RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           24 August 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004100360


      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. Carolyn Wade                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret K. Patterson         |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann, Jr.        |     |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, that his records be corrected to
reflect award of the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant makes no statement in his behalf, but he provides a page
from the August 2003 The Bulge Bugle – the official publication of Veterans
of the Battle of the Bulge.  The page references awarding the PH for frozen
feet.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:

      a.  A copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation – Honorable Discharge) for the period ending 1 January 1946.

      b.  A copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 1 January
1946.

      c.  A copy of page 3, Volume XXII of The Bulge Bugle, dated August
2003, which included a special note referencing the award of the PH for
frozen feet.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 1 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case
is undated, but it was received in this office on 6 November 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 applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 and supporting documents provided by
the applicant.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on
13 August 1943 and entered active duty on 3 September 1943.  He was trained
in military occupational specialty (MOS) 511 (Armorer) and was transferred
to the European Theater of Operations (ETO).  The applicant arrived in the
ETO on 21 May 1944 and served there until 2 June 1945.  He returned to the
United States on 27 December 1945.

5.  On 1 January 1946, the applicant was honorably discharged from the Army
under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365 by reason of
"demobilization."  He was credited with 2 years, 4 months, and 19 days of
creditable military service.

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 credits him with the following
campaigns:  Normandy, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe.

7.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the following decorations and
citations:  the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service [Campaign]
Medal with 5 bronze service stars [1 silver star], the World War II Victory
Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.  In Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action),
"None" is entered.

8.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth Department
of the Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual
military awards, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service
ribbons, combat and special skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and
trophies and similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments.  It
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:  (1) the wound was the result of hostile action;
(2) the wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was
made a matter of official record.  Award of the PH for frostbite injuries
is currently prohibited; however, until 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which
governed the award of Army decorations, defined a “wound” as an injury to
any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained
while in action against an armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of
such enemy.  An “element” was further defined as weather and the award of
the Purple Heart to personnel who were severely frostbitten (emphasis
added) while actually engaged in combat was authorized.

9.  There is no indication in the applicant's military service records
available for review that he was wounded as the result of hostile action,
nor has the applicant provided any proof that he suffered from severe
frostbite.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence in the available military personnel records to
support the applicant's contention that he should be awarded the Purple
Heart.  There is no evidence that he was wounded while engaging the enemy
in hostile action, that he was treated for that wound, or that it was made
a matter of record.  Further, there is no evidence that he was treated for
severe frostbite.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 1 January 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  Therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__mkp___  __mhm___  __phm___  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.



                                  Margaret K. Patterson
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004100360                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040824                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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