RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 JUNE 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040007202


      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. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert Fry                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |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 and the
POW (Prisoner of War) Medal.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was following two Italian
citizens who had stolen copper cable from the United States base, when the
jeep he was riding in hit a land mine.  He states that he was taken by “The
Germans” to their field hospital where his wounds were treated.  He states
that when he woke up his “arms were both in casts [and he] had sutures
across the top of [his] head down [his] cheek and under [his] chin, cuts
and bruises all over.”

3.  He states that the Germans fed and cared for him for “about a month”
and that “one day some Turks came into the German camp and took [him] with
them to their camp.”  He notes that the “Turks” cared for him for another
month and then turned him over “to the Italian Communist Party” who
eventually turned him over to the 300th General Hospital.

4.  He states that during his separation examination he was “quarantined
for Rheumatic of Scarlet Fever” and that the individual who was preparing
his separation document “was so upset and frightened that she refused to
complete the information and left.”

5.  In a statement to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army,
also included with his application to the Board, he noted that he was
loaded on a transport ship on 30 November 1945 and arrived in Naples, Italy
where he was assigned to the 3195th Signal Service Company and assigned
duties as a mechanic.  That statement also recounts his jeep accident and
subsequent treatment by German and Turkish officials.

6.  In addition to his statements, the applicant also provides a copy of
his separation document and his Separation Qualification Record.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 1 June 1947.  The application submitted in this case was
received in September 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 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
14 June 1945 and departed the United States enroute to the European-African-
Middle Eastern Theater on 30 November 1945.  He arrived in the overseas
area on 10 December 1945 and returned to the United States in December
1946.

5.  He was honorably discharged from Tilton General Hospital at Fort Dix,
New Jersey, with a “Certificate of Disability for Discharge” on 1 June
1947.

6.  Item 34 (wounds received in action) on the applicant’s separation
document is blank.  There is no mention of any combat wounds, or having
been in the hands of German or Turkish personnel, on his Separation
Qualification Record.  The applicant authenticated the authenticity of the
information on his separation document and on his Separation Qualification
Record by his signature.

7.  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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, for award of
the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal
was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who, in
past armed conflicts, were taken prisoner or held captive.

9.  Information from the Center of Military History notes that German
forces in Italy sign an unconditional surrender at Caserta, Italy on 29
April 1945 which was effective on 2 May 1945.  On 7 May 1945 the German
High Command surrendered all land, sea, and air forces unconditionally to
Allied forces, effective 9 May 1945, and all offensive operations were
stopped.  The President proclaimed “V-E” (Victory in Europe) on 8 May 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence available to the Board indicates that the applicant
arrived in Italy 7 months after the cessation of hostilities in Europe.  As
such, even if there were medical evidence which confirmed that he had been
injured in a jeep accident and subsequently treated by foreign personnel,
he would not have met the qualification requirements for award of the
Purple Heart or the POW Medal.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 1 June 1947, the date of his
separation from active duty.  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.  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 the failure to timely file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JS___  ___HF __  ___LS___  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.




                                  _______John Slone_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040007202                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050614                                |
|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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