RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:



      BOARD DATE:        3 February 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004106817


      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. Eric S. Moore                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda M. Barker               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Larry J. Olson                |     |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 record be corrected to show
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the Purple Heart should be added
to his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation and
Honorable Discharge) for wounds sustained in combat.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 and his WD AGO
Form 100 (Army Separation Qualification Record).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error which occurred
on      10 May 1945, the date of his separation from active service.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 8 April 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 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 service personnel records were lost or destroyed in a
fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The reconstructed
records available to the Army Board For Correction of Military Records were
provided in part by the applicant and also obtained from alternate sources.
 The primary record available to this Board is the applicant’s WD AGO Form
53-55.

4.  The applicant's military records show that he entered active service on
          5 October 1943.  He successful completed basic training and
advanced individual training and was awarded the military occupational
specialty (MOS) 745 (Rifleman).  He served in the European Theater of
Operations from             28 March 1944 through 28 October 1944 as a
member of Company L, 349th Infantry Regiment, of the 88th Division.  He was
separated from active duty on  10 May 1945.

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with
one bronze star (Rome-Arno).

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows that the applicant was
wounded in action, in the European Theater of Operations on 22 September
1944.

7.  Information from the hospital admission cards of the Office of The
Surgeon General of the Army, show that the applicant was admitted on 21
September 1944 to a European Area Hospital for a condition due to a
compound fracture.  The causative agent of the wound is shown as "Artillery
Shell, Fragments" and classified as battle casualty.

8.  Review of the applicant's records and governing regulations indicate
that he is entitled to additional awards that are not shown on his WD AGO
Form 53-55.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious
achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The
Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders
or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7
December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during
that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An
award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is
considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the
Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized
either badge for service during World War II.

10.  Army Regulation 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.

11.  Army Regulation 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 1 year.

12.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the campaigns participated in by units
during World War II.  This document shows that, at the time of the
applicant’s assignment to the 349th Infantry Regiment of the 88th Division,
it participated in the North Appennines and the Rome-Arno campaigns.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in pertinent part,
authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for
each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that
authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service
medal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Records show that the applicant was wounded in action on 22 September
1944.  Therefore, there is sufficient evidence to show that he is entitled
to award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is
entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.

3.  In accordance with governing regulations, the applicant is entitled to
the award of the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal
based on his service during World War II from 5 October 1943 to 10 May
1945.

4.  Records show the applicant participated in the North Appennines
campaign during his service in World War II.  Therefore, the North
Appennines should be list in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of his WD AGO
Form 53-55.

5.  Records show the applicant participated in two campaigns during his
service in World War II.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of two bronze
service stars to be worn on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 10 May 1945, 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.  Although
the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is
appropriate to waive failure to timely file based on the fact there is no
statute of limitation on request for award of the Purple Heart.


BOARD VOTE:

___mm__  __ljo  ___  __lmb ___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected:

      a.  by adding the North Appennines to item 32; and


      b.  by showing award of the Purple Heart , the Bronze Star Medal, the
World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars.




                                  ______Melvin H. Meyer______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004106817                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/02/03                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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