RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           18 MARCH 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003094509


      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             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Roger W. Able                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert J. Osborn II           |     |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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that his records be corrected to reflect award
of two Purple Hearts.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded in Germany on 10 February 1945
and was hospitalized for 30 days.  After returning to his unit he was
wounded a second time in late April 1945.  He states that he “received
treatment on [his] left hand knuckles at the division medical unit and was
returned to duty.”

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document, a copy of a
Department of Veterans Affairs priority group assignment letter, a copy of
a certificate awarding him the Bronze Star Medal in 1991, and photocopies
of two Purple Heart medals which he indicates were presented to him.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of error which occurred on 13
January 1946.  The application submitted in this case is dated 5 July 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’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  Documents available to the Board indicate that the applicant entered
active duty on 29 August 1944 and was assigned to the European Theater of
Operations in January 1945.  While overseas he was assigned to the 357th
Infantry Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division and was awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  His final pay voucher confirms receipt of combat
infantry pay based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.




5.  The applicant returned to the United States in January 1946 and was
honorably discharged on 13 January 1946 as a result of demobilization.
Although his separation document does not reflect entitlement to any Purple
Hearts, item 34 (wounds received in action) indicates that he was wounded
on
10 February 1945 in Germany.  In February 1945 the applicant’s unit would
have been participating in the Rhineland campaign, for which the applicant
received campaign credit.  There were no service medical records available
to the Board or provided by the applicant.

6.  In 1991 the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion
award based on his World War II Combat Infantryman Badge in accordance with
Army Regulation 600-8-22, which provided for such an award.  However, the
decoration was never added to his separation document.

7.  A March 2002 letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs informed
the applicant that he had been assigned to “Priority Group 7c.”  However,
the letter informed him that if he were able to provided “sufficient
documentation” that he had been awarded a Purple Heart, his priority group
could be elevated.  Included with the letter was a listing, prepared by the
applicant, of the awards he claimed to have received, and noted that
although he had received two Purple Hearts, they were not on his records.

8.  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.

9.  The photocopies of the Purple Heart medals are not identified as having
been awarded to the applicant via appropriate authorization documents such
as orders or certificates.

10.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes that the applicant’s unit was
granted occupation credit for Germany while the applicant was member of the
organization and as such the applicant would be entitled to the Army of
Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although there are no medical records available, the entry in item 34
of the applicant's separation document is sufficient to conclude that he
was wounded



on 10 February 1945 as a result of hostile action during World War II and
as such, should be awarded the Purple Heart.  The wound would have occurred
during the period the applicant's unit was credited with participating in
the Rhineland campaign, further confirming the likelihood that the
applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action.

2.  There is however, no medical evidence, and the applicant has not
provided any, which confirms he was wounded a second time in April 1945.
In the absence of such evidence, there is no basis to award the applicant a
second Purple Heart.

3.  The evidence also confirms that the applicant was awarded the Bronze
Star Medal as a conversion award based on his World War II Combat
Infantryman Badge.  His records should be corrected to reflect that
decoration.

4.  The evidence shows that the applicant is entitled to the Army of
Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp.

BOARD VOTE:

__RWA__  __LDS __  __RJO__  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial relief and to excuse failure to timely
file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army
records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

      a.  awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 10 February
1945;


      b.  showing that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on his
World War II Combat Infantryman Badge; and


      c.  awarding him the Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp.





2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
award of a second Purple Heart.





            _____Roger W. Able_____
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003094509                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040318                                |
|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.                      |                                        |