RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        17 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003440


      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. John J. Wendland, Jr.         |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John E. Denning               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette R. McCants           |     |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.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in 1945 during
World War II while trying to run the enemy out a village during night
fighting and requests award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a VA Form 21-4138 (Department of Veterans
Affairs Statement in Support of Claim), dated 4 January 2005; a one-page
extract of Form No. 52b (Medical Department, U.S.A.), dated 29 January
1945; a one-page extract of WD AGO Form No. 8-116 (Register of Dental
Patients Supplemental Record), dated 30 January 1945; a copy of a Report of
Dental Survey, dated
3 July 1945, and WD AGO Form No. 33 (Report of Physical Examination of
Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or
Retirement), dated 17 July 1945, in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 17 July 1945, the date of his discharge from the U.S. Army.
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, including a
WD AGO 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable
Discharge) with an effective date of 17 July 1945, for the Board to conduct
a fair and impartial review of this case.



4.  Military records show that the applicant enlisted in the Army National
Guard on 15 October 1940 and was called to active duty on 6 January 1941.
After completion of basic combat training and advanced individual training,
the applicant was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 745
(Rifleman).

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in Item 31 (Military
Qualification and Date) that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge
and qualified as Sharpshooter with the Carbine Rifle.  Item 33 (Decorations
and Citations) and Item 55 (Remarks) show that he was awarded the Asiatic-
Pacific Theater Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal with
2 bronze service stars, and American Defense Service Ribbon with 1 bronze
service star.  Item 34 (Wounds Received In Action) of this document
contains the entry, "NONE".

6.  The applicant's records contain a VA Form 3101 (Veterans Administration
Request for Army Information), dated 3 August 1945, which was submitted on
behalf of the applicant in an effort to obtain documentation from the
applicant's military service records to substantiate his Veterans
Administration disability claim.  This document shows, in pertinent part,
for "Alleged Disease or Injury, Date of Incurrence, Date(s) and Place(s) of
Treatment:" the entry "Growth on foot, Feb. 1945, in Belgium.  Treatment,
Ft. Bliss, Texas, Wm. Beaumont Gen. Hosp. 1-1941.  Ft. Monroe, Va., Gen.
Hosp. 6-28-45.  106th Field Hosp., Belgium 2-10-45."  This document also
shows under the heading of "Additional", the following pertinent entry,
"Records covering alleged treatment overseas are not now available.  In the
event additional records are received a supplemental report will be
furnished."  This document is signed by the Acting The Adjutant General of
the Army and dated 2 October 1945.

7.  The applicant's records also contain a VA Form 3101, dated 24 June
1959, which was submitted on behalf of the applicant in an effort to obtain
documentation from the applicant's military service records to substantiate
his Veterans Administration disability claim.  This form contains the
following entries on Line A:  Item 17 (Alleged Disease or Injury):  "Growth
on foot"; Item 18 (Dates of Treatment):  "late 1941"; and Item 19 (Places
of Treatment):  "Disp. Sick Call". These three items also contain a second
row of entries on Line B, as follows:  Item 17:  "Ditto Marks" (for "Growth
on foot"); Item 18:  "Feb. 1945"; and Item 19:  "Sta. Hosp. Belgium".




8.  In support of his request for award of the Purple Heart, the applicant
provides a self-authored statement in which he explains the circumstances
that caused the wound to his left heel in 1945, a description of the wound,
and the medical treatment he received before being returned to duty.  The
applicant also provides three documents which show that, after his return
to the United States, the applicant's injury was examined by Army medical
officials on 29 January 1945, 30 January 1945, and 3 February 1945.  The
applicant further provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical
Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release From Active
Duty or Retirement), dated 17 July 1945.  This document shows in Item 11
(List all significant diseases, wounds, and injuries.  State circumstances
under which wounds or injuries were incurred.  Answer yes or no in columns
1 to 4) the entry "a.  Fractured jaw bone, upper,
28 June, 1945. U.S.  b.  Knot on left heel, hospitalized in Belgium,
February 1945".  Corresponding to the entry (i.e., "b") for the knot on the
applicant's left heel, the document shows the following:  Column 1 (Existed
Prior to Service): "No"; Column 2 (Aggravated by Military Service):  "No";
Column 3 (Incurred while in Military Service):  "Yes"; and Column 4
(Present Physical Defects):  "No".

9.  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 contends, in effect, that he is entitled to award of the
Purple Heart because he was wounded in the left heel in 1945 during World
War II while trying to run the enemy out a village during night fighting.
The applicant provides a self-authored statement summarizing the incident
and resulting medical treatment, copies of documents showing follow-up
medical treatment of the injury, and a copy of his report of separation
physical examination.  However, these documents provide insufficient
evidence to support the applicant's contention that he was wounded as a
result of hostile action.

2.  The applicant's self-authored statement describing the incident asserts
that, "Both sides were shelling.  Although my feet were frozen, I could
tell that something had hit my foot so I took off my boot.  The foot was
black and blue".



3.  According to the MedicineNet.com Online Medical Dictionary, the medical
term for the symptom that the applicant uses when he describes his foot as
being "black-and-blue" is referred to as ecchymosis.  Ecchymosis occurs
with the escape of blood into the tissues from ruptured blood vessels and,
over the course of a period of time, is marked by a livid black-and-blue or
purple spot or area.

4.  Documentation related to the applicant's Veterans Administration
disability claim shows that the applicant was treated for a growth on his
foot at William Beaumont General Hospital, Fort Bliss, Texas, in January
1941.

5.  The evidence of records fails to support the applicant's contention
that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart based on an injury to his
left foot in 1945. There is no official documentary evidence in the
applicant's military service records that supports his contention that he
sustained a wound to his left foot in 1945 as a result of hostile action,
or was treated by a medical officer for a wound incurred as a result of
hostile action.  Absent any evidence that shows the applicant was wounded
or treated for wounds due to hostile action, there is no basis for award of
the Purple Heart.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 17 July 1945; the date of his
discharge from the U.S. Army.  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.  The
applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not
provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.
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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___LE___  __JED__  ___JRM__  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.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  _____LESTER ECHOLS______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003440                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051117                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19450717                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |RR 1-1, Demobilization                  |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015.0000                           |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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