RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 MARCH 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040003265


      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. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Thomas Howard                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Osborn                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. James Gunlicks                |     |Member               |

      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 item 34, Wounds Received in Action, on his
    WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record – Honorable Discharge) be corrected
to show that he was wounded in action.

2.  The applicant states that he was shot in the neck on 17 April 1945.  He
states that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded him a
disability rating for his service connected gunshot wound.  Although he
states that the VA rating decision was attached, it is not with his
request.

3.  The applicant provides a certified copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 4 July 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 14 June 2004.

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 limitations 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
are sufficient documents available for the Board to conduct a fair and
impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 25 August 1944 and served
in the European Theater of Operations during World War II from April 1945
to September 1945 as a rocket crewman gunner with the 180th Infantry
Regiment.   He was discharged in the grade of private first class at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas on 4 July 1946.  The applicant was awarded the Victory
Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater
Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Purple Heart.
 Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55, however, contains the word, “None.”
5.  Information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of The
Surgeon General shows that the applicant sustained a bullet wound to his
neck and was admitted to a hospital on 17 April 1945.  It shows that he was
a battle casualty.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.

7.  The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register shows that
the 180th Infantry Regiment served as an occupation force in Germany from 2
May 1945 through 5 July 1945.

8.  The Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service in the occupation
of German between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.  Soldiers will wear the clasp
inscribed “Germany.”

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  He was wounded in action
on 17 April 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show that
he was wounded in action on that date.

2.  By virtue of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant
is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.

3.  The applicant served in the European Theater of Operations until his
return to the United States in September 1945.  He is entitled to award of
the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.

BOARD VOTE:

___TH___  ___RO__  ___JG __  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by showing that he was wounded in action
on 17 April 1945, and that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the
Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.




                            _____Thomas Howard_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040003265                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050322                                |
|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.       |110.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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