RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 JANUARY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004815


      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. Rene’ R. Parker               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Rodney Barber                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Rea Nuppenau                  |     |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 and the Ardennes-
Alsace Campaign Award.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was sitting in a field next to
a grove of trees when an airplane bearing swastikas flew over his position.
 The applicant recalled waking up in a field hospital, shell shocked or
dead tired, and his legs were stiff.  After asking several questions, he
discovered the plane that flew over his position dropped a delayed
explosive that blew him into the trees.  The applicant admitted that he did
not remember his stay in the hospital but, maintains that the letters he
wrote his wife during his hospital stay, verifies he was wounded and
therefore, entitles him to the award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 33-55 (Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation), letters to his wife, and an excerpt from a book
titled “The Final Crisis.”

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Army Board
for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) 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 for the ABCMR to conduct a fair and impartial review of this
case.

2.  Records available to the Board show that the applicant was inducted
into the Army on 25 July 1944.  He served in the European Theater from
                     10 January 1945 until 15 June 1946.  He was honorably
discharged on               29 June 1946.

3.  The applicant’s WD 33-55 shows that he participated in two campaigns
while in the European Theater, Rhineland and Central Europe.  His records
also show that he was awarded the European-African Middle Eastern Theater
Ribbon with two bronze battle stars.

4.  The applicant provided copies of five letters he sent to his wife while
he was in the hospital.  The letters are dated 3 through 7 March 1945 and
reference the applicant’s “stay” in the hospital.  The letters do not
mention the applicant’s wounds or how he became a patient in the hospital.


5.  The book titled the “The Final Crisis” informed the reader that
“General Marshall approved the inclusion of the January 1945 fighting in
Alsace and Loraine and all veterans of that campaign became eligible for
the ‘Ardennes-Alsace’ campaign credit.”

6.  There is no documentation in the available records which shows that the
applicant sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result
of hostile action.

7.  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.

8.  The Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) contains a register of unit citations and of
campaign participation credits for World War II and for the Korean War.
This document shows the unit, 242nd Infantry Division, to which the
applicant was assigned, participated in three campaigns, Ardennes-Alsace
from 16 December 1944 –     25 January 1945, Central Europe from 22 March
1945 – 11 May 1945, and Rhineland 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no medical records available which show the applicant was
wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his
service in WWII.  The letters to his wife verifies that the applicant was
hospitalized for some reason but, the letters do not provide any evidence
to justify the award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, in the absence of
medical records supporting the applicant's contention, there is an
insufficient basis for award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant’s records show that he arrived in the European Theater on
      10 January 1945.  The ending date for Ardennes-Alsace campaign is
listed as   25 January 1945.  It appears that the preparing authority was
very thorough in their preparation of the applicant’s WD Form 33-55.  The
applicant received credit for participation in two campaigns and was
awarded two bronze battle stars, which is consistent with the information
obtained from his records.  Although the records show that the applicant
arrived in country 15 days prior to the ending date of Ardennes-Alsace, and
the 242nd Infantry Division was awarded campaign credit.  However, there is
no indication that the applicant arrived early enough or participated in
this campaign.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__LS____  ___RB __  __RN ___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.





                                  _____ Linda Simmons_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004815                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050112                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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