RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  1 March 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060010300 


	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.  


	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 essentially states that due to heavy battle conditions during the Battle of the Bulge, he was unable to report to an aid station for treatment after a bomb shattered glass and cut him on his chin and face.  He also states, in effect, that he treated his facial wounds himself while on the battlefield, and that after 
3 days, he was taken to a hospital, where they treated his trench feet, psychoneurosis, and also his facial lacerations. 

3.  The applicant provides the following in support of this application:

	a.  his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge);

	b.  his Honorable Discharge Certificate;

	c.  a letter, dated 20 January 2006, from a State Representative from the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina;

	d.  a letter, dated 20 January 2006, from the applicant to a State Representative from the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina;

	e.  an undated, self-authored letter;

	f.  an undated letter from a person claiming to be a retired colonel supporting the applicant’s claim to entitlement to award of the Purple Heart;

	g.  an undated letter from a person claiming to be a former sergeant supporting the applicant’s claim to entitlement to award of the Purple Heart;

	h.  extracts of combat history of the 2nd Infantry Division during World 
War II;

	i.  morning reports from 20 January 1945 for Company F, 23rd Infantry Regiment;

	j.  a letter, dated 11 March 2005, from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri which was addressed to the applicant; and

	k.  a letter, dated 30 March 2006, from the Military Awards Branch of the United States Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, Virginia which was addressed to the applicant.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which occurred on 
12 February 1946, the date of his release from active duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 11 July 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 majority of the applicant’s military records are not available for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the majority of the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there are sufficient documents remaining to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The available records show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 2 October 1943, and entered active duty on 25 October 1943.  After completing basic and advanced individual training, he departed the continental United States for the European Theater of Operations on 22 March 1944, and arrived on 3 April 1944.  He participated in the Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland campaigns during World War II.  He departed the European Theater of Operations on 20 January 1946, and returned to the continental United States on 5 February 1946.  On 12 February 1946, he was honorably released from active duty.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 that was issued to his at the time of his release from active duty shows that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.



5.  In an undated letter, the applicant essentially stated that he was wounded in action after a long, 7-mile march on snow-covered roads.  He also stated, in effect, that his unit bedded down in an old train station in the town of Weismes [also known as Waimes], Belgium, and that during the night, a bomb exploded nearby.  He also stated, in effect, that the concussion of the bomb shattered glass windows, which caused him to suffer facial lacerations.  He also stated, in pertinent part, that he did not go to the aid station at that time.

6.  The applicant provided an undated letter from a person claiming to be a retired colonel.  He also provided an undated letter from a person claiming to be a former sergeant.  Both of these letters essentially stated that the applicant suffered facial lacerations from shattered glass as a result of the concussion of an exploding bomb.  They also both stated, in effect, that he did not go to the aid station at that time, but that 3 days later, he was sent to the aid station for treatment for facial lacerations, frozen hands, and frozen feet.

7.  The applicant also provided morning reports from 20 January 1945 for Company F, 23rd Infantry Regiment.  This document shows, in pertinent part, that the applicant had been a non-battle casualty (NBC) since 18 January 1945, and that he was reassigned to the 128th Evacuation Hospital on or about 
19 January 1945.  There is no entry which indicated that he was wounded in action.

8.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 does not reflect award of the Purple Heart.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO 53-55 contains the entry "None."  The applicant signed his WD AGO Form 53-55 in Item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated), attesting to the accuracy of the information contained on that form.

9.  Information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army show that the applicant was admitted to a General Hospital in the European Theater of Operations on 18 January 1945 as a non-battle casualty, and was treated for trench foot and psychoneurosis.  There is no indication that he was ever treated for facial lacerations as a result of the concussion from an exploding enemy bomb. 

10.  The applicant did not provide any evidence such as his WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release From Active Duty, or Retirement), which would have listed all of his significant diseases, wounds, and injuries, and which would have contained an entry that showed that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

11.  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 been treated by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official records.  This regulation also provides that there is no time limitation on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he should be awarded the Purple Heart. 

2.  While the Board does not doubt the veracity of the applicant’s claim to entitlement to award of the Purple Heart, there is no evidence in the available records, and the applicant has failed to provide any evidence which conclusively shows that he sustained wounds as a result of hostile action, and that treatment 
for any wounds was made a matter of official record.  Regrettably, absent such evidence, there is insufficient basis for awarding the Purple Heart to the applicant in this case.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now under consideration on 12 February 1946, the date of his separation from active duty. 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.  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 are no time limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__TR  ___  __JR ___  ___JH___  DENY APPLICATION




BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that it was appropriate to waive failure to timely file in this case.

2.  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 show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant in service to the United States during World War II.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.





______Thomas Ray_________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060010300
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070301
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
AR 15-185
ISSUES         1.
107.0015.0000
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.