RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           17 February 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040002161


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Thomas D. Howard              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John P. Infante               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Maribeth Love                 |     |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, that his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted
Record and Report of Separation) be corrected to add the Parachutist Badge,
the Purple Heart, the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge, and to
show his disabilities.

2.  The applicant states that he wants his records corrected before he
dies.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55; a newspaper article
(dated sometime in 1944) photograph; a xerox copy of an address label
(which he annotated as coming from the box his Purple Heart was in); a
xerox copy of a Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge and Purple
Heart; a xerox copy of a VA Form 4-537A-4 (Change of Address Notice); and a
clearer Xerox copy of the reverse of a Purple Heart Medal with his name
engraved on it.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 15 August 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 27 May 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 was inducted into the Army and entered active duty on
          8 February 1943.  He arrived in the European Theater of
Operations on               1 December 1943.

5.  The applicant provided a 1944 newspaper article photograph.  The
caption to that photograph indicated he was serving overseas with a
paratroop unit.
6.  The applicant's name is listed on a Pay Roll of the 2912th Disciplinary
Training Center, dated 14 February 1945, as a general prisoner.

7.  The applicant departed the European Theater of Operations on 8 March
1945. He separated on 15 August 1946.

8.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his arm of service as Field
Artillery and his military occupational specialty as light truck driver.
The Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine is listed in
item  31 (Military Qualifications).  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action)
contains the entry, "None."  Item 55 (Remarks) shows that he had 498 days
lost and he was separated from the service on a partial service record and
affidavit from the applicant.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in pertinent part, sets
forth requirements for award of the basic Parachutist Badge.  Award of the
basic Parachutist Badge requires that an individual must have
satisfactorily completed the prescribed proficiency tests while assigned or
attached to an airborne unit or the Airborne Department of the Infantry
School, or have participated in at least one combat parachute jump.
Paragraph 1-30 also states that an award of any combat and special skill
badge will be automatically revoked on dismissal, dishonorable discharge,
or conviction by courts-martial for desertion in wartime.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states 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 by a medical officer, and the
medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant provided a 1944 newspaper article photograph that
indicated he was serving overseas in a paratroop unit, possibly making him
eligible for award of the Parachutist Badge.  However, his WD AGO Form 53-
55 also shows that he had 498 days of lost time and it appears he had been
court-martialed around February 1945.  There is a reasonable presumption
that the court-martial resulted in a revocation of a Parachutist Badge (if
one had been awarded to him).

2.  Although the applicant provided a xerox copy of a Purple Heart, there
is no evidence of record to substantiate that he was awarded the Purple
Heart.  Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show that he was wounded
in action.  Therefore, the evidence he provided is insufficient as a basis
for showing he was awarded the Purple Heart.
3.  The Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine is
already listed on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

4.  There is no item on the WD AGO Form 53-55 which requires listing of
disabilities.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 15 August 1946; 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.  However, the applicant did not file within the
3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation
or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__tdh___  __dpi___  __ml____  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.




            __Thomas D. Howard____
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040002161                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050217                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0120                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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