RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        30 November 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060005557


      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:

|     |Mr. William Crain                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Alice Muellerweiss            |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Donald Lewy                   |     |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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted
Record and Report of Separation) to show a second award of the Purple Heart
(correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he is entitled to a second award
of the Purple Heart for wounds received on 27 November 1944.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55; two Office of
The Surgeon General Hospital Lists; two Western Union telegrams; and a
letter, dated 22 March 2006, from the National Personnel Records Center in
St. Louis, Missouri.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 25 June 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated
4 April 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 5 January 1943 and entered active duty on

12 January 1943.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from
29 June 1944 through 20 January 1945 and was honorably discharged on
25 June 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in two battles
and campaigns.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Purple Heart and the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal as authorized awards.  Item
34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry,
“27 Nov 44 European Theater.”  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he received the
Combat Infantryman Badge.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he served
1 year, 10 months, and 7 days of continental service.

6.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
However, the Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the
applicant was hospitalized in August 1944 in the European Theater of
Operations as a battle casualty (wounds to his leg).  A Western Union
telegram, dated 13 September 1944, shows the applicant was slightly wounded
in action in France on 29 August 1944.

7.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List also shows the
applicant was hospitalized on 27 November 1944 in the European Theater of
Operations as a battle casualty (wounds to thorax and spine).  A Western
Union telegram, dated December 1944, shows the applicant was slightly
wounded in action on
27 November 1944 in Germany.

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the
second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the
Purple Heart.

9.  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.  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.

10.  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.

11.  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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the
American Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying
service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.
Qualifying service includes permanent assignment outside the continental
United States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters
for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the
continental United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for
30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the
enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a
corps commander or higher, or service within the continental United States
for an aggregate period of one year.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The medical evidence of record and the Western Union telegram which
show the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action on 29 August
1944 are accepted as sufficient evidence on which to award a second award
of the Purple Heart and amend his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the
Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster in this case. Therefore, items 33
(Decorations and Citations) and 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55 will be
corrected.

2.  Based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is
entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.

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

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

5.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the
American Campaign Medal based on active duty service within the continental
United States for an aggregate period of one year between 5 January 1943
and
25 June 1945.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 25 June 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.

BOARD VOTE:

WC_____  __AM___  __DL____  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
29 August 1944 in France;

      b.  adding the entry, “29 August 1944, European Theater of
Operations” in item 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and

      c.  amending item 33 (Decorations and Citations) on his WD AGO Form
53-55 to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf
Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman
Badge), two bronze service stars for wear on the already awarded European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and
the American Campaign Medal.



                            ____William Crain_____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060005557                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061130                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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