RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 02 SEPTEMBER 2004
DOCKET NUMBER: AR2004105550
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. William Powers | |Member |
| |Mr. Ronald Weaver | |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 that his records be corrected to show that he
was wounded in action and, in effect, awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that his discharge papers do not document that he
was wounded in action.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his separation document, a copy of a
Western Union Telegram, and an extract from the New York Times, dated
11 July 1944.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 28 December 1945. The application submitted in this case
is dated
25 August 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 entered active
duty on 24 September 1943 and arrived overseas in March 1944. A Western
Union Telegram, to the applicant’s mother, states that he was slightly
wounded in action in Italy on 26 May 1944.
5. The applicant returned to the United States in December 1945 and on
28 December 1945 was honorably discharged as a result of demobilization.
His separation document does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart
and item 24 (wounds received in action) 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
Evidence available to the Board confirms that the applicant was wounded in
action and as such, is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart. His
records should be corrected accordingly, and item 34 on his separation
document should be corrected to show that he was wounded in Italy on 26 May
1944.
BOARD VOTE:
__WM___ __WP___ __RW___ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for 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:
a. awarding him the Purple Heart; and
b. showing in item 34 on his separation document that he was wounded
in Italy on 26 May 1944.
_____Walter Morrison_______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR2004105550 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20040902 |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE |YYYYMMDD |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY |AR . . . . . |
|DISCHARGE REASON | |
|BOARD DECISION |GRANT |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
|ISSUES 1. |107.00 |
|2. | |
|3. | |
|4. | |
|5. | |
|6. | |
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