RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          4 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002257


      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             |
|     |Ms. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Mark Manning                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry Bergquist               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded by a bullet in his left thigh in
the Philippines on 28 September 1945.

3.  The applicant provides a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Rating
Decision, dated 26 October 2004.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 28 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 4 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 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 remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted on 20 August 1943 and entered active duty on

10 September 1943.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations
from
18 May 1944 through 11 January 1946 and was honorably discharged on
28 January 1946.

5.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55
(Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows he participated in two
battles and campaigns.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal,
the World War II Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal as
authorized awards.  Item 34 on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the
entry, “NONE.”

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant
was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action
during World War II.

7.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided a DVA Rating Decision
which shows service connected disability compensation was increased to 20
percent for residuals of a gunshot wound to left thigh.

8.  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.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 authorizes a bronze service star, based on
qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this
regulation or listed in item 32 of the WD AGO Form 53-55.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant
was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action during World War II.
In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the
applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action,
the DVA Rating Decision provided by the applicant is not sufficient as a
basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Regrettably, there is insufficient
evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant participated in two battles and campaigns during World
War II which entitles him to the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two
bronze service stars.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 28 January 1946; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 1 January 1950
(3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).  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 limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

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

MM____  LB______  _CD_____  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.  The Board determined that an administrative error in the records of the
individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests
that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the
individual concerned to show that he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars.




            ___Mark Manning_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002257                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051004                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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