RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        3 MAY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040004989


      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:

|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Diane Armstrong               |     |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.  In effect, the applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he is 83 years old and disabled and is trying
to get benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a photograph, which he states was
taken at a field hospital in Belgium, a bombed out church, which was
destroyed after he left to return to his company, the 680th Topographical
Company.  Seventh Army records were destroyed.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 31 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated    27 July 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 for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial
review of this case.

4.  The applicant’s Enlisted Record and Report of Separation (WD AGO Form
53-55) shows that he entered on active duty on 9 August 1943 and served in
the European Theater of Operations during World War II arriving in that
theater in December 1944.  The copy of the photograph that he submits with
his request is annotated with his remarks indicating that he was wounded in
the Battle of the Bulge and that the photograph was taken on 15 February
1945 by a nurse at a field hospital in Belgium.  The applicant also
indicated that he had an 108 degree fever.

5.  Information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of
The Surgeon General show that the applicant was hospitalized for five days
beginning on 27 February 1945 for acute tonsillitis; and that he was
hospitalized for four days beginning on 15 April 1945 for acute
nasopharyngitis.

6.  The applicant was discharged on 31 January 1946 at Camp Roosevelt, in
Mourmelon, France.  His discharge form shows that he participated in one
campaign, the Rhineland, and that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal.
Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on that form contains the word, “none.”


7.  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.

8.  The American Campaign Medal is awarded for service within the American
Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946 within the continental
limits of the United States for an aggregate period of 1 year.

9.  The Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp is awarded to Soldiers
who served in the European Theater during the occupation of Europe.

10.  The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is awarded for
service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater between
        7 December 1941 and 8 November 1945.

11.  The World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7
December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the Board has no reason to doubt the applicant’s statement
regarding his wound, he has not provided any evidence from official sources
showing that he was wounded in action, or that he was treated for a wound.
In the absence of evidence showing that he was wounded as a result of
hostile action, there are no grounds for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 31 January 1946, the date of his
discharge. 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 the failure to timely file.

3.  The evidence shows that the applicant’s record contains administrative
error that does not require action by the Board.  The necessary corrections
will be accomplished administratively by the Case Management Support
Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as outlined in paragraph 3 of the
Determination/Recommendation section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__SP____  ___PM__  ___DA __  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 Case Management Support Division at St. Louis is requested to
correct the applicant’s records to show award of the American Campaign
Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp, the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.




                                  ____  Shirley L. Powell_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040004989                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050503                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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