RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          2 September 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004100178


      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             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Walter T. Morrison            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Ronald J. Weaver              |     |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, the son of a deceased former service member (FSM),
requests, in effect, that the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart for a wound
he received while in France during World War II.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his father was denied a Purple
Heart because he was sent back to the front lines and the fragment wound he
received healed over before he was examined for the injury.  The applicant
adds that the FSM did not feel the wound was worthy of the award but the
family wants to have this for posterity.

3.  The applicant provides a four page account of his recollections of the
events told to him by his father about his experiences in World War II; a
copy of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation – Honorable Discharge; a copy of the FSM's death certificate;
and a statement from the manager of a funeral home, dated 21 October 2003.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1. The applicant is requesting correction of an error or injustice, which
occurred, on an unknown date, during World War II.  The application
submitted in this case is dated 30 October 2003.

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 limitation 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 FSM'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 FSM's
records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  Information herein was
obtained from other sources.
4.  These documents show that the FSM was inducted into the Army of the
United States on 31 March 1943 and he entered into active duty on
7 April 1943.  He served as a Mechanic-Automotive, military occupational
specialty (MOS) 014, in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from
31 January 1944 through 4 March 1945.  He was honorably discharged in
the rank of Sergeant, at the Mayo General Hospital, Galesburg, Illinois,
on 7 June 1945, under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 615-361 and
was issued a Certificate of Disability for Discharge.  On the date of
his discharge, the FSM had completed 2 years, 2 months, and 7 days active
military service.

5.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the FSM's Enlisted Record and Report
of Separation, shows that he participated in five campaigns of World War
II:  the Germany Campaign (later redesignated the Rhineland Campaign), the
Normandy Campaign, the Belgium Campaign, the Northern France Campaign, and
the Netherlands Campaign.

6.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSM's Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation, shows that he was awarded the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

7.  Item 55 (Remarks) of the FSM's Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation, shows he was issued the Lapel Button [correctly known as the
Honorable Service/Discharge Emblem].

8.  The FSM's Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, shows his
entitlement to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; however,
it does not show the service stars to which the FSM is entitled for his
campaign participation.

9.  AR 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service
star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in its Appendix
B and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the
appropriate service medal, in this case, the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal.  The regulation further provides that one silver
service star will be worn in lieu of five bronze service stars.

10.  The FSM's Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, does not show the
Purple Heart in Item 33.  The separation document shows the entry, "None"
in Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action).
11.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO
Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the
periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In
1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the
information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various
veterans' service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes
would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of
1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all
hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean War.  A
search of these files shows that the FSM was hospitalized on 29 December
1944 and was diagnosed as having psychoneurosis.  He remained hospitalized
for 160 days, and on 7 June 1945, he was discharged for traumatism.  There
is no evidence in the available records that the FSM sustained a wound in
action during World War II.

12.  AR 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:  (a) the wound was
the result of hostile action; (b) the wound required medical treatment; and
(c) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

13.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II
Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31
December 1946, both dates inclusive.

14.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the American
Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in
the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying
service includes permanent assignment outside the continental United
States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for 30
consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental
United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30
consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy
and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a corps
commander or higher, or service within the continental United States for an
aggregate period of one year.

15.  The statement from the manager of the funeral home and the foreign
object, which was allegedly excised from the FSM's wrist, were noted.
There is no corroborating evidence to show that he was wounded in action
during World War II.  This evidence is insufficient to establish
entitlement to award of the Purple Heart

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence submitted by the applicant is insufficient to establish
entitlement to award of the Purple Heart to the FSM.  The statement from
the manager of the funeral home and the foreign object, which was allegedly
excised from the FSM's wrist, were noted; however, there is no
corroborating evidence to show that the FSM was wounded in action during
World War II.

2.  The FSM was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal;
however, it does not show the service stars to which the FSM is entitled
for his campaign participation.  The FSM participated in five campaigns of
World
War II.  He is therefore entitled to award of one silver service star to be
affixed to the already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal.

3.  The FSM served on active duty during the qualifying period for award of
the World War II Victory Medal.  The FSM is therefore entitled to this
award and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

4.  The FSM served on active duty during the qualifying period for award of
the American Campaign Medal.  The FSM is therefore entitled to this award
and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

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 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__wtm___  __wdp___  __rjw___  DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.  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 award the FSM the World War II Victory Medal, the American
Campaign Medal, and one silver service star to be affixed to the already-
awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.




                 Walter T. Morrison
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004100178                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040902                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.  61                  |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |



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