RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        16 November 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060006479


      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. Jeffrey Redmann               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Soniak                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. David Tucker                  |     |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, two awards of the Purple Heart
(correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded twice during World War II.  He
states, in effect, that the first time he was wounded he got hit in the
pectoral muscle with shrapnel and the medic tried to get him to go to the
rear to the hospital but he would not go.  He contends the medic wrapped
him with two rolls of gauze and he returned to the front lines.  He further
states that the second time he was wounded (on or about 1 April 1945, as a
German Soldier fired at him, he jumped out of a second story window on to a
concrete walk and injured both of his feet) he was sent to the Army
hospital in France and he stayed there for five weeks.  He contends that
while in the hospital the doctors wanted him to take his Purple Heart and
go back to the States; however, he begged them to let him go back to his
unit.

3.  The applicant provides a Department of Veterans Administration letter,
dated 31 October 1947; and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record
and Report of Separation).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 27 October 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 20 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 21 May 1943 and entered active duty on
28 May 1943.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from 4
January 1944 through 29 June 1945 and was honorably discharged on 27
October 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the European-African-Middle
Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, the Good Conduct
Medal, and two awards of the Overseas Service Bar 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 he received the
Combat Infantryman Badge.

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

7.  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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states, 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 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 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.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base any
award of the Purple Heart in this case.

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

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

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 27 October 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.

5.  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

JR_____  _RS_____  ___DT___  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 (based on award of the
Combat Infantryman Badge) and the World War II Victory Medal.




                                  ___Jeffrey Redmann____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060006479                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061116                                |
|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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