RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  3 April 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060010860 


	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.


x

	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 reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.  As new issues, he requests, in effect, correction of his discharge certificate to show his actual time of service in the Army.  He also requests correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to include the theater of operations in which he served; the campaigns in which he served to include Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge), Rhineland, and Central Europe; the training he received; the awards and certificates he received; and the wounds he received during the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Campaign).

2.  The applicant states that he received a copy of his Army discharge certificate which incorrectly states he only served 16 days.  He states he served in the Army from June 1944 to July 1946.  He feels that no one has taken the time to provide him a correct copy of his discharge from the Army nor a correct copy of his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a letter from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland; his Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 28 April 1949; a letter dated 30 March 2006, from the Army Review Boards Agency, St. Louis, Missouri; his DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) and Record of Proceedings; his Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Decision Review Officer Decision, dated 16 February 2005; his Honorable Discharge Certificate, dated 28 April 1953; and his DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 April 1953.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20040007480 on 28 June 2005.

2.  The applicant has provided new issues that will be considered by the Board.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 14 July 1944.  He completed basic training and advanced individual training as an infantryman.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from 7 January 1945 through on or about 31 May 1946.  

4.  The applicant was discharged from active duty on 29 June 1946.  He completed 1 year, 11 months, and 16 days of active military service during this period.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal.  

6.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he received credit for participation in the Ardennes Campaign, the Rhineland Campaign, and the Central Europe Campaign.  

7.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None."

8.  Item 41 (Service Schools Attended) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry “None.”  His WD AGO Form 24 (Service Record) does not show he completed any specific training.  

9.  The applicant’s DVA Rating Decision, dated 29 March 2002, shows that his medical records reveal he was treated for a bullet wound to the head when he was in France in June 1945.  His personnel records contain a VA Form 119 (Report of Contact) which indicates he was wounded in France in January 1945 instead of June 1945.  He was granted service connection for a scar from a wound to the forehead and upper lip with an evaluation of zero percent.  

10.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 24A (Service Record) shows he enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC) on 12 April 1949.  He was honorably discharged on 28 April 1949.  He was issued an Honorable Discharge Certificate which shows he enlisted on 12 April 1949 and was discharged on 28 April 1949.  He completed 16 days of service in the ERC.

11.  The applicant served in the Air Force from 29 April 1949 through 28 April 1953.  He was issued a DD Form 214 for the period ending 28 April 1953 which shows he completed 4 years of active military service during this period and 1 year, 11 months and 16 days prior service.  

12.  The applicant was issued a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214), dated 30 March 2006, which added award of the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Belgian Citation in the Order of the Day to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

13.  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.  This regulation also provides that there are no time limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

14.  Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms) established the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the WD AGO Form 53-55 during World War II.  

15.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) governs the preparation of the DD Form 214.  In the version in effect at the time, it states that the DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no orders which authorize award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.  

2.  Although the DVA Rating Decision indicates that the applicant was granted service connection for a scar from a wound to his forehead and upper lip, there are no military medical documents available to the Board which verifies that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart or to show wounds he received during the Battle of the Bulge.

3.  The applicant served on active duty from 14 July 1944 through 29 June 1946. He was issued a WD AGO Form 53-55 which reflects he completed 1 year, 11 months, and 16 days of active military service during this period.  His WD AGO Form 53-55, as amended by the DD Form 215 reflects that he served in the European Theater of Operations, reflects that he served during three campaigns, and reflects the awards he received while in the Army.  There is no evidence of record to show he completed training during this period.  


4.  The applicant’s Service Record shows he served in the ERC from 12 April 1949 through 28 April 1949, which is a period of 16 days.  He was issued an Honorable Discharge Certificate which properly covers this 16-day period of service.  Therefore, there is no basis for amending this discharge certificate.  His prior service is properly shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant subsequently served in the Air Force from 29 April 1949 through 28 April 1953 and was issued a DD Form 214 which properly covers his Air Force period of service.  If he desires this document to be corrected, he must apply to the Air Force Board of Military Corrections.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

x_______  x______ x______  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20040007480, dated 28 June 2005.




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          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060010860
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070403
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.