RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 September 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002675


      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. Dean L. Turnbull              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James E. Anderholm            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Maribeth 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 award of the Purple Heart be added to his
records.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his wound was not recorded in his
records. He states, in effect, that he was wounded when a shell burst near
his tank.  Several other members of his company were also wounded.  Later,
his unit's medic removed the shrapnel from his hand.

3.  The applicant provides:

      a.  a copy of a statement from his lieutenant, dated 15 December 2005
who verifies that the applicant was wounded by artillery fire; and

      b.  a copy of a statement from his platoon medic who says that the
applicant was hit by shrapnel and that he treated the applicant on 13 April
1945, by removing shrapnel from his hand and by dressing the wound.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 26 March 1946, the date of his discharge.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 11 February 2006; however, was
received on 22 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 personnel records were lost or destroyed in a
fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records
available to the ABCMR were provided in part by the applicant and also
obtained from alternate sources.  The primary record available to this
Board is the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55.




4.  The available records show the applicant was inducted on 19 February  
1943 and entered active duty on 26 February 1943.  He served as a  
745 (Rifleman) in the European Theater of Operations with I Company,  
355th Infantry Regiment during the period from 21 January 1945 to 11 March
1946.  He was discharged on 26 March 1946, due to demobilization.  He had
served 3 years, 1 month, and 8 day of active service.

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form  
53-55, show the award of American Theater Ribbon; Combat Infantryman Badge;
European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with 2 bronze service stars;
Army Good Conduct Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.  However, it
does not show the award of the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows the entry "None."

7.  There are no orders in the available records for award of the Purple
Heart.

8.  There are no health records available to verify that the applicant
received treatment for his injury.

9.  Review of the applicant's record indicates entitlement to additional
awards and decorations not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

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 600-8-22 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.




12.  Army Regulation 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.  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.

13.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, show 355th Infantry Regiment
was afforded occupation credit for the period 20 May 1945 to 4 July 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant requests that the Purple Heart be added to his records.

2.  There is no medical record of the applicant being treated for a
qualifying wound.  As such the case does not meet the regulatory
requirement for award of the Purple Heart.  However, an officer from the
applicant's platoon witnessed him being wounded, and the platoon medic has
verified that he treated him for a shrapnel wound.  Therefore, the
preponderance of evidence shows that the applicant should be awarded the
Purple Heart as an exception to policy.

3.  The applicant is authorized the award of the Bronze Star Medal based on
the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Therefore, he is entitled to
correction of his records to show award of the Bronze Star Medal.

4.  The applicant is authorized to award of Army of Occupation Medal with
Germany Clasp.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to
show this foreign award.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 26 March 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'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:

____jea__  ___tmr__  ___ml___  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 waive failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart, the
Bronze Star Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.




                                  ________James E. Anderholm______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002675                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060919                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]