| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Jessie B. Strickland | Analyst |
| Mr. Walter T. Morrison | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Lester Echols | Member | |
| Mr. Lawrence Foster | Member |
2. The applicant requests that her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat during World War II (WWII).
3. The applicant states, in effect, that her husband was wounded in action during WWII and was never awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds. In support of her application she submits citations for her husband's two awards of the Silver Star, copies of his separation documents, newspaper clippings, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rating Decision, and a copy of the FSM's Death Certificate.
4. The FSM’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center, which destroyed millions of service records. However, information obtained from alternate sources, as well as the documents provided by the applicant, show that the FSM was inducted at Fort Logan, Colorado, on 10 February 1942. He departed the United States on 7 June 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operation (ETO) on 14 June 1944.
5. Hospital admission records created by the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army show that in June 1944, the FSM was treated as a battle casualty for a compound fracture of the foot and artillery shell fragments to the thigh. The exact date of his treatment is not indicated on those records and there is no indication that he was ever awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds/injuries, those records show he was hospitalized for 59 days.
6. He returned to the United States on 16 September 1945 and was honorably discharged in the rank of private first class on 26 September 1945. He had served 3 years, 7 months and 16 days of total active service of which 1 year, 3 months and 8 days was served overseas. At the time of his discharge, his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) reflected that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Silver Star with one bronze oak leaf cluster and the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal.
7. On 8 December 1947, he enlisted in the Regular Army and served until he was discharged under honorable conditions on 4 May 1950, in the rank of corporal. His report of separation (DD Form 214) shows he was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal (Japan).
8. On 8 June 1984, the Reserve Components Personnel Administration Center (RCPAC) in St. Louis, Missouri, authorized the issuance of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM), the American Campaign Medal (ACM) and the WWII Victory Medal. However, there is no indication that they were ever added to his separation documents.
9. The FSM's separation documents indicate that at the time of his separation he was serving with the Anti-tank Company of the 273rd Infantry. However, the citations for his two Silver Stars indicate that he was serving with Company A, 48th Armored Infantry Battalion. His first award of the Silver Star was made for his gallantry in action on 14 August 1944, 62 days after his arrival in the ETO.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
11. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register indicates that the Normandy Campaign began on 6 June 1944 and lasted until 24 July 1944.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the Board cannot determine with any degree of certainty which unit the FSM was originally assigned to when he arrived in the ETO on 14 June 1944, it appears that he arrived 8 days after the Normandy Invasion began.
2. The available evidence clearly shows that he was wounded and injured in June 1944 and that he was hospitalized for 59 days before being returned to duty. Accordingly, the Board finds it reasonable to presume that he was wounded on 14 June 1944, when he arrived in the ETO, and that he is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.
3. The rationale used by the Board is supported by the fact that he was awarded his first Silver Star for gallantry on 14 August 1944, just 62 days after his arrival and in all likelihood, 3 days after being assigned to a new unit.
4. The Board also notes that he was awarded the BSM, the ACM, and the WWII Victory Medal and that they were never entered on his separation documents. Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to enter those awards on his records along with his award of the Purple Heart.
5. In view of the foregoing, the FSM’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 awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for wounds received in action during WWII on 14 June 1944 and by entering that award along with the awards of the BSM, ACM and WWII Victory Medal on his records.
BOARD VOTE:
__lf ____ __wtm___ ___le ___ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
___Walter T. Morrison____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2003084623 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2003/06/26 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 61 | 107.0015/PH |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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