RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        09 AUGUST 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040010986


      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:

|     |Ms. Barbara Ellis                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Kenneth Wright                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |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 that his records be corrected to show award of
the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he sustained shrapnel wounds to his right
knee and shoulder which were never reported by the unit clerk.  He notes
that had it been reported he would have received an award of the Purple
Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a statement about his service during the war,
and a statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in
Iron Mountain, Michigan, which notes that the applicant “was in the landing
at Omaha Beach” in August 1943 and that while in Germany, he “helped remove
explosives from the Rhine River and repaired bridges on the front line
during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.”  The author of the statement
noted that “during the above” the applicant “was injured with shrapnel.”

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 18 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case
was received in December 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 shows that he entered active duty
on
23 January 1943 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations in July
1943. He returned to the United States in December 1945 and on 18 December
1945 was honorably discharged.

5.  There were no medical records available to the Board, or provided by
the applicant.  Item 34 (wounds received in action) on his separation
document reflects “NONE.”  The applicant authenticated the accuracy of the
information on his separation document with his signature and thumbprint.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 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 confirms that the
applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II or
that if wounded, such wounds required treatment by a medical officer.  In
the absence of such evidence, the statement from the applicant and the
Department of Veterans Affairs official is insufficient as a basis for
awarding the Purple Heart.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 18 December 1945, 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

___BE __  ___KW__  ___PM __  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.




                                  ______Barbara Ellis________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040010986                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050809                                |
|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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