RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002471


      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. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Linda Simmons                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John Meixell                  |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Jerome 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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in his right wrist and still
retains shrapnel as a result.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation); a letter, dated 18 January 2006, from his
physician; and a citation for the Bronze Star Medal.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 14 July 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated
7 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 on 25 March 1941.  He served in the Asiatic-
Pacific Theater of Operations from 31 August 1942 through 3 May 1943.  He
served in the European Theater of Operations from 30 April 1944 through
30 June 1945 and was honorably discharged on 14 July 1945.

5.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55
shows he participated in three battles and campaigns in the European
Theater of Operations.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Bronze Star Medal,
the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal as
authorized
awards.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form
53-55 shows the entry, “None.”  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he
received the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that show the applicant
was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action
during World War II.

7.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided a Bronze Star Medal
citation for heroic achievement in action on 23 September 1944 in Italy.
This citation does not show the applicant was wounded in action.

8.  The applicant also provided a letter, dated 18 January 2006, from his
physician.  This letter states that the applicant was in the Army in 1943,
that a piece of shrapnel exploded in his right wrist, and that it appears
shrapnel is embedded between his radiocarpral joint of his wrist.

9.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized in June 1944 in North Africa for a compound fracture of his
radius.  It also states that the causative agent was a hand grenade and it
was a non-battle injury occurring while marching, drilling, or engaged in
any activities of [a] purely military nature.

10.  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.

11.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), effective 13 October 1949,
provided in pertinent part, that 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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the bronze
oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of
certain decorations, among which is the Bronze Star Medal.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 authorizes a bronze service star, based on
qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this
regulation or listed in item 32 of the WD AGO Form 53-55.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows that the
applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action during World
War II.  The citation provided by the applicant does not show he was
wounded in action.  Contemporaneous medical evidence shows he was
hospitalized for a non-battle injury to his radius incurred from a hand
grenade.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award the
Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant received award of the Bronze Star Medal prior to his
separation from active duty on 14 July 1945.  After his discharge from the
Army, he became entitled to a second award of the Bronze Star Medal based
on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.
Therefore, the applicant is entitled to two awards of the Bronze Star Medal
and correction of his records to show the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak
Leaf Cluster.

3.  The applicant participated in three campaigns in the European Theater
of Operations which entitles him to the European-African-Middle Eastern
Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars.

4.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the
World War II Victory Medal.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 14 July 1945; therefore, the time for the applicant
to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1
January 1950
(3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).  Although the
applicant did not file within the ABCMR's 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.

6.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
errors which do 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 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section
below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

LS_____  _JM_____  _JP_____  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.  The Board determined that administrative errors 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 that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with
First Oak Leaf Cluster, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
with three bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.




                                  ____Linda Simmons_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002471                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060822                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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