RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            17 March 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004007074


      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. John E. Denning               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Joe R. Schroeder              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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 reconsideration of his earlier request for award
of the Purple Heart.  He had originally also requested award of the Silver
Star; however, in his current application he appears to state that his case
for the Silver Star is in the U. S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded twice and he was
treated for frostbite.  While they were arranging for the city of Passau,
Germany to surrender, their jeep was hit by machinegun fire and he and
Captain C___ jumped out despite being wounded.  The medic, after the fight
with the SS, was killed by a sniper while he was removing glass from the
applicant's face with a pair of tweezers.  Another medic finished the job
on the outskirts.  The applicant states that he was poisoned by the
Veterans Administration (VA).  They gave him a medication for 20 years
until his neurologist told his wife it was a toxin.  The warning came too
late because he has small fiber neuropathy and that is incurable.  In
addition, he submitted 24 enclosures and it looked like the Board used only
one.

3.  The applicant provides, as new evidence, a sworn statement dated 7 June
1989; a note dated 6 May 1945; an AGRAC Form 1-313 (Statement of Medical
History); an extract from Title 38, U. S. Code, section 1154; a copy of a
personal letter dated 22 January 1945; a copy of a personal letter dated 31
March 1945; a copy of a personal letter dated 25 December 1945; a VA
Request for Army Information; a Statement of Medical History; a note dated
19 January 1949; a note dated 19 March 1947; a note dated 29 December 1946;
a note dated        11 March 1945; a note dated 28 March 1946; and a note
dated 14 November 1946.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2003098211 on 22 June 2004.

2.  The applicant enlisted in the Army on 2 November 1942.  He arrived in
the European Theater of Operations on 21 January 1945.  He departed the
Theater on 26 February 1946 and separated on 11 March 1946.

3.  The 7 June 1989 sworn statement is from a unit comrade who stated that
their unit arrived in France in January 1945 and they slept in 40-man tents
with no heat.  The temperatures went down to well below zero at night.  A
few days later, the applicant went on sick call for severe frostbite.  When
he returned several days later, the comrade remembered the applicant's face
was swollen or puffed up.

4.  The note dated 6 May 1945 concerns primarily the Silver Star.

5.  In a note dated 9 May 1945, the applicant's commander informed the
applicant that he submitted a recommendation for the Silver Star on the
applicant for his heroic actions in arranging for the surrender of Passau
"despite being wounded."

6.  The AGRAC Form 1-313, which appears to be dated 22 February 1947,
indicates the applicant had been treated for tonsillitis, for frostbite in
January 1945, and for trench foot in March 1945.

7.  In the personal letter dated 22 January 1945, the applicant informed an
individual (possibly his wife) that he had been hospitalized for frostbite.
 In the personal letter dated 31 March 1945, he informed an individual that
he had been hospitalized for trench foot.  In the personal letter dated 25
December 1945, he informed an individual that his feet were very cold and
his face a little swollen with white blotches.

8.  In the VA Request for Army Information dated 2 May 1946, clinical
records for frostbite, trench foot, ear [condition], nervousness, and
difficulty in sleeping were requested.

9.  The note dated 19 January 1947 is largely illegible. The note dated 19
March 1947 is partially illegible but mentions the applicant's treatments
for frostbite and trench foot.  The note dated 29 December 1946 is
partially illegible but mentions the nerves in the applicant's legs, trench
foot, and swelling in his lower legs which were also fairly white and cold.
 The note dated 11 March 1945 is partially illegible but mentions trench
foot.  The note dated 28 March 1946 mentions that x-rays showed a lack of
{?} over his toes and {?} indicating damage.  It also mentioned the doctor
noticed a lump under the applicant's right eye and the doctor removed a
sliver of glass.  The note dated 14 November 1946 is partially illegible
but mentions frostbite.

10.  Army Regulation 600-45 dated 23 September 1943, change 4 dated 3 May
1944, provided for award of the Purple Heart to members of the armed forces
of the United States who were wounded in action against an enemy of the
United States, or as a direct result of an act of such enemy, provided such
wound necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  For the purpose of
awarding the Purple Heart, a wound was defined as an injury to any part of
the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained as the result
of a hostile act of the enemy or while in action in the face of the enemy.
In connection with the definitions of "wound", the word "element" referred
to weather and permitted award to personnel severely frostbitten while
actually engaged in combat.  Trench foot would not be considered as
meriting award.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The regulation in effect at the time permitted award of the Purple
Heart to personnel severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat.
(Trench foot would not be considered as meriting award.)  The Board
acknowledges that the applicant may be suffering from nerve damage now as a
result of his frostbite (although peripheral neuropathy also often affects
people with diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis
and lupus and, in addition, certain vitamin deficiencies, some medications
and alcoholism can also damage peripheral nerves).

2.  However, the sworn statement provided by the applicant indicated he
returned to duty after several days (and successfully served in a combat
theater until the end of the war) and does not indicate that he was
actually engaged in combat when he went on sick call for frostbite.
Therefore, the applicant provides insufficient evidence on which to base
award of the Purple Heart as a result of his frostbite injuries.

3.  As for the applicant's other wounds, the only evidence available is the
note dated 9 May 1945.  The applicant stated that at the time glass was
removed from his face by a medic who was killed and by another medic
shortly thereafter.  However, there is no supporting statement from the
second medic.  In addition, the AGRAC Form 1-313, which appears to be dated
22 February 1947, indicates the applicant had been treated for tonsillitis,
frost bite, and trench foot and a VA Request for Army Information dated 2
May 1946 indicated that clinical records for frostbite, trench foot, ear
[condition], nervousness, and difficulty in sleeping were requested.
Unfortunately, those near contemporaneous records do not support the
comment in the 9 May 1945 note.

4.  Also unfortunately, treatment by the VA after the applicant was
separated from the Army does not fulfill the regulatory requirement that
the wound have necessitated treatment by a medical officer.

5.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the
Purple Heart to the applicant for any other injuries he may have received.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jed___  __jrs___  __mjf___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2003098211 dated 22 June 2004




            ___John E. Denning__
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040007074                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050317                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]