RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           10 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20050003114


      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:

|     |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 award of the Purple Heart for injuries received
while he was a prisoner of war (POW) in Germany during World War II.

2.  The applicant states he was a “member of the military” at the time he
was injured and that “all POWs who were captured since the Korean War have
been awarded the Purple Heart, regardless of the circumstances.”  He claims
that, while traveling as a POW in a boxcar, a bomb hit the boxcar adjacent
to the one he was in.  Everyone was thrown around.  The applicant believes
he was unconscious for a time and had blood running from his head.  When
the guards opened the door of the boxcar, he jumped out and stubbed his
toe.  He is now receiving compensation from the Department of Veterans
Affairs for the toe injury.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored account of the circumstances
under which he was injured, an eyewitness statement from a fellow POW, and
a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-
Honorable Discharge).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error that
occurred on 16 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 18 January 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 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 available records show the applicant was inducted on 15 June 1943.
He arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on
15 December 1944 and returned to the United States on 19 May 1945.  He was
honorably separated from the service in the rank of corporal on 16 December
1945.  His WD AGO 53-55 shows that he participated in the Rhineland and
Central Europe campaigns.  No other awards or decorations are listed.

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-
55, which the applicant authenticated in his own hand, shows that he is
entitled to the following awards: the Combat Infantryman Badge; the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; the American Campaign
Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; and, the Army Lapel Button.

6.  The applicant’s records contain a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form
214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 7 August
2003.  This form corrects Item 33 of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55
dated 16 December 1945, to add the Bronze Star Medal, the POW Medal, and
the World War II Victory Medal.

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

8.  Hospital admission cards of the Office of The Surgeon General, commonly
referred to as the "SGO Files,” do not show that the applicant was wounded,
or treated for wounds, resulting from hostile action.

9.  The eyewitness statement provided by the applicant describes the boxcar
bombing and general living conditions of the POWs after the incident.
There is no specific reference to the applicant, other than a sentence that
corroborates the applicant was among the group of 90 POWs and that “several
POWs were injured” during the bombing.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent
part, that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who,
while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the
U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed 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.

11.  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 (Battles and Campaigns) of the WD AGO Form
53-55.  The regulation states that authorized bronze service stars will be
worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal including the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant authenticated his WD AGO Form 53-55, which did not show
award of the Purple Heart or wounds sustained in action.  There are no
medical records that show the applicant was wounded, or treated for wounds,
as a result of hostile action.  There are no orders or certificates that
awarded the applicant the Purple Heart.

2.  The eyewitness statement submitted by the applicant is noted.  However,
there is no evidence in the statement to collaborate the applicant’s
contention that he was injured as a result of hostile action.  In the
absence of more conclusive evidence, the applicant is not entitled to award
of the Purple Heart or correction of his records to show this decoration.

3.  Evidence of record shows the applicant received the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and participated in two campaigns.  As a
result, he is entitled to award of two bronze service stars, to be affixed
to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and correction of
his records to show these appurtenances.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 16 December 1945, the date of his
separation from active duty.  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.

5.  The evidence shows the applicant’s record contains administrative
errors that do not require action by the Board.  The necessary corrections
will be accomplished administratively by the Case Management Support
Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as outlined in paragraph 2 of the
Determination/Recommendation section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___mjf___  ___lds __  ____mkp_  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD, St. Louis, Missouri administratively correct the records of the
individual concerned to show award of two bronze service stars, to be
affixed to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.





            _________Margaret K. Patterson_______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003114                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051110                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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