RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        24 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002417


      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             |
|     |Ms. Beverly A. Young              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Jeanette McCants              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Scott Faught                  |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Rowland Heflin                |     |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.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded during World War II, but he was not
awarded the Purple Heart at the time of his discharge.  He states he was
treated in France and England then he was sent to a replacement company in
Paris, France.  He states he was on the Temporary Disability Retired List
(TDRL) for 2 or 3 years.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation) and his Honorable Discharge Certificate.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 8 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 8 February 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’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 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 for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 26 February 1943 and
entered active duty on 5 March 1943.  He was assigned to the European-
African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 24 May 1944.

5.  The applicant departed the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of
Operations on 27 November 1945 and arrived in the continental United States

on 3 December 1945.
6.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 8 December 1945.  Item 34
(Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry
"None."

7.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the European-African-Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the American Campaign
Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the
Combat Infantryman Badge as authorized awards.

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.  These records show the applicant sustained a battle injury on 19
November 1944 in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.

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.  This regulation also provides that there are no time
limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also 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.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star
Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for
service during World War II.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no orders which authorize award of the Purple Heart to the
applicant.  However, the “SGO Files” show the applicant sustained a battle
injury on 19 November 1944 in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater
of Operations.  This evidence is accepted as a sufficient basis for award
of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to award him the
Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of hostile action on 19
November 1944.  In addition, it would be appropriate to amend item 34 on
his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show he was wounded in action on 19 November 1944.

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge during World War II.  Therefore, he is entitled to award
of the Bronze Star Medal.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 8 December 1945, the date of his
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.  Although
the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is
appropriate to waive failure to timely file in this case based on the fact
there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple
Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

JM______  SF______  RH______  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for 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 him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on
19 November 1944 and the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge);

      b.  amending item 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the entry
"Wounded in Action, ETO, 19 November 1944"; and
      c.  showing he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal
(based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge).




                            Jeanette McCants______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002417                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060824                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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