| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock | Analyst |
| Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr. | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Barbara J. Ellis | Member | |
| Mr. Frank C. Jones II | Member |
2. The applicant requests that his records be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
3. The applicant states that while he was serving in combat with the 32nd Infantry Division he was so severely wounded that he had be to evacuated to a hospital in the United States.
4. The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information herein was obtained from the applicant and from alternate sources.
5. The applicant was inducted into the Army on 28 March 1944 and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II from November 1944 to May 1945. He was discharged on 15 September 1945 at Mason General Hospital in Brentwood, New York because of a disability. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows that he was an infantryman, and that his unit of assignment was Company K, 126th Infantry. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze battle star. In item 34 of that form, Wounds Received in Action, the word "None" is entered.
6. The applicant's Army Qualification Record, WD AGO Form 100, shows that the applicant was a rifleman who fought as a combat soldier with the 32nd Division in the battle of Luzon until wounded in action.
7. Information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General for 1945 shows that the applicant was admitted to the hospital on 25 April 1945 with a diagnosis of psychoneurosis, anxiety (including hypochondriasis). That information indicates that the applicant was discharged for disability in September 1945, and that his disability was in line of duty.
8. The historical files of Company K, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division were reviewed at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. The review failed to indicate that the applicant was entitled to award of the Purple Heart.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.
10. The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service. This period is 3 years except in those cases when the period for the first award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service.
11. The above mentioned regulation also provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS. They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.
12. It also 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.
13. The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register shows that the 126th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the time the applicant was assigned to that organization.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence concerning the Purple Heart is meager. The applicant does not indicate in his request when he was wounded or where (on his body) that he was wounded. His report of separation indicates that he was not wounded in action. Nonetheless, a statement prepared by an official on the applicant's qualification record at the time that he was discharged clearly indicates that he was wounded in action. Any doubt should be resolved in favor of the applicant. He is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant was an infantryman serving with an infantry company in combat. He is entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. By virtue of this award, he is also entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.
3. The applicant served his country faithfully and honorably. He is entitled to award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.
4. The applicant is entitled to award of the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
5. He is entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal.
6. 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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__RVO _ __BJE___ __FCJ __ DENY APPLICATION (IN PART. RE PURPLE HEART)
Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2003086499 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030904 |
| 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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