RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        23 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002901


      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. Ronald DeNoia                 |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann, Jr.        |     |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 that his records be corrected to show the
correct date of birth (DOB), date of induction, date of departure and
arrival for overseas duty, wounds received and award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that his date of birth should be 4 June, 1924,
date of induction should be 3 February 1942, date of entry should be 10
February 1942, overseas duty departure date should be 6 June 1942, wounds
received include leg, hands, back of neck and his decorations should
include the Purple Heart.  He also states that he was awarded the Purple
Heart, however, the certificate has been lost.

3.  The applicant provides a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Army of the United States
Honorable Discharge) and a copy of his birth certificate.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 24 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 16 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.  This case is
being reviewed using records submitted by the applicant.

4.  The applicant's birth certificate shows he was born on 4 June 1924;
however his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his date of birth as 14 June 1924.

5.  The applicant's WD AGO 53-55 shows that he was inducted on 3 February
1943, his date of entry was 10 February 1943, and his overseas duty
departure date was 7 June 1943.

6.  Item 34 (wounds) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None."

7.  Item 37 (Total Length of Service) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 shows 0
years, 4 months and 5 days of continental service and 2 years, 6 months and
8 days of foreign service, for a total of 2 years 10 months and 13 days of
total service.

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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been
made a matter of official record.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's birth certificate shows he was born on 4 June 1924.
Therefore, he is entitled to have his records corrected to show this date.

2.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily
appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to
submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

3.  In the absence of evidence to show that his date of induction, date of
entry, and overseas duty departure date is not correct, there is no basis
to grant relief in this case.

4.  There is no evidence in the available records and the applicant has not
provided sufficient evidence which shows that he sustained injuries as a
result of hostile action or that he received treatment for injuries that
were sustained as a result of hostile action.  Based on the foregoing,
there is no basis to grant the applicant's request for award of the Purple
Heart in this case.

5.  Furthermore, the available records show that the applicant completed 2
years, 10 months, and 13 days of active service.  Since the applicant's
records show that he was inducted on 10 February 1943, his records
correctly show 24 December 1945 as his date of separation.  Therefore his
records are correct as currently constituted and there is no basis to grant
the relief requested.
6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 24 December 1945, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  The
applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations, however,
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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__js____  __phm___  __ljo___  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 showing his date of
birth as 4 June 1924, instead of 14 June 1924 as currently reflected on his
WD AGO 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 to
date of induction, date of entry, date of departure for overseas duty and
award of the Purple Heart.



                                  John Slone
                            ______________________
                                      CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050002901                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051123                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |100.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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