RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           24 June 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091778


      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             |
|     |Mr. Richard P. Nelson             |     |Analyst              |


  The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James C. Hise                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Hubert O. Fry, 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, in effect, correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55
(Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) to show
awards of the Purple Heart, the Expert and Sharpshooter Marksmanship
Badges, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  In addition, the applicant
requests insurance of $5,000.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded during an enemy
artillery barrage at St. Lo, France on 21 July 1944.  He also states that
the insurance he is requesting was “never sent or questioned.”

3.  The applicant provides a signed and notarized statement from a fellow
member of his unit stating that the applicant was wounded on 21 July 1944
during the battle of St. Lo, France.  He also provides copies of: a letter
from the Disabled American Veterans office, notifying the applicant his
combined disability rating had been increased to 60%; a Veterans
Administration Award of Disability Compensation Notice dated 19 February
1947, awarding the applicant $55.20 monthly for a nervous condition and
flat feet condition; an article from an unknown source describing the
battle of St. Lo, France; his Honorable Discharge Certificate; and, his WD
AGO Form 53-55.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error that
occurred on 9 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 26 December 2002.

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 for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial
review of this case.

4.  The available records show that the applicant was inducted on 10 March
1943 and completed training as a Truck Driver.  He arrived in the European-
African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 31 January 1944.  The
applicant returned to the United States on and was honorably separated on 9
January 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he is entitled to the
following awards: the Good Conduct Medal; the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars; the Sharpshooter
Marksmanship Badge with Rifle Bar; and, the World War II Victory Medal.

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-
55, which is authenticated in his own hand, does not show entitlement to
award of the Purple Heart.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the WD
AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry, "None."

6.  Hospital admission cards of the Office of The Surgeon General, commonly
referred to as the "SGO Files,” show that the applicant was treated in July
of 1944 for psychoneurosis.  There are no other SGO entries.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who, while
serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S.
Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed 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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that marksmanship badges are awarded
to indicate the degree in which an individual has qualified in prescribed
weapons firing courses or events.  The badges, listed from the highest to
lowest degree of marksmanship, are the Expert Badge, the Sharpshooter Badge
and the Marksman Badge.  Only the highest degree of marksmanship is listed
on an individual's separation document.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat
Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted personnel
and warrant officers 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant authenticated his WD AGO Form 53-55, which did not show
award of the Purple Heart or wounds sustained in action.  There are no
medical records that show the applicant was wounded, or treated for wounds,
as a result of hostile action.  There are no orders or certificates that
awarded the applicant the Purple Heart.  The information provided in the
third party statement provided by the applicant was carefully considered.
However, given the lack of any corroborating evidence of record or other
independent sources, this statement alone is not sufficient to meet the
regulatory burden of proof necessary to support the award of the Purple
Heart.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple
Heart or correction of his records to show this decoration.

2.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he received the
Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge with Rifle Bar.  No other badges are
indicated and the applicant’s service records are not available for review.
 In the absence of documentation showing award of a higher degree of
marksmanship, the applicant is not entitled correction of his records show
the Expert Marksmanship Badge.

3.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant was assigned as a truck
driver in a combat engineer unit.  Since he was not an infantryman,
assigned to an infantry unit, he is not entitled to the Combat Infantryman
Badge.

4.  The exact nature of the applicant’s request for $5,000 insurance is not
known due to its vagueness, however, supplemental insurance subsequent to
separation from the service is the purview of the Department of Veterans
Affairs. The applicant should contact that agency for assistance with
insurance.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 9 January 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.
However, the applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of
limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation or evidence to
show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse failure to
timely file in this case.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jch___  ____hof_  ___sk____  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.




            ________James C. Hise_________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2003091778                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040624                                |
|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.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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