RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 DECEMBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004104782


      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:

|     |Ms. Jennifer Prater               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |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.  The applicant requests, in effect, award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded by an artillery shell on 11
April 1945 and was bleeding from the ears, mouth, and nose and suffered a
concussion.  He states that at the time of his separation they were going
to send him to the hospital so he lied about his injuries.  He states that
he lied because he had smuggled a “pure bred German shepherd dog” from
Germany and had no place to keep it if he went to the hospital.  He states
that he chose the dog over himself.  He states that he is now 100 percent
disabled.

3.  The applicant provides two statements, which were authored in 1987,
from former members of his World War II unit, a photograph of him and the
dog, a 1998 EEG report, a 1999 statement from a Department of Veterans
Affairs physician, and a copy of his Department of Veterans Affairs rating
document.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 18 June 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
9 January 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 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 remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 19 July 1944 and arrived in the
European Theater of Operations in January 1945.  He returned to the United
States in June 1946 and on 18 June 1946 was honorably discharge.  Item 34
(wounds received in action) on his separation document, which he
authenticated, reflects “NONE.”  His separation physical examination, which
was conducted on 18 June 1946, makes no mention of treatment for any combat
incurred wounds or injuries.  It notes that he scored “15” out of 15 in
both his left and right ears during his hearing test (whispered voice), and
that his ears, nose, and throat showed no abnormalities.

5.  Although the applicant’s separation document reflects that he performed
duties as a military policeman, his payment voucher indicates that he was
drawing combat pay indicating that he had been awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  His separation document, however, does not reflect
entitlement to the badge.

6.  The two statements, which the applicant submitted in support of his
request, were authored in 1987, presumably as part of the applicant’s claim
for disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  One
statement, from an individual who identified himself as the unit “aid man”
indicates that he was present when the applicant was wounded and that his
“injury was caused by a concussion from artillery fire in April of 1945.”
An individual who identifies himself as the applicant’s former platoon
leader authored the second statement.  He states on 11 April 1945 the unit
was attempting to move forward when it ran into a “concentration of
snipers” and finally decided to call for heavy mortar.  He states that
“within seconds there were three terrific explosions and it was obvious
that three mortar rounds fell short” and that only two individuals were
left standing.  He related that he recalled the applicant bleeding about
the face and head, and that the aid man took care of the wounded as best he
could before helping the applicant and several other “walking wounded” down
the hill where the company command post had been set up.

7.  The 1998 EEG report noted that the “EEG shows an abnormal recording due
to left temporal showing with rare sharp waves consistent of underlying
dysfunction of post traumatic vascular or other cause.”  The 1999 statement
from the Department of Veterans Affairs physician notes that it was his
“medical opinion that the acoustical trauma sustained from an exploding
artillery round during World War II is the direct result of [the
applicant’s] tinnitus that he is experiencing today.”  At the time the 1999
statement was rendered, the applicant was 73 years old.

8.  A July 2003 Department of Veterans Affairs rating document indicated
that the applicant was 100 percent disabled, while a January 2004 document
notes that the applicant had a combined disability rating of 80 percent (70
percent for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, 10 percent each for tinnitus,
residuals of cold injury, and impaired hearing).
9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for wounds 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 by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

10.  The Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded for exemplary conduct in
action against the enemy.  War Department Circular 186-1944 further
provided that the Combat Infantryman Badge was to be awarded only to
infantrymen serving with infantry units of brigade, regimental or smaller
size.  Additionally, World War II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge
received a monthly pay supplement known as combat infantry pay.  Therefore,
soldiers had economic as well as intangible reasons to ensure that their
records were correct.  Thus, pay records are frequently the best, available
source to verify entitlement to this award.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that World War
II holders of the Combat Infantryman Badge are entitled to an award of the
Bronze Star Medal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, there is no evidence which confirms that that the
applicant was wounded in action, that he required treatment by a medical
officer, or that such treatment was ever made a matter of official record;
the three primary requirements for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant’s argument that he never received his Purple Heart
because he chose to lie about his combat wounds in order to retain custody
of his dog is without foundation.  His separation physical examination does
not note any hearing deficiency.  The applicant did not depart Europe until
more than 15 months after he states that he was wounded.  Clearly there
would have been more than sufficient time to document his wound and confirm
entitlement to the Purple Heart during that period.

3.  The statements rendered years after the fact, which are not supported
by any extant medical records, are insufficient as a basis to award the
Purple Heart.  Additionally, the fact that the applicant may now be drawing
disability pay from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which that agency
determined were attributed to the applicant’s military service, is also not
sufficiently compelling to award the Purple Heart.

4.  The evidence does, however, indicate that the applicant was receiving
combat pay, which is evidence that he had been awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge, in spite of the fact that his separation document
indicates that he may have been was performing duties as a military
policeman at the time of his separation.  It would be appropriate to add
the badge to his separation document.

5.  Based on his World War II award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, he
applicant is also entitled to a Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.
His records should be corrected accordingly.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__JP ___  ___LE___  ___DA __  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial 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 awarding him the Combat
Infantryman Badge and a Bronze Star Medal.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
award of the Purple Heart.




                            ______Jennifer Prater_______
                                      CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004104782                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041214                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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