RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        7 December 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060006736


      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. Richard Dunbar                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Dale DeBruler                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Larry Racster                 |     |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.

2.  The applicant states that he deserves to be awarded the Purple Heart
for wounds he received due to enemy action during World War II.  He
contends that he was wounded in approximately May 1945 while stationed in
the East Indies and that he suffered right eye damage due to shrapnel
wounds.  He also contends that his right ulnar nerve and both knees
sustained damage when his jeep ran over a Japanese land mine in June 1945
in the Philippines.  He further states that a skin condition (ichthyosis)
started during his military service in the South Pacific.  He called it
jungle rot.  In a personal statement, he states, in effect, that the Purple
Heart was left off of his discharge due to racial discrimination.

3.  The applicant provides a personal statement; a copy of his WD AGO Form
53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); and numerous photographs
of his body depicting scars and various medical conditions.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 17 January 1946.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 3 May 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 12 February 1943 and entered active duty
on
19 February 1943.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations
from

5 March 1944 through 26 December 1945 and was honorably discharged on
17 January 1946.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the American Campaign Medal,
the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the Good
Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Meritorious Unit
Commendation as authorized awards.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on
his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, “None.”

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.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized on 20 October 1944 in the South Pacific for a disease (pes
planus, flat foot deformity).

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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record which shows that he was a victim of
racial discrimination.

2.  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.  In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that
the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile
action, the photographs provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a
basis for an award of the Purple Heart.  Regrettably, there is insufficient
evidence on which to base an award of the Purple Heart in this case.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 17 January 1946; 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:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

RD_____  ____DD__  __LR____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.



                                  ___Richard Dunbar_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060006736                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061207                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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