RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050007851


      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. Antoinette Farley             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |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 for wounds sustained
in battle while serving in World War II.

2.  The applicant, in effect, states it has taken 59 years to finally be
awarded a service connection medal.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation), dated 15 October 1945.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 15 October 1945, the date of his discharge from active
duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 11 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 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 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's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he entered active duty on
8 January 1943.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater
of Operations from 16 July 1943 through 9 October 1945 with Battery C,
635th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion.  The applicant
was honorably discharged from active duty on 15 October 1945.


5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show award of the Purple
Heart in item 33 (Decorations and Citations).  Item 34 (Wounds Received in
Action) contains the entry "None."

6.  There are no medical records available which show that the applicant
was wounded or treated for wounds or injuries as a result of hostile
action.  There is no hospital admission record maintained by the Office of
The Surgeon General of the Army which shows that the applicant was ever
hospitalized or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.  There
are no hospital admission records which show that the applicant was
hospitalized for wounds or injuries sustained as a result of hostile
action.  There also is no separation medical examination available which
would show scars, wounds or injuries sustained during military service.

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.  There is no statute of limitations governing requests for
award of the Purple Heart.

8.  Review of the applicant's records indicates entitlement to additional
awards that are not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for qualifying service in
the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations for the period
7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also authorizes a bronze service star, based
on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this
regulation or listed in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the WD AGO Form
53-55.  The regulation states that authorized bronze service stars will be
worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal including the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also
provides, in pertinent part, that a silver service star is authorized in
lieu of five bronze service stars.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the
World War II Victory Medal.  The World War II Victory Medal was established
by the act of Congress on 6 July 1945.  It was awarded for service between
7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart
for injuries he sustained while serving in Germany.

2.  There is no evidence in the available records and the applicant has not
provided sufficient evidence which shows that he sustained injuries as a
result of hostile action or that he received treatment for injuries that
were sustained as a result of hostile action.  Furthermore, since
hostilities in the European Theater ended on 7 May 1945, the applicant
could not have sustained injuries as a result of hostile action.  Based on
the foregoing, there is no basis to grant the applicant's request for award
of the Purple Heart in this case.

3.  Records show that the applicant completed a qualifying period of
service in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations during
the period 7 December 1941 to 8 November 1945.  Therefore, he is entitled
to correction of his record to show award of the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal.

4.  Records show that the applicant completed a qualifying period of
service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.  Therefore, he is
entitled to have his records corrected to show award of the World War II
Victory Medal.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 15 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.
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.

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 3 of the Board
Determination/Recommendation section below.





BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__HOF____  _RR____  _BJE___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that it was appropriate to waive the ABCMR's three-
 year statute of limitations in this case.

2.  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 to show award of
the Purple Heart.

3.  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 to show award of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal with one silver service star and the World War II Victory Medal.







            _Barbara J. Ellis_
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050007851                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051019                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)          |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |

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