RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 September 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060001729


      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:

|     |Mr. Eric N. Andersen              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Rose M. Lys                   |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Richard O. Murphy             |     |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 a second Purple
Heart.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in Germany, hospitalized in Belgium
and was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion when a V1 rocket
demolished the hospital.  He was relocated to a hospital in Wales where he
spent about 9 months.  He believes the available medical records
substantiate his request.

3.  The applicant provides his personal statement, and copies of his WD AGO
Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge),
Report of Physical Examination of enlisted Personnel for Discharge, Release
from Active Duty of Retirement, a statement about his Department of Veteran
Affairs (VA) claim and correspondence to and  from a Member of Congress.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 29 September 1945.  The application submitted in this
case is dated 11 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 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 was inducted on 4 March 1941, completed the cooks and
bakers school and deployed to the European Theater of Operations on
18 January 1944.

4.  He was wounded on 21 November 1944 and awarded the Purple Heart by the
83rd General Hospital on 3 December 1944.

5.  The applicant returned to the United States on 20 September 1945 and
was discharged as a technician five by the 65th General Hospital on 29
September 1945 due to demobilization.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 lists his
campaign credit as Northern France and Rhineland.  His military
qualification is stated in item 31 as the Sharpshooter Marksmanship
Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.  Item 31 lists his decorations and
citations as the American Defense Service Medal, the European-African-
Middle Eastern Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Purple Heart.
Item 55 (Remarks) indicates he was issued a World War II Lapel Button.

6.  The only available medical record is the report of his discharge
physical examination.  Item 11 (significant diseases, wounds and injuries)
shows,
“a.  shrapnel wound on left shoulder & head concussion.”  In the
continuation section on the second page is the entry, ”11a.  November 1944,
15th General Hospital, Belgium, 3 days.  Head concussion is giving
trouble.”

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.  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.  There are no available SGO records for the applicant.

9.  Available information indicates that applicant is eligible for awards
not listed on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

10.   Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of
the American Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying
service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.
Qualifying service for this campaign medal includes permanent assignment
outside the continental United States but within the American Theater of
Operations, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for
30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental
United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30
consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy
and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a corps
commander or higher, or service within the continental United States for an
aggregate period of one year.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) also provides, in pertinent
part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for
service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the record of the applicant’s separation physical examination
shows there was a combat incurred or enemy caused concussion associated in
some unexplained manner with the shrapnel wound, the available records give
no indication that these occurred as separate incidents.

2.  Unfortunately, in the absence of substantiating evidence that the
applicant’s concussion occurred as a separate occurrence, the regulatory
requirements for award of the Purple Heart have not been met.

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 29 September 1945; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on 28 September 1948.  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

__ROM___ ___RML_  __ENA__  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 should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned to show that his authorized awards include the American Campaign
Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.





                                  __     Eric N. Andersen_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060001729                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060914                                |
|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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