RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:      3 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050017462


      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:

|     |Ms. Margaret K. Patterson         |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Gerald J. Purcell             |     |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, through his Member of Congress (MOC), in
effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart for a wound he sustained in
World War II.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was hit on the mouth and upper
lip by shrapnel and was never awarded the Purple Heart.  This happened
while firing a machine gun in Germany in the ETO (European Theater of
Operations).

3.  The applicant states he was taken, with two other Soldiers, and treated
and stitched up, and after recovering, he was sent back to his outfit on
the front lines.

4.  In another action, while he and his unit performed guard duty in
Paris, France, the applicant states he sustained an injury to his right
knee, which required surgery and time in the hospital.  He had this
surgery in France and never did get well.  After four surgeries, doctors
advised total knee replacement on both legs.  Sometimes this injury has
him crippled.  Additionally, his hearing is bad due to, at the time, the
shells and bombs going off nearby.  All this he states, is service-
connected.

5.  In support of his application, the applicant submitted a self-
authored, hand-written account of his experiences in World War II and the
events and circumstances surrounding his being wounded and treated for
these wounds.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or
injustice, which occurred on 5 July 1946, the date he was discharged.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 25 October 2005, but was
received for processing on 5 December 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 believed to have been lost or
destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.
Information herein was
obtained from the applicant's enlisted record and report of separation and
from other official Army sources.

4.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of
Separation, Honorable Discharge, shows he was inducted on 4 July 1944 and
entered service at Fort MacArthur, California, on the same date.  The
applicant was honorably discharged, under the provisions of Army
Regulation (AR) 615-365, for the convenience of the Government at
demobilization, in the grade of Technician, 5th Grade, on 5 July 1946.

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows, in Item 33 (Decorations and
Citations), that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, and
the World War II Victory Medal.  The Purple Heart is not shown.

6.  Item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty and No.), of the applicant's
WD AGO Form 53-55, shows the applicant held the military occupational
specialty (MOS) 605, (Heavy Machine Gunner) while he served on active duty.

7.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date), of the applicant's WD AGO
Form 53-55, shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge
on 6 March 1945.

8.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55,
shows that the applicant was given credit for participating in the Central
Europe and the Rhineland campaigns of World War II.

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

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.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all
hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean War.  A
search of these files failed to show that the applicant was treated for
either a wound to the mouth and upper lip and an injury to and surgery on
his right knee while he served in the ETO.

11.  A letter on file in the applicant's reconstructed record shows that on
30 May 2002, he was notified by the National Personnel Records Center, St.
Louis, Missouri, that a search of records had failed to produce any
evidence that he had been given medical treatment for wounds or injuries
received in action.

12.  Item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return), of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows the applicant departed the United
States on 3 January 1945 and arrived in the ETO on 15 January 1945.  The
applicant departed the ETO on 18 June 1946 and arrived in the United States
on 26 June 1946.

13.  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 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.  This
regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on
requests for award of the Purple Heart.

14.  AR 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.  Therefore, the Bronze
Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either
badge for service during World War II.

15.  AR 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service
star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B
of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be
worn on the appropriate service medal, in this case, the European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Item 34, of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None"
for wounds received in action.
2.  The applicant authenticated the WD AGO Form 53-55 in his own hand and
affixed his thumb print in the appropriate space, on the date of his
discharge from the Army, attesting that the information recorded on the
form was, to the best of his knowledge, accurate and complete.

3.  No record was found in a search of records on file at the National
Personnel Records Center that the applicant was given treatment for the
wounds or injuries he now alleges to have received in action during World
War II.

4.  Based on the available evidence, 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 evidence shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman
Badge while he served in the ETO.  Based on award of the Combat Infantryman
Badge to him, and the special provisions of the awards regulation that
considers award of the Combat Infantryman 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.  The applicant was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal.  He participated in two campaign of World War II.  He is therefore
entitled to award of two bronze service stars to be affixed to his already-
awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and to have these
service stars shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__MKP__  __MJF___  ___GJP_  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial relief and to excuse failure to timely
file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army
records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
      a.  deleting the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal from
the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55;

      b.  awarding the applicant the European-African-Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal, with two bronze service stars, and adding this award to his
WD AGO Form 53-55; and

      c.  awarding the applicant the Bronze Star Medal based on his having
been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II and adding
this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
award of the Purple Heart to the applicant and the addition of the Purple
Heart to his WD AGO Form 53-55.




                            _____M. K._Patterson______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050017462                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060803                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   61                 |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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