| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock | Analyst |
| Ms. Joann H. Langston | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Lester Echols | Member | |
| Mr. Robert J. Osborn II | Member |
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant is responding to a request for additional information concerning the award of the Purple Heart, stating that it has already been verified that he was a prisoner of war.
3. The applicant provides a copy of a Department of Veterans Affairs service connected disability rating.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is requesting correction of error which occurred on 22 October 1945. The application submitted in this case is dated 6 May 2003.
2. Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so. In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army on 23 April 1943 and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. He departed the United States in October 1943 and participated in two campaigns with the 141st Infantry Regiment in Italy.
4. A battle casualty report indicates that he was missing in action on 22 January 1944. He was later determined to be a prisoner of war, as indicated by a War Department telegram to the applicant's wife. A WD AGO Form 5072 (Statement of Report of Interview of Recovered Personnel) indicates that the applicant was a BAR gunner, an infantryman, who was captured 22 January 1944 near Cassino, Italy, and liberated on 3 May 1945.
5. The applicant's Service Record (WD AGO Form 24) indicates that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge per Headquarters, 141st Infantry Regiment General Order Number 5, dated 11 February 1944. A 19 October 1945 letter from the War Department Adjutant General's Office awarded him the Combat Infantryman Badge effective 1 January 1944.
6. On 15 September 1945 the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 22 January 1944, by the War Department Adjutant General's Office.
7. The applicant was discharged on 22 October 1945 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not show award of the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941 has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. The award of a Combat Infantryman Badge is considered as a citation in orders.
9. That regulation also provides for award of the POW (Prisoner of War) Medal, and states that the POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917. The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel who were taken prisoner while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart. He was also awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. His records should reflect those awards.
2. By virtue of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, he is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.
3. The applicant was a prisoner of war. He is entitled to award of the POW Medal.
4. He is entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal.
BOARD VOTE:
__JHL___ __LE ___ __RJO __ GRANT RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2003093296 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20040214 |
| 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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