| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | Senior Analyst |
| Mr. Curtis L. Greenway | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Regan K. Smith | Member | |
| Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr. | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to reflect two awards of the Purple Heart and any other decorations he is entitled too. He states that he was offered a Purple Heart for frozen feet and for shrapnel wounds to his right elbow. He states that he declined both awards because he did not feel he was "sufficiently wounded to deserve them" but now believes that he "really deserved" them. He submits no evidence in support of his request.
3. The applicant's military files were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources.
4. The applicant entered active duty on 13 July 1944 and served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between January 1945 and July 1945. His War Department Adjutant General Office Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) indicates he was assigned to the 109th Infantry Regiment and that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.
5. The applicant was discharged on 29 March 1946. His separation document, which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to any Purple Hearts and item 34 (wounds received in action) reflects "NONE." There were no medical records available to the Board.
6. A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit (109th Infantry Regiment) was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and the Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp while the applicant was assigned to that organization.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy. The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and
2 September 1945 or whose such achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders. This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II. Awards of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman Badge and Combat Medical Badge are commonly referred to as conversion awards.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any, that he was wounded as a result of hostile action and as such, there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant's records do however, confirm he was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II and as such, he is entitled to a Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.
3. The evidence also confirms that the applicant is entitled to a French Croix de Guerre and the Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’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:
a. by awarding the individual concerned the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award base on his World War II Combat Infantryman Badge; and
b. by showing that he is entitled to a French Croix de Guerre and the Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__CLG _ __RKS__ __DPH__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
___Curtis L. Greenway___
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002077198 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20021031 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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