RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006162


      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. Ted S. Kanamine               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette B. McPherson         |     |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 was wounded in 1944 at
Bougainville and, he did not receive a Purple Heart.

3.  In an affidavit, the applicant gives a brief summary of his assignments
and events that occurred while he served in the Pacific Theater of
Operations (PTO) during World War II, with emphasis on his hospitalizations
and the medical treatment he received.

4.  The applicant provides, a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted
Record and Report of Separation, a copy of a statement addressed, "To Whom
it May Concern" prepared by a fellow Soldier and eyewitness to his
allegedly being wounded in Bougainville, in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice, which
occurred on 31 December 1945, the date he was discharged.  The application
submitted in this case is dated 15 November 2004 but, was not received for
processing until 25 April 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 military records were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from reconstructed personnel records and information obtained from
alternate sources.

4.  Records available to the Board show the applicant was inducted into the
Army of the United States on 16 September 1942 and he entered service at
Camp
Croft, South Carolina, on 30 September 1942.  The applicant's WD AGO Form
53-55 shows that he served in the military occupational specialty (MOS)
409, Medical Technician.  He was honorably discharged in the rank of
Technician Fourth Grade, under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 615-
365, for the convenience of the Government, at demobilization.

5.  Item 6, of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows he served with the
Clearing Company, 112th Medical Battalion, a subordinate unit of the 37th
Infantry Division.

6.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date), of the applicant's WD AGO
Form 53-55, shows he was awarded the Medical Badge [believed to be the
Combat Medical Badge].

7.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55, shows he was awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal; the Asiatic-
Pacific Campaign Medal, with three bronze service stars; the Philippine
Liberation Campaign Medal, with two bronze service stars; the Distinguished
Unit Award; the World War II Victory Medal and one Gold Star.  The Purple
Heart is not shown as an authorized award.

8.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55, shows the entry, "None."

9.  The Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office, Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, submitted a VA Form 3101 [title unknown], requesting a copy
of the applicant's dental records for the purpose of processing a claim
related to a service-connected dental condition.  In the lower left hand
margin of the form, a notation was made, "No medical records found.
31/Mar/50."

10.  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.
11.  Two SGO Files reports were found.  One report shows that he was
treated for an abscess in January 1944 while he was in the Solomon Islands.
 After treatment, he was returned to duty.  The second SGO Files report
shows the applicant was diagnosed with appendicitis and with peritonitis in
October 1944.  Both these conditions were described as acute, suppurative.

12.  The statement submitted by the applicant's wartime fellow Soldier
states they were stationed at Brigham City, Utah, for medical training.
They were together in Bougainville in 1944 and while the United States
forces were trying to take Hill 260, the applicant got shrapnel in his arm
when an artillery shell fell near them close to the mess hall.

13.  In his affidavit, the applicant states that, "In 1944, I served with
the 31st Portable Surgical Hospital in Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
During the month of March, we were stationed close to the front line near
Hill 260.  On approximately March 20, 1944, while in charge of the
receiving and evacuation tent of the 31st Portable Surgical Hospital, I
caught a piece of shrapnel from an enemy shell burst.  [A Medical Corps
Major] of the 31st Portable Hospital treated me.  This was an 'in unit'
treatment.  He cleaned and bandaged the wound on the back of my arm and I
returned to work."

14.  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:  a.) the wound was
the result of hostile action, b.) the wound must have required treatment,
and c.) 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.

15.  AR 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star
Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in
military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is
authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a
certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941
and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that period,
was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the
Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a
citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is
to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service
during World War II.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is insufficient evidence to show that the applicant sustained a
wound as the result of hostile action.  There is no evidence in the SGO
Files to show that he was treated by a medical corps major for a shrapnel
wound in his arm and that this treatment, when received, as the applicant
alleges, was made a matter of record.

2.  The SGO Files search resulted in two reports being found.  One showed
he was diagnosed with an abscess and in the other showed he was treated for
appendicitis and for peritonitis.  The search of these files failed to show
that he was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.

3.  The applicant's eyewitness states the applicant got shrapnel in his arm
when an artillery shell fell near them close to the mess hall.  In his
affidavit, the applicant states that, he caught a piece of shrapnel from an
enemy shell burst on the back of his arm, while he was in charge of the
receiving and evacuation tent of the 31st Portable Surgical Hospital.  He
was treated in the unit by a medical corps major and he was returned to
duty.

4.  There is sufficient disparity in the applicant's statement and the
statement made by the applicant's eyewitness, primarily in the location of
the explosion of the enemy shell, to introduce doubt especially in view of
the fact that official medical documentation was not found to support their
statements.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to award of the
Purple Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for his service in
World War II.  Based on the special provisions of the awards regulation
that considers award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical
Badge a citation in orders, the applicant is entitled to award of the
Bronze Star Medal and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

6.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant’s records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.
BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__TSK__  _RLD____  __JBM __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned by awarding the applicant the Bronze Star Medal, with oak leaf
cluster, based on his having been awarded the Combat Medical Badge during
World War II and adding this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55.





                                  ______Ted S. Kanamine_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006162                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051222                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY, with Note                         |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   61                 |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]