RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           8 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003292


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Diane J. Armstrong            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Delia R. Trimble              |     |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, award of the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action while
serving in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II.
He claims he received two bullet wounds to his lower left leg from enemy
machine gun fire on 29 January 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge.  He
states he was assigned Company K, 346th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry
Division when he received the wounds.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement and a third-party
witness statement in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 31 July 1968.  The application submitted in this case was
received on 4 March 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 record shows he was honorably released from active duty
(REFRAD), for the purpose of voluntary retirement on 31 August 1968.  At
that time, he had completed a total of 20 years, 4 months, and 8 days of
active military service, and he held the rank and pay grade of platoon
sergeant/E-7 (PSG/E-7).

4.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) contains no
entry in Item 40 (Wounds).  Item 41 (Awards and Decorations) shows that
during his active duty tenure, he earned the following awards:  American
Campaign Medal; Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; World War II
Victory Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 bronze
service stars; United Nations Service Medal; Bronze Star Medal; Korea
Service Medal; Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; National
Defense Service Medal with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster; Combat Infantryman Badge;
Army Good Conduct Medal (6th Award); Vietnam Service Medal; Army
Commendation Medal; and Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device.

5.  The separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) issued to the applicant at
the completion of his World War II service shows he was inducted into the
Army and entered active duty on 5 June 1944.  He continuously served on
active duty until 30 May 1946, at which time he was honorably separated by
reason of demobilization.  It also shows he served in the ETO from 17
October 1944 through 19 July 1945, and that he participated in the Ardennes
and Rhineland campaigns.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) contains the
entry “None”.  This document also indicates the applicant earned the Combat
Infantryman Badge (CIB), for which he later received the Bronze Star Medal.


6.  Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General
(OTSG) for the period 1942-1945 included a report on the applicant.  This
OTSG record confirms the applicant was admitted to a treatment facility in
the ETO on 29 January 1945, for treatment of “frostbite”.  The OTSG
admission report categorized the applicant as a “battle casualty”, and
attributed his condition to a cold weather injury-ground type that he
received under battle conditions.  There were no OTSG, or other medical
treatment records indicating he received a gunshot wound as a result of
enemy action during World War II.

7.  The applicant provides a third-party statement from an individual who
indicates he was the applicant’s commander while he served in K Company,
346th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division during World War II.  This
individual states the applicant was wounded in action on 29 January 1945,
while serving in the ETO during World War II.  He claims the applicant was
wounded twice in the lower leg from enemy machine gun and sniper fire.  He
further states the applicant was treated for his wounds by a company
medical corpsman (MEDIC), and when he asked the applicant if he wanted him
to submit his name for the PH, the applicant declined the offer.  He
concludes by requesting that his statement be accepted as his official
recommendation that the applicant receive the PH as his former commanding
officer.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes the Army’s awards
policy.  Paragraph 2-8 contains guidance on awarding the PH.  It states, in
pertinent part, that each approved award of the PH must exhibit all of the
following factors: wound, injury or death must have been the result of
enemy or hostile act or international terrorist attack; the wound or injury
must have required treatment by medical officials; and the records of
medical treatment must have been made a matter of official Army records.

9.  Award of the PH for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited;
however, until 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of
Army decorations, defined a “wound” as an injury to any part of the body
from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action against
an armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element”
was further defined as weather and the award of the PH to personnel who
were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was authorized.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s request for the PH and the supporting third-party
statement he submitted were carefully considered.  While the veracity of
the applicant’s claim that he received a gunshot wound to his leg as a
direct result of enemy action during World War II, and of the information
contained in the third-party statement from his former commanding office is
not in question, absent any evidence of record to corroborate these claims,
the regulation burden of proof necessary to support award of the PH based
on this particular incident has not been satisfied.

2.  However, the PH policy in effect during World War II did authorize
award of the PH to individuals who were frostbitten while actually engaged
in combat.  In this case, the evidence of record includes an OTSG
hospitalization report that confirms the applicant was admitted to a
medical treatment facility in the ETO on 29 January 1945, and treated for a
combat related frostbite condition.  The OTSG report categorized the
applicant as a battle casualty, which confirms his medical condition was
caused by enemy action.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to award him
the PH for this injury at this time.
BOARD VOTE:

___SK __  ___DJA _  __DRT __  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.
Notwithstanding the DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS outlined above, the Board
recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual
concerned be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart with 1st Oak Leaf
Cluster, for being wounded/injured in action twice on 29 January 1945,
while serving in the ETO during World War II; and by providing him a
correction to his separation document that includes these awards.




            ____Stanley Kelley________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003292                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/11/08                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1968/08/31                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 635-200                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Retirement                              |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  61   |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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