RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 27 March 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060012106
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 her deceased father, hereafter referred to as the former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states the FSM was killed in action in the Chateau Sector, Cierges, Alsace, France on 31 July 1918.
3. The applicant provides
a. A Western Union telegram, dated 27 August 1918, informing the FSM's father of his death.
b. AGO Form Number 667, dated 23 November 1918, stating the FSM, a Sergeant assigned to Company A, 126th Infantry, died with honor in the service of his country on 31 July 1918.
c. A State of Michigan Certificate of Appreciation.
d. A Branch County, Michigan document showing the applicant is the daughter of the FSM.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice which occurred on 31 July 1918. The application submitted in this case is dated 9 August 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 applicants failure to timely file.
3. The FSM was a Soldier. He served as a Sergeant in Company A, 126th Infantry, 32nd Division, in France during World War I. He was killed in action on 31 July 1918.
4. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of an Armed Force who, while serving with the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded in any action against an enemy of the United States. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The evidence of record shows the FSM was killed in action in France during World War I. The record should be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 31 July 1918, the date the FSM was killed in action. The ABCMR was not established until 2 January 1947. Therefore, 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 in this case based on the fact there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.
BOARD VOTE:
__klw___ __cad___ __eif___ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding to the applicant the Purple Heart for the FSM's death in action on 31 July 1918.
Kenneth L. Wright
______________________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20060012106
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED
20060327
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION
GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.
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