this time.

2. Notwithstanding the denial of his request for the Purple Heart, his records substantiate that he is entitled to award of the POW Medal, the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the CIB, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the French Croix de Guerre, and three Bronze Service Stars to be worn on his European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon. The Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St. Louis will be requested to administratively add these awards to his separation document.















3. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request for the Purple Heart.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

NOTE: The Army Review Board Agency Support Division, St. Louis, Missouri is requested to provide the applicant with an administrative correction to his WD AGO Form 53-55 showing that he is entitled to the POW Medal, the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the CIB, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the French Croix de Guerre, and three Bronze Service Stars to be worn on his European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jhl___ ____mvt_ ____rtd __ DENY APPLICATION



         Carl W. S. Chun

                  Director, Army Board for Correction
of Military Records

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999033728
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	20021017
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	20000718
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1. 107.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.