RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        10 November 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050009218


      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             |
|     |Mrs. Victoria A. Donaldson        |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Margaret K. Patterson         |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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
while he was serving in World War II.

2.  The applicant states the award of the Purple Heart was never placed on
his discharge document.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation) in support of this application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 14 September 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 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 to conduct a fair
and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the U.S. Army
and entered active duty on 30 November 1942.  The applicant was awarded a
military occupational specialty (MOS) 803 (Bugler).  This form also shows
that he was assigned to Headquarters Company, 709th Tank Battalion, 104th
Division while he served in the European African Middle Eastern Theater
from 8 September 1944 through 21 January 1946.

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 does not
show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of this form contains the entry
"None."

7.  Item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated) shows the applicant
authenticated his WD AGO 53-55.

8.  There is no evidence in the available records which show that the
applicant sustained injuries as a result of hostile action or that he was
treated for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.

9.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he is entitled to award of the Purple
Heart.

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.  Based on the foregoing,
there is insufficient evidence to grant the applicant's request for award
of the Purple Heart in this case.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 7 February 1946, 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.








BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_MJF_______  _LDS_______  _MKP_______  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.




                                      _M. K. Patterson__
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050009215                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051110                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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