RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:      22 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060000586


      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. Linda D. Simmons              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Jerome L. Pionk               |     |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, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he sustained bilateral frozen
feet/frostbite, while marching from France to Germany in waist deep snow in
temperatures below freezing.  He adds that he is thirty percent service-
connected disabled for residuals of cold weather injury for each foot.

3.  In support of his application, the applicant submitted a copy of his WD
AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable
Discharge.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or
injustice, which occurred on 31 May 1946, the date he was honorably
discharged from the Army of the United States.  The application submitted
in this case is dated 3 January 2006.

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 were 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 evidence shows the applicant was inducted on 26 February 1944 and
entered service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on the same date.  The
applicant was honorably discharged in the grade of PFC (Private First
Class) on 31 May 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, with two bronze service stars; the Good Conduct Medal; and
the World War II Victory Medal.  The Purple Heart is not shown.

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

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

8.  Documents on file in the applicant's reconstructed service personnel
records show he applied for service medals he was awarded or authorized, to
include the Purple Heart, on the following dates:  29 March 1983, 6 January
1989, 1 August 1990, 28 January 1992, 7 October 1996, 26 September 2000,
and 22 May 2001. Search of records on file at the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) of unit morning reports, sick reports, and
other files, for the units to which the applicant was assigned, to locate
any record of his hospitalization for treatment for frostbite or other
wounds or injuries have all returned no results.

9.  In his 1983 request for award of the Purple Heart submitted to the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), the applicant reported he had
been hospitalized in the 42nd General Hospital, Saarbrucken, Germany, and
in the 92nd General Hospital, Paris, France.  Morning reports and sick
reports for these organizations were searched with no record of his
hospitalization returned.

10.  A rating decision on file in the applicant's reconstructed service
personnel records shows the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) awarded the
applicant service-connected disability compensation, on 7 May 1998, based
on the fact he was exposed to cold weather.

11.  In arriving at a determination in their rating decision, pertinent
to his disability and corresponding compensation, the VA reviewed his
service medical records, examined the applicant, and referred to other
evidentiary records.  However, in the narrative description of the
rationale for their actions, the applicant's hospitalization for
treatment of frostbite or for any other wound or injury is not included
or referred to.  In the rating decision, there is no reference to the
specific medical records that were reviewed by the VA.  It should be
noted that the applicant did not submit a copy of these medical records
in support of his request.

12.  In the "Reasons and Bases" section of the rating decision, the
statement, "Service connection for" residuals of bilateral frozen feet;
residuals of frozen feet, right foot; residuals of frozen feet, left foot,
"has been established as directly related to military service."  It further
states, "the veteran was exposed to cold while on active duty during World
War II."

13.  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.
Searches of these files have failed to reveal that the applicant was
treated for frostbite/frozen feet and/or hospitalized while he served in
World War II.

14.  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 6 December 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations
(ETO) on 15 December 1944.  The date the applicant departed the ETO was not
entered on his WD AGO Form 53-55; however, he arrived in the United States
on 26 May 1946.

15.  Department of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register, shows that the applicant's unit, was awarded
credit for the occupation of Germany for the period 2 May through 4
September 1945.  The Army of Occupation Medal, with Germany Clasp, is not
shown on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

16.  Army Regulation (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.  AR 600-45,
the applicable regulation in effect at the time of the applicant's
service, states, "in connection with the definition of 'wound' above, the
word 'element' refers to weather and permits award [of the Purple Heart]
to personnel severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat.
Trench foot will not be considered as meriting award." This regulation
continues, "A wounded Soldier's unsupported statement may be accepted in
unusual or extenuating circumstances when, in the opinion of the officer
making the award, no corroborative evidence is obtainable.  However, the
statement will be substantiated if possible."
17.  AR 600-8-22 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.

18.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, 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.

19.  For award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp,
qualifying service must have occurred between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955 and
the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal must have been awarded
prior to 9 May 1945.

20.  One overseas service bar is authorized for each 6-month period of
active Federal service as a member of a US Service outside the Continental
United States, from 7 December 1941 until 2 September 1946, both dates
inclusive.  An overseas service bar is not authorized for a fraction of a 6-
month period.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, 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.

2.  The evidence in this case shows the entry, "None" in Block 34 (Wounds
Received in Action), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.  The applicant
provided no service medical records to show he was hospitalized to receive
medical treatment for frostbite or frozen feet during World War II.
3.  A copy of a VA rating decision is on file in the applicant's
reconstructed service personnel record and it appears that the applicant
was awarded service-connected disability compensation based on the fact he
was exposed to cold weather during World War II, as were all other Soldiers
who served in the ETO.

4.  In the past, the applicant requested that all awards to which he was
authorized or awarded be provided him, to include the Purple Heart.  He has
submitted seven previous such requests, this being the eighth.  The
custodian of records, the National Archives and Records Administration, has
thoroughly researched his case and in searches of morning reports, sick
reports, and other official Army records, has not located any record to
substantiate his claim of being hospitalized to receive treatment for
frostbite/frozen feet.

5.  Based on the available evidence, the applicant is therefore not
entitled to award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO
Form 53-55.

6.  Records show the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge
during World War II.  He is therefore entitled to award of the Bronze Star
Medal based on the special provisions of the awards regulation that
considers award of the Combat Infantryman Badge a citation in orders.  It
would be appropriate to award the applicant the Bronze Star Medal and to
add it to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

7.  The applicant served in a unit at the time it was awarded credit for
the occupation of Germany.  He is therefore entitled to award of the Army
of Occupation Medal, with Germany Clasp, and to have this award added to
his WD AGO 53-55.

8.  The applicant served in the ETO for 18 months, counting the month of
his departure from the Continental United States and his return to the
United States. He is therefore entitled to award of three overseas service
bars and to have these bars added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

9.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 31 May 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 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

_LDS ___  __J ____  __JLP ___  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.  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 separation document;

      b.  awarding the applicant the Army of Occupation Medal, with Germany
Clasp, and adding this award to the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55; and

      c.  awarding the applicant three overseas service bars and adding
these bars 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 its addition to his WD AGO
Form 53-55.




                            ____Linda D. Simmons______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060000586                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060822                                |
|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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