RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            03 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20060004707


      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. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Kenneth L. Wright             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas M. Ray                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Sherry J. Stone               |     |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 that his deceased father, a former service
member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that his father was wounded in June 1945 while
clearing a mine field placed by the Germans and was never properly awarded
a Purple Heart for his wounds.  He goes on to state that his father was
discharged from Walter Reed Army Hospital; however, his records did not
indicate his wounds were received in action.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a letter to his grandmother indicating
that his father had been wounded, a certificate of death for the FSM, a
copy of his birth certificate to establish his relationship with the FSM, a
copy of paragraph 2-8, Army Regulation 600-8-22, explaining the criteria
for award of the Purple Heart, a copy of a letter to the National Personnel
Records Center (NPRC) requesting the FSM’s awards and requesting that he be
awarded the Purple Heart, a copy of the reply to that request, a copy of
the FSM’s Department of Veterans Affairs claim compensation, and a copy of
the FSM’s report of separation (WD AGO Form   53-55).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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
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.

2.   The FSM was born on 29 June 1924 and was inducted on 7 September 1943.
 He entered active duty at Fort Hayes, Ohio on 28 September 1943.  He
completed his training and departed for the European-African-Middle Eastern
Theater of Operations (EAMETO) on 10 August 1944.  He attained the rank of
technician fifth class (T/5), which was equivalent to the rank of corporal.


3.  On 5 May 1945, German forces in Holland, Denmark and Northern Germany
surrendered to the Allies.  On 7 May 1945, Germany surrenders
unconditionally to the Allies in Reims, France and the War ends in Europe.
The Allies call the day V-E (Victory-Europe) Day and is celebrated on 8
May.

4.  On 4 June 1945, the Office of the Catholic Chaplain, 180th General
Hospital, in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) dispatched a letter
to the FSM’s mother informing her that the FSM had been placed on the list
of seriously ill patients.  The letter explained that the FSM’s injury
resulted from an accidental explosion of a bomb in a field that he and some
other men were clearing.  The bomb was mistakenly thought to be merely an
incendiary bomb.  The FSM suffered from a shell fragment wound of the left
chest.

5.  The FSM departed the ETO on 27 July 1945 and was transferred to the
Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) in Washington, D.C. for treatment.
Meanwhile, on 15 August 1945, Japan surrenders to the Allies and the war in
the Pacific ends.  The Allies call the day V-J (Victory-Japan) Day.

6.  The FSM remained at WRGH until he was honorably discharged with a
Certificate of Disability on 28 September 1945.  He had served 2 years of
active service and his WD AGO Form 53-55 issued at the time of his
discharge indicates that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern
Theater Medal with three bronze service stars.  In item 34, under “Wounds
Received in Action” is the entry “None”.

7.  On 6 February 2006, officials at the NPRC dispatched a letter to the
applicant explaining that there was insufficient evidence to establish that
the FSM’s wound was the result of enemy action and that the Purple Heart
could not be awarded.  The applicant was also informed that an
authorization had been issued to award the FSM the American Campaign Medal,
the World War II (WWII) Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal
with Germany Clasp.  However, there is no evidence that those awards were
ever added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

8.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been
made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While there is no doubt that the FSM was wounded in the ETO, he was
wounded after hostilities had ended and the applicant has failed to show
through the evidence submitted and the evidence of record, that the
injuries were the result of enemy action.  In fact, the letter provided by
the applicant from the chaplain to the FSM’s mother in June 1945, clearly
states that the injury was an accident.

2.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to establish that the injury was
the result of enemy action, it must be presumed that a determination was
made at the time, when records were available, that the injury was simply
an accident and was not the result of enemy action and that the FSM was not
entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

3.  It is also noted that the war had ended approximately a month before
the FSM was wounded and therefore there essentially was no longer an enemy.
 While it is unfortunate that injuries like this do occur, they do not
necessarily qualify for award of the Purple Heart, nor do they diminish the
quality of an individual’s service or the gratitude of his country for his
dedicated and selfless service.

4.  However, it is noted that the FSM’s awards of the American Campaign
Medal, the WWII Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany
Clasp have not been added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.  Accordingly, it would
be appropriate to do so at this time.

5.  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 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___KLW _  ___TMR_  ___SJS _  DENY APPLICATION – W/NOTE

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 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 his award of the American Campaign Medal, the WWII
Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.




                                  ____ Kenneth L Wright______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060004707                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061003                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD)                                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19450928                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-361                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |DEMOB                                   |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY W/NOTE)                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES         1.       |61/PH                                   |
|107.0015                |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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