RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          13 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050000964


      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. Richard P. Nelson             |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ted S. Kanamine               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann Jr.         |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol A. Kornhoff             |     |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 award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained
in World War II on 31 January 1945.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded in Belgium, when shrapnel from
enemy artillery struck him in the left shoulder.  He also states that he
received the Purple Heart but has since lost all of his records, to include
his separation document.

3.  The applicant provides a notarized affidavit, outlining the
circumstances of the incident, and two notarized eyewitness statements,
attesting that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action on
31 January 1945.

4.  In addition, the applicant provides a copy of correspondence he
received from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), dated 9
December 2004.  This correspondence informs the applicant that the NPRC
received “an important source of medical information that may be used in
the reconstruction of military data lost in the fire that occurred at this
Center on July 12, 1973”.  It outlines the creation of computer magnetic
tapes by the National Research Council, and the resultant information,
derived from the hospital admission cards of the Office of The Surgeon
General, commonly referred to as "SGO Files”.  Lastly, the letter from the
NPRC advises the applicant that the newly revealed information contained in
the SGO files indicates that the applicant was admitted and treated for
battle-related shrapnel wounds on 31 January 1945.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error that
occurred on 18 October 1945, the date of his separation from the Army.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 13 December 2004 and was
received by the Board 20 Januray 2005.

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 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 for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial
review of this case.  This case is being considered using the documents
provided by the applicant and a National Archives and Records
Administration Form 13038 (Certification of Military Service).

4.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.  This regulation also provides that there is no statute of
limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While there are no records showing the applicant received the Purple
Heart, SGO Files and two eyewitness statements show he was wounded, as a
result of hostile action, in Belgium, on 31 January 1945.  Therefore, it
would be appropriate to correct his records by awarding him the Purple
Heart.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 18 October 1945.  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 in this case based on the fact there is no statute of
limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

____cak _  ____phm_  ____tsk_  GRANT 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.  As a result, the Board recommends that all
Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by
awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of hostile
action, in Belgium, on 31 January 1945.




            _________Ted S. Kanamine__________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050000964                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051013                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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