RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           26 February 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091573


      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. Rosa M. Chandler              |     |Analyst              |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Arthur A. Omartian            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Mae M. Bullock                |     |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, in essence, that his WD AGO Form 53-55
(Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) be corrected
to show award of the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  The applicant states in two letters written to the Board that he served
as a rifleman with Company K, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 36th
Infantry Division, during World War II.  The Germans shelled his platoon
during a reconnaissance mission and he received shrapnel wound to the left
hand as they scampered for cover.  He lost a great deal blood and he was
not comfortable, but the wound was not life threatening.  Therefore, he
dressed it with his neckerchief to control the bleeding and did not seek
medical attention.  On 20 December 1944, he was captured during the Battle
of the Bulge and he was a prisoner of war for several months.  Upon his
return home, the wound had healed and he never told a physician or any
other medical personnel about the wound.

3.  The applicant provides in addition to the personal statements mentioned
above a letter from the Veterans Administration (VA) that shows he received
a service-connected disability rating of less than 10 percent for a
"Herniorrhaphy scar, right inguinal” and “Shell Fragment Wound, left hand."
 He was also determined to have a nervous condition that was not incurred
in, or aggravated by, military service.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error or injustice which
occurred on 17 November 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 30 April 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 presumed lost or destroyed in the
National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was
obtained from a partially reconstructed record.

4.  The applicant’s records reflect two period of active service for which
he received WD AGO Forms 53-55.  In his first period of service, he was
inducted into the Army of the United States on 29 March 1944.  He served a
total of 1 year, 7 months, and 3 days, with 7 months and 2 days served in
the European Theater of Operations (ETO).  He was credited with
participation in one campaign, Rhineland.  He was separated on 31 October
1945 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia for the purpose of immediate enlistment in
the Regular Army (RA).  His WD AGO Form 53-55 for this period of service
shows:  his military occupational specialty (MOS) was 590 (Barracks
Orderly); he was not awarded any military qualification badges (i.e., CIB);
he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1
Bronze Battle [Service] Star; and he was not wounded in action.

5.  The applicant’s second period of service shows that he enlisted in the
RA on 1 November 1945.  He served a total of 1 year and 13 days, all in the
Continental United States and was separated on 17 November 1946 at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 for this period of service
shows:  his MOS was 345 (Truck Driver, Light); he qualified as a
Sharpshooter with the M-1 Rifle; and he was awarded the World War II
Victory Medal.

6.  The applicant's record contains a final payment-worksheet for the pay
period ending 31 October 1946 and this document does not show that he ever
received combat infantry pay.

7.  Information obtained from Hospital Admission Cards created by the
Office of The Surgeon General between 1942-1945 fails to show that the
applicant was ever treated for wounds received in action.  This comports
with the applicant’s statement that he dressed his wound by himself and did
not seek medical attention.

8.  On 16 August 1988, the Army Reserve Component Personnel Administration
Center, St. Louis, Missouri (RCPAC) reviewed the applicant’s record and
issued him the Prisoner of War Medal for the period 20 December 1944-6 May
1945 when he was a prisoner of German forces.  On 20 January 1989, RCPAC
issued the Good Conduct Medal for his initial period of service, the
American Campaign Medal, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge with Rifle
Bar to the applicant.  However, the available record does not contain a DD
Form 215 (Correction to WD AGO Form 53-55) to properly reflect the awards
on the applicant's WD AGO Forms 53-55.

9.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth Department
of the Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual
military awards, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service
ribbons, combat and special
skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and trophies and similar devices
awarded in recognition of accomplishments.  It states, in pertinent part,
that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of
hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that:
(1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required
medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of
official record.

10.  The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Expert Infantryman Badge
(EIB) were established by War Department Circular 269-1943 to recognize and
provide an incentive to infantrymen.  The EIB was to be awarded for
attainment of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory performance
of duty in action against the enemy.  The CIB was awarded for exemplary
conduct in action against the enemy.  War Department Circular 186-1944
further provided that the CIB was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving
with infantry units of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  Additionally,
World War II holders of the CIB received a monthly pay supplement known as
combat infantry pay and holders of the EIB were entitled to expert infantry
pay.  Therefore, soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to
ensure that their records were correct.  Thus, pay records are frequently
the best available source to verify entitlement to this award.

11.  The Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel Command, has advised in
similar cases that, during World War II, the CIB was normally awarded only
to enlisted individuals who served in the following positions:

      a.  Light machine gunner (604)
      b.  Heavy machine gunner (605)
      c.  Platoon sergeant (651)
      d.  Squad leader (653)
      e.  Rifleman (745)
      f.  Automatic rifleman (746)
      g.  Heavy weapons NCO (812)
      h.  Gun crewman (864)

All soldiers are provided basic combat skills training after they enter the
Army.  This is provided to insure that all soldiers have the survival
skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.  However,
no other soldier in combat is more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers
and hardships of war, and no other branch of the service suffers more
casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and
traditional value of the CIB, the criteria for award has changed little
over the years.  The opinion does note that the exigencies of combat may
require non-infantry soldiers to temporarily perform the basic infantry
duties that all soldiers are taught but it is not a basis for the award of
the CIB.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, the applicant would have to show he was
wounded and that:  (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the
wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a
matter of official record.  The applicant has stated that he did not seek
medical treatment, and Hospital Admission Cards maintained by The Office of
The Surgeon General do not reflect that he the applicant was ever treated
for wounds received in combat.  The applicant's personal statement and the
Veterans Administration document that was created after the fact are not
substantiating proof to establish a basis for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  There is no substantiating proof in the available record to establish a
basis for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The applicant’s existing
records fail to show that he served in an infantry MOS, in an infantry
unit, in a combat situation. His pay records do not indicate that he was
ever paid combat infantry pay.

3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’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 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 17 November 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  Therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__aao___  __jtm___  __mmb___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.

3.  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 by issuing to him a DD Form 215 to show award of the Prisoner of
War Medal for the period 20 December 1944-6 May 1945, the Good Conduct
Medal for the period 29 March 1944-31 October 1945, the American Campaign
Medal, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge with Rifle Bar.




                 Arthur A. Omartian
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003091573                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040226                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(GRANT)                                 |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0111                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |