RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          1 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003277


      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. James Anderholm               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas O'Shaughnessy          |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol 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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted
Record and Report of Separation) to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states a Soldier threw down a cigarette which started a
fire and the ammunition dump exploded.  He contends he was hit with
shrapnel in the right side of his chest and was taken to a hospital in
Burma.

3.  The applicant provides no evidence in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on
1 February 1946.  The application submitted in this case is dated 15
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 4 January 1943 and entered active duty on

11 January 1943.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations
from
10 September 1943 through 10 October 1945 and was honorably discharged on 1
February 1946.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal, the
World War II Victory Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two
bronze service stars 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.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized on 14 January 1944 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of
Operations for a chest wound.  It also states that it was a non-battle
injury occurring from artillery shell and fragments.

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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Medical evidence of record supports the applicant's contention that he
was hit with shrapnel in the right side of his chest and was taken to a
hospital.  However, the medical record also states it was a non-battle
injury which supports the applicant's contention that he was injured when
an ammunition dump exploded after a Soldier threw down a cigarette.  There
is no evidence of record which shows that he was wounded or treated for
wounds sustained as a result of hostile action during World War II.
Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the
Purple Heart in this case.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 1 February 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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

JA_____  TO______  CK______  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.




            ___James Anderholm____
                    CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003277                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051101                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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