RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        10 March 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040006640


      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. Maria C. Sanchez              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John N. Slone                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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 for
injuries he sustained while he was a prisoner of war in Japan.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he suffered injuries while held
in captivity by the Japanese and was part of the "Bataan Death March."  He
states that he never received award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) with the separation date of
3 April 1946 and two letters of support.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 3 April 1946, the date of his separation from active duty.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 2 August 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 limitations 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 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 to conduct a fair
and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, which he authenticated at the time
of his separation, shows that he enlisted in the Army National Guard on 2
October 1939 and entered active service on 3 February 1941.  This record
also shows that, at the time of his separation, he was serving in military
occupational specialty 776 (radio operator low speed) while assigned to the
194th Tank Battalion.  The applicant was separated from active duty on
3 April 1946.

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

6. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55
contains the entry "None".

7.  A staff member of the Army Review Boards Agency requested a review of
the 194th Tank Battalion records at the National Archives.  Officials of
the National Archives reviewed the Records of the Adjutant General's Office
which showed that the applicant served in an infantry military occupational
specialty and was a prisoner of war.  However, the review did not reveal
any documentation that showed the applicant was wounded or treated for
wounds due to hostile action.

8.  The applicant submitted two letters of support from a friend.  The
author stated that after Japan surrendered and the applicant was returned
to the United States, the applicant was informed by Army doctors that he
would not live beyond the age of 50 due to his medical condition caused by
working in lead mines in Japan.

9.  The author continued that the applicant lost a lung in the 1990s due to
exposure to lead while working in the mines in Japan; therefore, this
should be treated as a war-related wound.  The author concluded that the
applicant's "wound" should be recognized with an award of the Purple Heart.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, 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, and the
medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  Review of the applicant's personnel records indicates that he is
entitled to additional awards that are not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

12.  Item 33 of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show award of
the Prisoner of War Medal or award of the Philippine Republic Presidential
Unit Citation.

13.  Officials of the Repatriation and Family Affairs Branch of the Army
Human Resources Command confirmed that the applicant's name was listed on
the roster of World War II Prisoners of War and stated that he was held as
a prisoner of war by Japan for the period 5 July 1942 through 9 July 1945.
14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the
Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states that the Prisoner of War
Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who
in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

15.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units
which served during World War II.  This document shows the unit which the
applicant was assigned, the 194th Tank Battalion, was cited for award of
the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation during the period 7
December 1941 through 10 May 1942 by Department of the Army General Orders
Number 47, dated 1950.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he is entitled to the award of the Purple
Heart for injuries sustained while he was a prisoner of war.

2.  In support of his request for award of the Purple Heart, the applicant
provided two statements from a friend.  Essentially, the author stated that
the illness the applicant developed while working in the lead mines in
Japan as a prisoner of war should entitle the applicant to award of the
Purple Heart.  However, the applicant's illness does not meet the
requirements set by Army regulation that governs award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Absent any other corroborating evidence that shows the applicant was
wounded or treated for wounds due to hostile action, and the fact that the
applicant's own signature authenticated that he received no wounds in
action, there is insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 3 April 1946, the date of his relief
from active duty. However, the ABCMR was not established until 2 January
1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for
correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  Although
the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is
appropriate to waive failure to timely based on the fact there is no
statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

5.  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

___js____  __cd____  ___le___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that it was appropriate to waive the ABCMR's three
year statute of limitations in this case.

2.  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 to show award of
the Purple Heart.

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 he was awarded the Prisoner of War Medal and the
Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation.




                                  ______John N. Slone_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040006640                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/03/10                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  61   |107.0015/PH                             |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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