RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        JANUARY 4, 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004104831


      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:

|     |Ms. Karen A. Heinz                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. James B. Gunlicks             |     |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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his original records were burned
in Missouri.  He was injured in World War II (WW II) and he is requesting
review of his records because he feels he is entitled to a Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides those documents, which are specifically
identified in an addendum to his DD Form 149, Application for Correction of
Military Record, dated 20 February 2004.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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.  Information
herein was obtained from other sources.

2.  These documents show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of
the United States on 12 April 1941, at Portland, Maine.

3.  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 8 February
1943 and served as a Line Foreman with the 57th Signal Battalion, VI Corps,
until 31 July 1943.

4.  On 31 July 1943, the applicant was honorably discharged, in the rank
and pay grade, Technical Sergeant, for the Convenience of the Government,
to accept a temporary appointment as a Second Lieutenant in the Army of the
United States.

5.  The WD AGO Form 55, Army of the United States, Honorable Discharge, the
applicant was provided, shows, in response to the line, "Decorations,
service medals, citations:" that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the American Defense
Service Medal.  The Purple Heart is not shown as an authorized award.

6.  The entry, "None" is shown in response to the line: "Wounds received in
action."
7.  On the applicant's discharge as an enlisted Soldier, he had completed
2 years, 3 months, and 20 days active military service.

8.  On 1 August 1943, the applicant received a direct appointment as a
commissioned officer, in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 605-10.  He
entered active duty, as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to
Headquarters, VI Corps, in the Signal Corps branch.  As a commissioned
officer, he performed duties of Training Officer, Warehouse and Supply
Inspection Officer, and as Mess, Supply and Transportation Officer.

9.  On 22 January 1946, the applicant was released from active duty.  On
7 November 1946, the applicant was recalled to active duty and was assigned
to the Detachment of Patients, Murphy General Hospital, Waltham,
Massachusetts. On 16 April 1948, he was honorably separated from active
duty in the Army of the United States in the grade of First Lieutenant and,
he was provided a WD AGO Form 53-98, Military Record and Report of
Separation, Certificate of Service, to document this service.  On the date
of his separation, this period, the applicant had completed 1 year,
5 months, and 9 days active military service.

10.  Item 29 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
98, shows that he received the World War II Victory Medal during this
period of service.

11.  Item 43 (Remarks) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-98, shows he was
issued the Lapel Button [correctly known as the Honorable Service/Discharge
Emblem].

12.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 55-98, does not show the Purple Heart in
Item 29.  The separation document shows the entry, "None" in Item 30
(Wounds Received in Action).

13.  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 revealed two reports.  In September 1943, the
applicant received medical treatment in Italy for a non-battle injury.  The
applicant sustained a simple fracture of the spine with no nerve or artery
involvement when the vehicle he was a passenger in was involved in a
vehicle accident.  The fracture was treated with a plaster of Paris cast to
the chest.  The report shows that as a result of this incident, the
applicant was hospitalized for a total of 165 days.

14.  The above report is corroborated by entries found on an unnumbered
hospital form that was prepared at the 53rd Surgical Hospital on 30
September 1943.

15.  In October 1944, according to entries found on a second SGO Files
report, the applicant was treated for other conditions of the bones or
organs of movement due to a previous disease or injury.

16.  In April 1947, the applicant, while a patient at the Murphy General
Hospital, sought and received an impartial opinion about a back injury he
sustained while serving in the Army.  During the diagnostic interview, he
told the examining physician that he "had an accident in Italy."  This
statement was included in a summary directed to an Army Medical Corps
Lieutenant Colonel at Murphy General Hospital.

17.  In an undated, self-authored summary of his service, the applicant
wrote, in the fifth paragraph, "Rejoined the 57th Signal Battalion as
Supply and Motor Transport Officer.  On September 30, 1943, while moving in
a convoy in a blackout, my truck went off the side of a mountain at Acerno,
Italy.  This was due to the enemy blowing up the road.  Truck rolled over
three or four times.  I regained consciousness on the bank of a brook."

18.  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.

19.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Purple Heart is awarded to individuals who sustain wounds as a
result of hostile action, whose wounds require medical treatment; and when
the medical treatment is made a matter of official record.

2.  The SGO Files revealed, as corroborated by a report from the 53rd
Surgical Hospital, that the applicant was injured in a motor vehicle when
it overturned.

3.  The above reports were supplemented by the applicant's admission to the
examining physician during a diagnostic interview in April 1947 when he
stated that he had an accident in Italy.

4.  Though his injuries were sustained when his vehicle overturned as a
result of the enemy blowing up the road, while moving in a convoy, in a
blackout, there is no evidence that the unit was under attack at the time
of the accident.

5.  Therefore, based on the available evidence, the applicant is not
entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant served on active duty during the qualifying period for
award of the American Campaign Medal.  The applicant is therefore entitled
to this award and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-98.

7.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error that does not require action by the Board.  Therefore, the Case
Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, will accomplish
administrative correction of the applicant's records 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

jbg _____  rld   _____  kh  _____  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 show award of the American Campaign Medal to the applicant and
adding it to his WD AGO Form 53-98.




                            ___     _Karen A. Heinz___
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004104831                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050104                                |
|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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