RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        27 APRIL 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040005327


      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. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Karen Heinz                   |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Lawrence Foster               |     |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 award of the Purple Heart, and other awards to
which he is entitled, to include the Unit Meritorious Service award.

2.  The applicant states that he was a chief artillery mechanic with the
          10th Ordnance Company of the 10th Mountain Division during World
War II.  In February 1945, he was informed that a howitzer deemed crucial
to the support of ground troops was not functioning.  He determined that
the howitzer could be repaired on line.  He gathered all the parts and
tools that he needed and with Lieutenant “H” drove to the firing position.
They drove as far as they could by jeep, and went on foot the rest of the
way.  The gun crew had dispersed and taken cover.  He proceeded with the
repairs and was nearly completed when the position was bracketed by heavy
mortar fire.  He took a small piece of shrapnel to the left side of his
nose.  He was bleeding quite profusely, but was able to complete the
repairs.  The lieutenant held a handkerchief to the side of his nose. He
and the lieutenant went back to the jeep and the lieutenant drove him to
the aid station, where the medics cleaned his wound, sewed it shut, and
bandaged it. He returned to duty.  He was told that he would receive the
Purple Heart, but never heard anything more about it.  His wound healed
well, and he has just a small scar on the outside, but the interior of his
left nostril is mostly blocked making breathing difficulty.  His commanding
officer, Captain “L” recommended him for the Bronze Star; however, he never
received it.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation), his WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification
Record), a statement of support from a retired Lieutenant Colonel “L,” and
a letter on his behalf from a Member of Congress (MC).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 30 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated      1 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 was inducted into the Army on 5 January 1943 and served
in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, arriving in that
theater in January 1945 and returning to the United States in August 1945.
His separation qualification record shows that he was a chief artillery
mechanic with the 710th Mountain Ordnance Maintenance Company in Italy for
8 months.  He was discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana in the grade of
technical sergeant on 30 January 1946.  His report of separation shows that
he participated in two campaigns during the war – Northern Apennines and Po
Valley.  He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal,
American Theater Ribbon, and European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon
with two bronze service stars.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his
report of separation contains the remark, “NONE.”

4.  On 27 May 2004 the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for
meritorious service in active ground combat for the period January 1945 to
May 1945.  The applicant’s record was corrected to show that award.  The
citation reflecting the award reads in part, “During that time, the 10th
Mountain Division was taking the lead in breaking the Gothic Line in the
Northern Apennines; he went to artillery positions that were under
surveillance and fire from the Germans. The very mountainous terrain
precluded moving the guns back for repair…the 710th Mountain Ordnance
Maintenance Company received the Meritorious Service Award at the end of
World War II….”

5.  Information obtained from the Awards Branch, Human Resources Command,
is that the recommendation for award of the Bronze Star Medal was received
via a Member of Congress (MC), and that the proposed citation, which
included the statement that the company had received a Meritorious Unit
Award, was authored by the applicant’s former company commander, now a
retired lieutenant colonel.  The final citation, prepared by the Awards
Branch when the award was approved, was prepared from the proposed citation
without any variations.

6.  In a 15 June 2004 statement of support to a MC, that same retired
lieutenant colonel, the applicant’s former company commander during World
War II, stated in effect that he was not present when the applicant was
hit, but Lieutenant “H” reported to him late that night that they had run
into a hornet’s nest, and he, Lieutenant “H,” had been lucky, but that the
applicant got some shrapnel through his nose, and he had to take him to the
medics.  The retired officer stated that he looked up the applicant the
next morning.  He was bandaged up and told him that they had to take a
couple of stitches in his nose.  He stated that the applicant told him they
put an entry in the sick book, but did not give him much time.  He assumed
that the applicant would receive a Purple Heart.  It was nearly an
automatic action, and there were plenty of Soldiers wounded and killed in
that mountain-taking operation.  He is 100 percent sure that the applicant
sustained a nasty wound, working in a dangerous area and 95 percent sure it
was the result of enemy fire.  He never saw the entry made by the medics;
however, Lieutenant “H” told him that he saw them writing down
[unreadable].

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 Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register contains a
listing of unit citations and of campaign participation credits for World
War II.  That register does not show award of a unit citation to the 710th
Mountain Ordnance Maintenance Company.  The Center for Military History
indicated that there is no record that the 710th was entitled to award of
the Meritorious Unit Commendation [the current name for the Unit
Meritorious Service award].

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no records to show that the applicant was wounded in action
and no medical records to show that he was treated at an aid station.  His
report of separation indicates that he was not wounded in action.

2.  The applicant’s story, although convincing, is not evidence that he was
wounded in action.  Nevertheless, his narrative does not appear to be a
made-up tale.  While his former commander stated that he was not a witness
to the applicant’s injury, he did state that Lieutenant “H” told him that
the applicant was wounded by shrapnel fire, and he also stated that he saw
and talked with the applicant the next morning, that the applicant was
bandaged up, and that the applicant told him that they had to take some
stitches in his nose.  He stated that he was 95 percent sure that the
applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action.  This statement by the
now retired lieutenant colonel appears to be an honest rendition of the
facts as related by that officer – indicating that the applicant was
wounded as a result of hostile action in February 1945.

3.  The overall merits of this case appear to be sufficient to warrant
granting the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The reference to the “Meritorious Service Award” in the applicant’s
Bronze Star Medal citation appears to been made by the applicant’s former
commanding officer when he prepared and forwarded a proposed citation to
the Awards Branch, Human Resources Command.  There are, however, no
official records to show that the 710th Mountain Ordnance Maintenance
Company was awarded a unit citation.  Consequently, the applicant is not
entitled to award of the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___MM__  __KH ___  ___LF___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

Notwithstanding the discussion and conclusions in this case, the Board
determined that the evidence presented was not sufficient to warrant a
recommendation for relief or to excuse the failure to timely file.




                            ____ __Melvin Meyer_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040005327                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050426                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0                                   |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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