RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        17 January 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060008801


      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. Joyce A. Wright               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Roland Venable                |     |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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action during
the battle of Maximieux, France, in September 1944.  At the time of his
injury, he was taken and held a prisoner of war of the German Government.
 He states he was unaware of such an award.

3.  The applicant adds that he has no evidence of what happened except
for the scars on the back of his hands.  He continues that he was a radio
operator for a forward observer assigned to the 189th Field Artillery
Battalion on assignment to the 179th Infantry Brigade in Maximieux,
France.  They were overrun by a German tank battalion and during the
action, a German tank fired a round near their outpost. Some shell
fragments entered the back of his hands causing much bleeding.  A German
soldier captured him and evacuated him to a German aid station where he
was taken care of by German doctors.  He states he has absolutely no
proof of these events since as far as he knows, all of his friends who
were with him are now deceased.  He summarizes his statement by adding
that he realizes that this is rather minor in nature but nevertheless, he
is deserving of the Purple Heart and never received it.

4.  The applicant provides no additional evidence in support of his
request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 2 November 1945, the date of his honorable discharge.
The application submitted in this case is dated 12 June 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 show he was inducted on 28 April
1943.  He entered active duty on 5 May 1943 and was trained as a radio
operator, in military occupational specialty (MOS) 776.  He served in the
European Theater of
Operations (ETO) from 27 October 1943 to 3 June 1945.  He was promoted to
private first class (PFC).  He continued to serve until he was honorably
discharged on 2 November 1945.  He later returned to continue his service
in the Army.

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was credited with
participation in eight campaigns of World War II.  He was awarded the
Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal,
the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME)
Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupational
Medal with Germany Clasp, and three Overseas Service Bars.  His discharge
document does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

5.  Item 34 (Wounds Received In Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-
55, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry "None."

6.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which
show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in
his records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of
hostile action during World War II.  The applicant's medical records are
not available for review.

7.  A WD AGO Form 54, Inventory of Effects, which was completed on 26
October 1944, shows the applicant's unit of assignment at the time of his
being declared missing in action on 2 September 1944, to be Battery A,
189th Field Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division.

8.  Item 55 (Remarks), of his WD AGO Form 53-55, shows that he was a
prisoner of war (POW) for 8 months in Germany.  A WD AGO Form 0365,
Battle Casualty Report, on file in the applicant's records show he was
declared missing in action on 2 September 1944.  It was confirmed he was
a prisoner of war on 25 September 1944.

9.  The applicant's records contain a copy of a Western Union telegram,
dated 24 November 1944, indicating a report was received through the
International Red Cross stating that the applicant was a prisoner of war of
the German Government and that a letter of information would follow.  The
telegram was from the Provost Marshal General, Acting Adjutant General.

10.  The applicant later returned to continue his service in the Army.  He
was appointed in the Army National Guard (ARNG) as a warrant officer one
(WO1) effective 3 February 1953, with prior enlisted service in the ARNG.
He was

promoted to chief warrant officer four (CW4) effective 3 February 1968.
He continued to serve until he was released from AD effective 31 August
1984, and was placed on the Retired List, in the rank of CW4, due to
maximum allowable age.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.  This
regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on
requests for award of the Purple Heart.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the
POW Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal was authorized on
8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past-armed conflicts
were taken prisoner or held captive.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 shows that while the applicant was serving in
the EAME Theater of Operations he participated in eight campaigns.  The
regulation also states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on
the appropriate service or campaign medal.  A silver service star is
authorized in lieu of five bronze service stars.

14.  Department of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register, shows that the applicant's unit, 189th Field
Artillery Battalion, 45th Infantry Division, was awarded the French Croix
de Guerre, for the period 1 through 31 January 1944, by Department of the
Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 43, dated 1950.  This foreign unit award
is not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he was wounded in action during the battle
of Maximieux, France, in September 1944, during World War II.  In his
application to the Board, he states he has absolutely no proof of his being
wounded since as far as he knows, all of his friends who were with him are
now deceased.  Hence, there is no evidence, and the applicant has provided
none, to support his contention that he was wounded in action during World
War II.

2.  There are no orders awarding the applicant the Purple Heart and there
are no medical records available to show that he was treated for a wound
that he may have received as a result of hostile action.  On the
applicant's discharge on 2 November 1945, he affixed his signature and his
thumbprint on a WD AGO Form 53-55 which showed in Item 34 that he had
received no wounds in action during his service.  Therefore, based on the
available evidence presented, there is an insufficient basis upon which to
approve award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant was a prisoner of war
for 8 months while serving in Germany.  Copies of casualty reports and the
Western Union telegram dated 24 November 1944 confirm that he was a
prisoner of war of the German Government.  The applicant is therefore
eligible for award of the POW Medal and to have this award shown on his WD
AGO Form 53-55.

4.  The applicant participated in eight campaigns of World War II.  He is
therefore entitled to one silver service star and three bronze service
stars to be affixed to the already-awarded EAME Campaign Medal and to have
these service stars added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant served with a unit at the time it was awarded the French
Croix de Guerre.  He is therefore eligible for award of this foreign unit
award and to have it shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

6.  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.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 2 November 1945, the date of his
release from AD.  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.  The
applicant did not file within the ABCMR's 3-year statute of limitations.
However, since award of the Purple Heart is not governed by a statute of
limitations, it is appropriate to waive failure to timely file in this
case.







BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__J  ____  __WDP__  _RSV___  DENY APPLICATION

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 to award him the Purple Heart for
wounds he alleges to have received during World War II.

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 he was awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, the European-
African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star and
three bronze service stars, and the French Croix de Guerre – Unit Citation
– No Emblem Authorized.




                                  ____John T. Meixell______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060008801                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070117                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19840831                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . 140-10                             |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY//with note                         |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107                                     |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |

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