RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         19 September 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002601


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Meribeth Love                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Thomas M. Ray                 |     |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 his deceased father, a former
service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that although he has no record of his
father receiving the PH, it is listed on his father's headstone in the
Veterans cemetery.

3.  The applicant provides his birth certificate and his father’s death
certificate in support of this application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 23 December 1945, the date of the FSM's discharge from
active duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 9 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 FSM'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 FSM'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.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consists of a
Certification of Military Service (NA Form 13038) and an Office of the
Surgeon General (OTSG) Hospital Admission Record for 1945.

4.  The FSM's NA Form 13038 shows he served on active duty from 23 May 1944
through 23 December 1945, at which time he was honorably discharged in the
rank of private first class.

5.  An OTSG Hospital Admission Record for 1945 pertaining to the FSM shows
that he was admitted to a military treatment facility in the European
Theater of Operations (ETO) on 30 March 1945, and that he was treated for a
knee wound that was caused by a machine gun bullet.  The OTSG report
further confirms he was categorized as a battle casualty.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the
regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent
part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that a member was
wounded or injured as a result of enemy action, that the wound required
treatment by military medical personnel, and a record of this treatment
must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim that the FSM is entitled to the PH was carefully
considered and found to have merit.  By regulation, in order to support
award of the PH, there must be evidence a member was wounded in action,
that he was treated for his wounds by military medical personnel, and a
record of this medical treatment record must have been made a matter of
official record.

2.  In this case, there is an OTSG Hospital Admission Record on file that
confirms the FSM was admitted to a military medical treatment facility in
the ETO on 30 March 1945, and that he was treated for a machine gun wound
to his knee region.  This report also confirms he was categorized as a
battle casualty, which verifies that his wound was received as a result of
enemy action.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to award the FSM the PH
for being wounded in action in the ETO on 30 March 1945, and to provide the
applicant a copy of the award orders.

BOARD VOTE:

___JEA _  __ML   __  __TMR  _  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 awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for
being wounded in action in the ETO on 30 March 1945; and by providing the
applicant copies of the documents published in connection with this action.





                            _____James E. Anderholm____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002601                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/09/14                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1945/12/23                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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