RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 19 APRIL 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20040008877
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. Deborah L. Brantley | |Senior Analyst |
The following members, a quorum, were present:
| |Mr. Raymond Wagner | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Larry Bergquist | |Member |
| |Mr. Larry Olson | |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, on behalf of his client, a former Soldier, that
his previous request for award of the Purple Heart be reconsidered.
2. The applicant states that the former Soldier served faithfully under
General Patton and that the general was so impressed with the Soldier
“after sacrificing his body for the good of the unit during frigid
temperatures” he promised the Soldier a Purple Heart “after receiving frost
bite while serving his country.” The applicant states that the former
Soldier created a “remembrance” of the award presented to him by General
Patton.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that the former Soldier should not be
denied the Purple Heart merely because his records were destroyed in a fire
and that the fire destroyed the proof needed to secure the award.
4. The applicant provides a photographic copy of the award remembrance
made by the Soldier and a copy of a map, which shows the location of
Patton’s forces during World War II.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2004102198, on 12 August 2004.
2. The map and “memory” board is evidence not previously seen by the Board
and as such warrant consideration.
3. The photograph of the “remembrance” made by the former Soldier is a
star shaped board containing a metal “905” and two metal “V.F.W. emblems.
It also includes a Combat Infantryman Badge, an Army Good Conduct Medal,
American Defense Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal,
Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and World
War II Victory Medal. Also included on the form was the shoulder insignia
for the 86th (Blackhawk) Infantry Division. All but the Combat Infantryman
Badge, Purple Heart, and Bronze Star Medal are reflected on the applicant’s
separation document.
4. The map provided in support of the request is not dated but is titled
“The Fighting Record of the Blackhawks in World War II.” It does not
contain any evidence confirming that the former Soldier suffered from, or
was treated for severe frostbite.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Unfortunately, there continues to be no medical evidence which confirms
that the former Soldier suffered from extreme frostbite during World War II
while engaged in ground combat, or that he was ever treated for such an
injury. In the absence of that medical evidence, there continues to be no
basis for an award of the Purple Heart.
2. The fact that the Soldier’s military personnel file may have been
destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center is not
sufficient justification, in the absence of documentation from alternative
official sources, to grant the applicant’s request. The former Soldier’s
memory board and the copy of his unit’s World War II area of actions are
not sufficiently compelling to award the Purple Heart in the absence of
medical evidence.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
__RW___ ___LB___ ___LO __ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2004102198, dated 12 August 2004.
____Raymond Wagner_____
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20040008877 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20050419 |
|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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