RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:   10 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002030


      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                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret K. Patterson         |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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
and that the Combat Infantryman Badge he earned, in effect, be added to his
separation document.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was hospitalized for wounds in
1943 while he served with Battery C, 74th Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA)
Regiment.  He was sent to a field hospital in Belgium between St. Vith and
Bastogne.  In December 1943 or January 1944 he was hospitalized for
pneumonia in Liege, Belgium.  The applicant also states that he had malaria
several times and an ankle injury in 1943.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
Magazine article entitled, "COVA” [acronym unknown], and a copy of his WD
AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable
Discharge, in support of his request for award of the Purple Heart.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice that
occurred on 13 August 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 31 January 2004.  The application was received for processing
on 9 February 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 limitations 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.  Information
herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.

4.  The applicant was inducted on 17 March 1941 and he entered service in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the same date.  The applicant was honorably
discharged in the grade of Sergeant on 13 August 1945, under the provisions
of AR 615-365, for the convenience of the Government, at demobilization.
On the date of his discharge, the applicant had completed 2 years, 1 month,
and 17 days, Continental service and 2 years, 3 months, and 10 days foreign
service.

5.  Item 20, of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that while he
served on active duty he held the military occupational specialty (MOS)
514, Chief Radar Operator.

6.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55 shows that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal; the American Defense
Service Medal; and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, with
three bronze service stars.  The Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman
Badge are not shown.

7.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), of the applicant's WD AGO Form
53-55, shows the entry, "None."

8.  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.
No "SGO Files" reports were found for the applicant to corroborate his
allegation that he was wounded during World War II and that he was
treated for pneumonia or malaria.

9.  The applicant, in his application to the Board, stated that he had
earned the Combat Infantryman Badge but provided no orders to corroborate
his statement. Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date), of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None."

10.  The available records contain a copy of the WD AGO Form 53-55 that was
prepared for the applicant at the time of his discharge from the Army.  It
should be noted that the applicant authenticated this form in his own hand
and affixed his thumbprint to the form in the appropriate space and that it
does not show the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge as
authorized awards.

11.  The article that the applicant submitted, which was extracted from the
DAV Magazine, contains a paragraph that he highlighted for the benefit of
the Board which reads:  "In issuing its opinion, the Federal Circuit stated
that, statutory authority – 38 U.S.C. Section 1154, "makes it abundantly
clear that special consideration attend the case of combat veterans.  These
veterans may prove service-connection by ‘satisfactory lay or other
evidence’ even in the absence of any official record.  In addition, the
Secretary ‘shall resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran’."
He also highlighted the following paragraph from the same article pertinent
to making an application to the Army Board for Correction of Military
Records, "To justify any correction, it is necessary to show to the
satisfaction of the Board that the alleged entry or omission in the records
was in error or unjust.  Applications should include all available
evidence, such as signed statements of witnesses or a brief of arguments
supporting the requested correction."

12.  War Department Circular 269-1943 established the Combat Infantryman
Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge to recognize and provide an
incentive to infantrymen.  The Expert Infantryman Badge was to be awarded
for attainment of certain proficiency standards or by satisfactory
performance of duty in action against the enemy.  The Combat Infantryman
Badge was awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy.  War
Department Circular 186-1944 further provided that the Combat Infantryman
Badge was to be awarded only to infantrymen serving with infantry units of
brigade, regimental or smaller size.  Additionally, World War II holders of
the Combat Infantryman Badge received a monthly pay supplement known as
combat infantry pay and holders of the Expert Infantryman Badge were
entitled to expert infantry pay.  Therefore, Soldiers had economic as well
as intangible reasons to ensure that their records were correct. Thus, pay
records are frequently the best available source to verify entitlement to
this award.

13.  The Awards Branch, Total Army Personnel Command, has advised in
similar cases that, during World War II, the Combat Infantryman Badge was
normally awarded only to enlisted individuals who served in the following
positions:  a) Light Machine Gunner (604); b.)  Heavy Machine Gunner (605);
c.)  Platoon Sergeant (651); d.)  Squad Leader (653); e.)  Rifleman (745);
f.)  Automatic Rifleman (746), g.)  Heavy Weapons NCO (812); and h.)  Gun
Crewman (864).  They continued by stating that all Soldiers were provided
basic combat skills training after they entered the Army.  This basic
combat skills training was provided to ensure that all Soldiers had the
survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arose.  No
other Soldier in combat was more exposed on a daily basis to the dangers
and hardships of war and no other branch of the service suffered more
casualties than the infantry.  To maintain the prestige, uniqueness, and
traditional values of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the criteria for award
has changed little over the years.  The advisory did note that the
exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily
perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught but it is
not a basis for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

14.  AR 600-8-22 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.

15.  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 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.

16.  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.

17.  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.  There is no available documentary evidence, and the applicant provided
none, to support his request for award of the Purple Heart.  The "SGO
Files" were searched for evidence that he was wounded in action or that he
was hospitalized for treatment for pneumonia and for malaria; however, no
"SGO Files" reports were found to corroborate his allegation that he was
wounded during World War II.

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, prepared at the time of his
discharge from the Army, and which the applicant authenticated in his own
hand, does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart and Item 34
contains the entry, "None."  When he affixed his signature to the WD AGO
Form 53-55, he was, in effect, acknowledging that he had not been wounded
while he served on active duty.  No evidence was found upon which to base
award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.

3.  The authority that the applicant cited for the Board's consideration in
support of his application, Title 38 U.S.C. Section 1154, applies to the
Department of Veterans Affairs in the processing and adjudication of claims
that are presented to that agency by veterans for service-connected
illnesses or injuries.  The policies, procedures, and guidelines under
which the VA and the ABCMR operate are significantly different as is the
burden of proof under which these agencies operate.

4.  The evidence shows that the applicant was a non-infantry Soldier.
During World War II and for all conflict in which the United States has
been involved, all Soldiers have been provided basic combat skills training
after they enter the Army.  This is provided to ensure that they have the
survival skills to perform basic infantry missions when the need arises.
The exigencies of combat may require non-infantry Soldiers to temporarily
perform the basic infantry duties that all Soldiers are taught but, it is
not a basis for the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  There is no
available evidence, and the applicant provided none, to show that he was
awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

5.  The applicant served honorably, on active duty, in the Army of the
United States, from 17 March 1941 through 13 August 1945.  He is
therefore entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal and to have
it added to his separation document.
6.  The applicant served an aggregate period of over one year (2 years, 1
month, and 17 days) in the Continental United States during the qualifying
period.  He is therefore entitled to award of the American Campaign Medal
and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

_MKP__   __LDS___  __MJF__  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial 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 by awarding the applicant
the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal and adding
these awards to the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains, in
effect, to awarding the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge and
adding these awards to the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.




                                     M. K._Patterson____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002030                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051110                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT IN PART                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   61                 |107.0015                                |
|3.   157                |107.0111                                |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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