RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003873


      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. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Thomas Pagan                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric Anderson                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Joe Schroeder                 |     |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, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.


2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he did not receive the Purple
Heart during World War II.  He was put in for this award after getting hurt
in France and in Germany.  He never got the award or the certificate.

3.  He states that he was shot in the upper right arm and the shoulder.  He
asked for the award in Marseilles, France, and he never received it.  He
also checked on it when he returned to the United States and received
nothing.

4.  The applicant states that he received treatment from the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962 and in 2002.  He
received treatment for the wound at the medical center in France and in
Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1945.

5.  The applicant submitted duplicate applications for correction of his
records to the Board, each with self-authored statements outlining his
request for award of the Purple Heart; and a certificate of military
service he received from the National Personnel Records Center, National
Archives and Records Administration; in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error or injustice that
occurred on 27 October 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 9 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 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 were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from reconstructed records.

4.  The evidence of record, NA Forms 13038, Certificate of Military
Service, dated 28 January 1982, 18 September 2002, 15 January 2004, and 9
April 2004, respectively, show the applicant was inducted into the Army of
the United States on 18 November 1943 and was honorably discharged in the
rank of private first class on 27 October 1945.

5.  On 9 April 2004, the applicant was notified in a letter from the
National Personnel Records Center that he was entitled to the Good Conduct
Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel
Button WW II.  There is no indication he is entitled to other awards in
this letter, to include entitlement to the Purple Heart.

6.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO
Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the
periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In
1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the
information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various
veterans' service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes
would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of
1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all
hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean War.  The
"SGO Files Report," was reviewed for any information that the applicant was
wounded in action while he served in the ETO.  A record was found; however,
this record shows that the applicant sustained a non-battle injury (a
bullet wound, perforating) to the forearm while "handling firearms,
ammunition, etc., on post or in camp (cleaning gun, on range, etc. by
patient or others), on 11 April 1945.  The SGO Files Report shows that the
applicant was released from hospitalization on 5 October 1945.

7.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 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.
This regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on
requests for award of the Purple Heart.

8.  The applicant's statement that he received treatment from the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962 and in 2002 has
been noted.  The evidence of record clearly shows that the injury he
sustained during World War II was declared to be non-battle related.

9.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 27 October 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.
However, 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 the failure to
timely file.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

The "SGO Files Report," shows the applicant sustained a non-battle injury
on 11 April 1945.  The applicant is therefore ineligible for award of the
Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_JRS____  __ENA__  _TAP ___  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.




                            _____Thomas Pagan_____
                                      CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003873                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/11/22                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   61                 |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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