PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 16 September 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002083057


         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. Richard P. Nelson		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson
Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member
Ms. Karen A. Heinz		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 that his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) be corrected to show that he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.

3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded as a result of incoming artillery or mortar fire on the evening of January 26, 1945. He states that the artillery or mortar fire caused him, and his corporal, to dive for cover. That defensive action in turn caused them to activate a trip wire which set off a signal flare that had been set up as a booby trap. The resultant explosion killed the corporal, hereafter referred to as former service member (FSM), and wounded the applicant, permanently disabling him. The applicant contends that the flare was “in the ground and apparently attached with wire to automatically trip the flare upon contact by enemy troops.” He states that when he and the FSM heard enemy artillery or mortar rounds that they “hit the ground” for cover and apparently hit the trip wire attached to the flare.

4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and consist primarily of his WD AGO Form
53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge), WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record), and his Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Medical File which contained parts of the applicant's service medical records.

5. The available records show that the applicant was inducted on 7 June 1943 and completed training as an infantryman. He arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 15 December 1944. The applicant was wounded on 26 January 1945. He was hospitalized in the theater of operations until 14 June 1945, when he returned to the United States for continued medical treatment.

6. There are numerous medical records in the applicant’s file that describe the wounds sustained by him in the late afternoon hours of 26 January 1945, while he and the FSM were checking the perimeter defenses of Headquarters Company, 276th Infantry Regiment. While all of the medical records refer to the discharge of a flare or flare type device, they do not mention that the flare injury was a result of enemy action. The explosion killed the FSM and severely wounded the applicant; the applicant spent two years recuperating from his injuries and permanently lost the use of his left hand and arm.

7. The applicant spent the remainder of his time in the Army recuperating from his injuries and was honorably separated from active duty by reason of disability on 24 January 1947. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he is entitled to the following awards: the Combat Infantryman Badge; the Army Good Conduct Medal; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star (Rhineland Campaign); the American Campaign Medal; and, the World War II Victory Medal.

8. Hospital admission records of The Surgeon General of the Army show that the applicant was admitted for treatment on 26 January 1945 and that the wounds he sustained were not a result of hostile action.

9. The morning report of Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 276th Infantry for 27 January 1945 shows that as of 26 January 1945, the applicant’s status was changed from duty to hospital and that the status of the FSM was changed from duty to died.

10. The son of the FSM who was killed in the incident contacted his congressional representative, requesting posthumous award of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal to his father. As part of his research, the son contacted the applicant for information on the circumstances surrounding his father’s death.

11. The staff of the congressional representative contacted the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). That agency verified eligibility for award of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal to the FSM. The medals were forwarded to the congressman’s office who presented them to the FSM’s next of kin. Throughout this period the applicant was updated on the chain of events by the FSM’s son.

12. 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

13. Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 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.

14. DA Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, indicates that the 276th Infantry Regiment was credited with service during the Ardennes-Alsace campaign from 16 December 1944 through 25 January 1945. The applicant was assigned to the unit during this period.
CONCLUSIONS:

1. While the evidence of record does not establish that the applicant’s wound was the result of hostile action, his account of the events which led to his wounding is convincing. The applicant and the FSM would have known where friendly bobby traps were located, and would have avoided those areas. In addition, it was enemy artillery fire which caused them to dive into an area which they had not as yet reconnoitered. These conclusions, when coupled with the FSM’s posthumous award of the Purple Heart for the same incident, leads the Board to believe that the applicant should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2. The applicant's records show that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of this Combat Infantryman Badge and correction of his records to show this decoration.

3. Evidence of record shows that the applicant's unit received campaign credit for participation in the Ardennes-Alsace campaign. Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show one additional bronze service star, for a total of two bronze service stars.

4. 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:

         a. showing in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 of the individual concerned that he was wounded on 26 January 1945;

b. showing in item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 of the individual concerned that he was awarded the Purple Heart as a result of wounds sustained in combat, in France, on 26 January 1945;

         c. showing in item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge;

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d. showing in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of WD AGO Form 53-55 of the individual concerned addition of the Ardennes-Alsace campaign; and

         e. showing in item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 award of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars.

        

BOARD VOTE:

__fne____ ___kah__ ____mhm GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  ________Fred N. Eichorn__________
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002083057
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	20030916
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.