RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  6 March 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060012538 


	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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, a bullet hit his left foot while he was serving in Sicily in 1943.  The applicant also states he was shot in his left knee on another occasion while he was assigned in Sicily.

3.  The applicant provides copies of extracts from his service personnel and medical records that were sent to him from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.  The applicant also provides a copies of a transcript from a tape recording made in November 1977; a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Decision Review Officer (DRO) Decision, dated 23 September 2005; and a DVA award letter, dated 27 September 2005.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which occurred 
on 4 October 1944, the date of his discharge.  The application submitted in this case is dated 23 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 applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s complete 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's available military records show he was inducted and entered active service on 3 October 1942.  The records show the applicant served in the Sicily Campaign and he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.


5.  The records show the applicant was transferred from O’Reilly General Hospital, Springfield, Missouri, to the Army Support Facility (ASF) at Camp Carson, Colorado, in August of 1944.  The records also contain what appears to be a status summary from the Station Hospital  at Camp Carson.  However, none of the preceding documents show the medical condition the applicant was being treated for.

6.  On 4 October 1944, while assigned to the ASF Camp Carson, the applicant was discharged.  He had completed 2 years and 2 days of active service that was characterized as honorable.

7.  The item titled “Wounds received in service” of the applicant’s Enlisted Record contains the entry “None.”

8.  In the tape recording transcripts the applicant states he was hit in his knee by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel 4 days after the beginning of the invasion of Sicily. The applicant states there was no medical care available so he was bandaged and walked stiff for awhile.

9.  In the tape recording transcripts the applicant also describes an incident wherein he was blown out of a trench as a result of an enemy artillery shell and when he landed another artillery shell explosion threw him again.  The applicant states he was in the hospital but didn’t know for how long.

10.  According to the DRO Decision, dated 23 September 2005, the DVA determined that a left leg injury, claimed by the applicant, was not incurred or caused during military service.

11.  The DVA letter dated 27 September 2005 provides no additional information pertinent to the applicant’s request.

12.  The applicant's records show that he is entitled to additional awards, which he did not request and are not listed on his Record of Service.

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 is no time limitation on requests for award of the Purple Heart.


14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, or whose achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  This provision did not go into effect until 10 September 1947.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  According to the transcripts of a tape recording, the applicant provided a detailed account of the events he experienced in Sicily.  However, there is no corroborating official documentation or evidence to show he was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action.

2.  In the absence of military records which show that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

3.  The applicant was discharged prior to the provision that authorized award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

4.  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 3 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 4 October 1944, the date of his discharge.  However, 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 time limitation on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jea___  ____rsv _  ___swf_____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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

2.  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 to grant award of the Purple Heart and correction of the records of the individual concerned.

3.  The Board further 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 the award of the Bronze Star Medal.




__________James E. Anderholm________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060012538
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070306
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.