RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            25 MARCH 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003094935


      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. Luther L. Santiful            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy, Jr.  |     |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 the records of his father, a deceased
former service member, be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart and
Silver Star.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his father served in action from
North Africa to Germany and endured 500 days of combat.  He states that he
suffered from malaria and that he “was wounded by gunshot in Sicily and in
Southern France” for which he was granted disability.

3.  The applicant states, that documents he has indicate that his father
was recommended for the Silver Star, but notes that the individual who
“wrote the report” was killed and the “other officer died a month or so
before my father in 2000.”  The applicant maintains the document he submits
“proves he was shot at least once.”

4.  The applicant provides copies of a November 1944 record of the
proceedings of a board of medical officers and a copy of a Department of
Veterans Affairs rating from 1947 and 1992, in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The former service member’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 former service member’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.

2.  The applicant requested correction of his father’s records to show
award of the Silver Star.  There are no orders or other evidence
authorizing award of this decoration.  In the absence of a proper award
authority for this decoration, the applicant may request award of the
Silver Star under the provisions of Section 1130 of Title 10, United States
Code.  The applicant was notified by separate correspondence in February
2001 of the procedures for applying for this decoration under Section 1130
and, as a result, it will not be discussed further in the Record of
Proceedings.

3.  Documents available to the Board indicate that the service member
entered active duty on 2 February 1942 and arrived overseas in June 1943.
He was





initially assigned to the Atlantic Theater of Operations, but subsequently
assigned to the Mediterranean Theater and ultimately to the Europe Theater
of Operations in August 1944.  He had previously been awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge in May 1944.

4.  A November 1944 record of the proceedings of a board of medical
officers, conducted at the 36th General Hospital, noted that the service
member had a “history of continuous combat with the 45th Division.”  It
states that the service member had been referred to the hospital with a
“request for reclassification by [his] commanding officer and the division
psychiatrist because of progressive, cumulative anxiety symptoms….”  The
final diagnosis was “psychoneurosis, anxiety state, chronic, moderately
severe.”  The board of medical officers recommended that the service member
be “reclassified to duty in a non-combat area.”  There is no mention in the
document that the service member was ever wounded in action.

5.  The applicant’s father returned to the United States in August 1945 and
on
20 August 1945 he was honorably discharged as a result of demobilization.
His separation document, which the service member authenticated, does not
reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 34 (wounds received in
action) reflects “NONE.”

6.  The 1947 Department of Veterans Affairs rating document indicates that
the service member was awarded a 10 percent disability rating for “scars,
multiple, leg, right, anterior aspect.”  The rating document does not
mention the source of the scars, nor attribute them to the service member
having been wounded as a result of hostile action.

7.  The 1992 Department of Veterans Affairs rating document notes that by
that date the service member’s “scars of the right leg” were being
attributed to a “gunshot wound.”  However, once again the source of that
wound, or the basis for that information, was not identified.

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.  Specifically prohibited from award of the Purple Heart
are wounds which were accidentally incurred, disease not directly cause by
enemy agents, battle fatigue, or post traumatic stress disorders.




9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the
Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized the
Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge for service during
World War II.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the American Campaign
Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in the
American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying
service includes service within the continental United States for an
aggregate period of one year.  It also provides for award of the World War
II Victory Medal for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

11.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the service member’s unit was
awarded the Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp during his tenure
with the organization.

12.  The Bronze Star Medal, based on the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army
of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp and the two service medals were
omitted from the service member’s separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence which confirms that the
applicant’s father was ever wounded in action.  The two documents, which
were executed closest to the time frame in question, make no mention of any
combat wounds.  It appears that it was not until years later that the
Department of Veterans Affairs began utilizing the term “gunshot wound” in
connection with the service member’s scar on his leg.  There is, however no
evidence indicating the source or basis for utilizing that information.  In
the absence of more compelling medical evidence, there is no basis for an
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Evidence shows that the service member’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__LLS___  ___LE___  __TEO__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show:

      a.  award of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman
Badge;


      b.  entitlement to the American Campaign Medal and the World War II
Victory Medal; and


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





            ____Luther L. Santiful______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003094935                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040325                                |
|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.                      |                                        |