RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 JULY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040009368


      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          |
|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that on 6 December 1944 he sustained a “serious
back strain and injury” when he fell in a drainage ditch during an enemy
bombing attack.  He states that he was typing a letter when he heard the
enemy plane approach and left the “pre-fab building” he was in and “fell
flat on my belly in the mud and water.”  He states that the bombs exploded
around him and that he saved a piece of shrapnel that was imbedded in the
side of the building, just above his body.  He states that had he still
been standing he would have been killed.

3.  The applicant states that he should have received the Purple Heart for
“participation in the battle, on the Island of Leyte, in the Philippines.”

4.  The applicant provides a copy of a letter he wrote to his family in
September 1945, photographs of him in his military uniform, and several
documents which contain his recollections of his military service.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 20 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
12 October 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
28 December 1942 and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations between
February 1944 and December 1945.  He was honorably discharged on
20 January 1946.

5.  Item 24 (wounds received in action) on his 1946 separation document
reflects “NONE” and the applicant, by his signature, authenticated the
accuracy of the information on his separation document.  It does not
reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

6.  There were no service medical records available to the Board or
provided by the applicant.

7.  The September 1945 letter to his family does recount the events of
6 December 1944, and his near death experience.  However, the letter makes
no mention of any treatment by a medical officer for any wounds or injuries
resulting from the bombing attack he describes in his letter.

8.  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:

1.  Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence which substantiates that
the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II
or that he ever received treatment for any such wounds.  In the absence of
such medical evidence, there is no basis for an award of the Purple Heart.

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 20 January 1946, 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.  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 the failure to timely file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JS____  ___SP __  ___SK __  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                 |AR20040009368                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050712                                |
|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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