RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          22 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050006555


      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. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ted Kanamine                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Duecaster              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette 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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, while in Officer Candidate School at
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Aberdeen, Maryland, he was pushed from behind off
a 15 foot platform and broke his right foot in November/December 1944.  He
contends that he was awarded the Purple Heart for this injury.  He also
contends that he knows many Soldiers were awarded the Purple Heart in
circumstances other than actual combat.

3.  The applicant provides a Certification of Military Service; a WD AGO
Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record); a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted
Record and Report of Separation); and two letters to the Military Personnel
Records [Center], St. Louis, Missouri.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on
4 May 1946.  The application submitted in this case is dated 20 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 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 for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted on 30 October 1943 and entered active duty
on 20 November 1943.  He served as a supply noncommissioned officer and was
honorably discharged on 4 May 1946.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal, the
American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the
Meritorious Unit Commendation as authorized awards.  Item 34 (Wounds
Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, “NONE.”  His
WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows the entry, “NO FOREIGN SERVICE” in item 36
(Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return).

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant
was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action
during World War II.

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.  The regulation also states that when contemplating an
award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into
consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant contends he was awarded the Purple Heart, there
are no orders for the Purple Heart and there is no evidence of record which
shows he was wounded or treated for any injuries as a result of hostile
action during World War II.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on
which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case, and any errors that
may have been made in the case of other Soldiers does not obligate the Army
to compound those errors by making another error in his case.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged errors
now under consideration on 4 May 1946; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on 1 January 1950
(3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).  Although the
applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is
appropriate to waive failure to timely file 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

TK_____  _RD_____  _JM_____  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.




            __Ted Kanamine________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050006555                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051222                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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