| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Edmund P. Mercanti | Analyst |
| Mr. Samuel A. Crumper | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Melvin H. Meyer | Member | |
| Ms. Regan K. Smith | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).
APPLICANT STATES: That on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the Landing Ship, Tank (LST) he was on was torpedoed and sunk. He spent several hours in the English Channel before he was rescued, which resulted in peripheral neuropathy in both his legs.
In support of his request, the applicant submits a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) rating decision in which the applicant was awarded a service connected disability for post-traumatic stress disorder, peripheral neuropathy in both legs and feet, and a duodenal ulcer.
The applicant also submits his WD AGO 53-55, Honorable Discharge, which shows that he was inducted on 4 March 1941, was awarded the military occupational specialty of mess sergeant, and served in the European Theater of Operations from 3 December 1943 to 6 March 1945 in the 526th Ordnance Company. He was credited with participation in the Rhineland, Northern France and Normandy campaigns, and was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars, the American Defense Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. He was honorably discharged with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge (CDD) on 25 August 1945. Item 34 of this form, Wounds Received in Action, has “None” entered.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973.
A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape. Searches of these files show that the applicant was admitted to the hospital on 15 November 1944 for trench foot, which was classified as a cold injury, ground type.
Army Regulation 600-45 dated 22 September 1943, Change 6, paragraph 16, states that for the purpose of awarding the Purple Heart, a wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained as the result of a hostile act of the enemy or while in action in the face of the enemy. The word element as used in this definition refers to weather and permits award to personnel severely frostbitten while actually engaged in
combat. However, trench foot was specifically mentioned as a condition which would not be considered as meriting award.
Army Regulation 600-8-22 also authorizes the American Campaign Medal to be awarded for service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.
A WWII specific award is the WWII Victory Medal which is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.
Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, provides that personnel serving in the 526th Ordnance Company are authorized an arrowhead device on their European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for its landing at Normandy, France, on 6 and 7 June 1944.
DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1. Unfortunately, the limited hospital records from the time of the applicant’s hospitalization show that the reason for his hospitalization and CDD was trench foot, a condition which is specifically mentioned as not warranting the award of the Purple Heart.
2. While it is entirely possible that the applicant’s cold injury was miscoded by the hospital, the Board has no alternative but to accept the information contained in the SGO Files, unless substantial evidence is submitted which would show that information to be in error.
3. However, the applicant has shown that he was entitled to the American Campaign Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, and the arrowhead device on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for the landing at Normandy, France, on 6 and 7 June 1944. However, bestowing these awards is administrative and does not require the authority of the Board.
4. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.
DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.
NOTE: The Army Review Boards Agency, St. Louis, Missouri, will be requested to correct the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 by adding the American Campaign Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, and the arrowhead device on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for the landing at Normandy, France, on 6 and 7 June 1944.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__sac ___ ___mhm_ ____rks__ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2002068744 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020801 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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