RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        1 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050017715


      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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Conrad V. Meyer               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds
sustained when the troop ship Dorchester was sunk by a German submarine.

2.  The applicant states that he was promised the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation–Honorable Discharge) and a letter to a Member of
Congress requesting assistance.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 4 February 1946, the date of his separation from active
duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 13 December 2003 but
it was received on 13 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 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 (NPRC) in 1973.  It is believed
that the applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  This
case is being considered using reconstructed records, which primarily
consist of the applicant's WD AGO Forms 53-55 and 100 (Separation
Qualification Record).

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States and
entered active duty on 1 July 1942.  He completed Cooks and Bakers School.
He departed the United States (U.S.) for the European Theater of Operations
on 22 January 1943 and arrived [somewhere] on 4 February 1943.  He returned
to the U.S. on 29 May 1943.  He departed for the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of
Operations on 2 July 1945 and returned to the U.S. on 28 January 1946.

5.  The WD AGO Form 100 shows that he was a mess hall supervisor who spent
11 months with the 32nd Military Government Headquarters.  He supervised
both U.S. Soldiers and Japanese workers.

6.  The applicant was separated with an honorable discharge as a staff
sergeant on 4 February 1946.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD
AGO Form 53-55 lists his authorized awards as the American Campaign Medal,
the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal,
and the World War II Victory Medal.   Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action)
states “None.”

 7.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at
Newburgh, New York on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was
reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department
General Orders Number 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the
President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any
civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent
authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April
1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

8.  Currently, Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in
pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained
while in action against an enemy or 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.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that the Army of Occupation
Medal is awarded for service of thirty consecutive days at a normal post of
duty in a qualifying location.  Personnel at a qualifying location as an
inspector, courier, and escort on temporary or detached duty are precluded
from eligibility.

10.  Army Pamphlet 672-1 Unit Citation and Campaign participation Credit
Register shows the 32nd Military Government Headquarters received
occupation credit for Japan from December 1945 to March 1946.

11. On the night of 3 February 1943, the United States Army Transport
Dorchester was torpedoed by a German submarine.  The damage was severe, and
Dorchester sank in under 15 minutes, taking about 600 men with her out of
an onboard total of 902.  Dorchester is best remembered today for the story
of the Four Chaplains who gave their life jackets to troopers and went down
with the ship.
12.  In correspondence dated February and September 2000 and November 2003
the applicant described his injuries as frozen feet on Blue West Island,
Greenland on 3 February 1943 and being hit in the back by a life boat when
the Dorchester was sunk.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately there is no substantiating evidence to show that the
applicant was treated for wounds that were the result of enemy action.  In
the absence of evidence of such medical treatment, the regulatory
requirement for award of the Purple Heart has not been met.  Award of the
Purple Heart under these circumstances is not appropriate.

2.  The applicant’s unit was authorized the Army of Occupation Medal with
Japan Clasp while he was a member.  This award should be listed on his
separation document.

3.  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.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 4 February 1946, the date of
separation from active duty.  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.  The
applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not
provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__CVM__  __YM__ _  __KAN__  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.

3.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests
that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the
individual concerned to show the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp
on his separation document.




                                  _     Kathleen A. Newman__
                                            CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050017715                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060801                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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