RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         07 OCTOBER 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004105164


      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. Walter Morrison               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul Smith                    |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |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.

2.  The applicant states that he suffered from massive frostbite from the
knees down and that he was issued the Purple Heart by his unit commander in
Germany.  He states that he was initially treated at an aid station for a
high fever and transferred to a field hospital where it was found that he
was suffering from “mass frost bite above knees to feet.”

3.  He states that he was then hospitalized in Paris for 6 weeks.  He notes
that his records show “high fever not frost bite.”

4.  He states he needs his records corrected for “medical benefits.”

5.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 5 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
26 December 2003.

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’s separation document indicates that he served on active
duty between 13 July 1942 and 5 January 1946 when he was honorably
discharged as a result of demobilization.  He served overseas between
January and December 1945 and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.
5.  There were no service medical records available to the Board, or
provided by the applicant.  Item 34 (wounds received in action) on his
separation document, which he authenticated, reflects “NONE.”

6.  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.

7.  While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently
prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  Until
1951 Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations,
stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a
“wound” is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside
force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the fact of the armed
enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element” pertains
to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely
frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the
Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized the
Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge for service during
World War II.  Awards of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat
Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge are commonly referred to as
conversion awards.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no medical evidence, nor has the applicant provided any, which
confirms that he suffered from severe frostbite sustained while actually
engaged in combat during World War II.  In the absence of such evidence,
there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 5 January 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  Therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.

3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__WM___  ___PS __  __PM ___  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 Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award
based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.



                                  _____Walter Morrison_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004105164                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041007                                |
|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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