RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	


	BOARD DATE:	15 May 2007  
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060013618 


	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. Gerard W. Schwartz

Acting Director

Ms. Stephanie Thompkins

Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:


Ms. Yolanda Maldonado

Chairperson

Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas 

Member

Mr. Gerald J. Purcell

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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in active combat in the area of Naples, Foggia.  During that time, his infantry division was on the front line and the Germans were shooting at them and they were being hit with mortar shells and bullets.  On 3 May 1944, after several rounds of shells and bullets, he realized blood was coming out of his left hand.  The boys around him said he had been hit with mortar shrapnel.  He was transported back to the medic center where they worked on his hand for awhile.  The doctors were very busy taking care of all the wounded and the doctor he had was in a hurry to get him patched up and moved to a better medical facility.  He believes this doctor was unfair because he did not complete his paperwork accurately by noting on his record that he had been injured during active combat on the front line.  The fact remains that he was wounded in World War II, active combat, on the front line on 3 May 1944.  According to the requirements, he believes he deserves the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant also states that he had not thought about this very often in the past years.  When he received requests in the mail for donations to the Purple Heart Foundation, which he has supported with his contributions, he felt he should actively pursue a request for his deserved Purple Heart.  He is an honest, hard working American, World War II veteran and he is telling the absolute truth. He would be happy to answer any questions regarding his military experience and his request for the Purple Heart.  He further states that in 1949 he called the Cincinnati, Ohio, Department of Veterans Administration (VA) office and was advised that they had very little of his records and could not give him any information on the records.

4.  The applicant provides copies of a newspaper article from "The Morgan Country Herald," his Separation Qualification Record, his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge (WD AGO Form 53-55), his VA Award of Disability Compensation or Pension letter, and a letter from the National Personnel Records Center, in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice which occurred on 20 March 1946, the date of his separation from active duty.  The application submitted in this case is dated 28 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 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 applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, documents submitted by the applicant were sufficient documents for a fair and impartial review of this case.  

4.  The available military records show that the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States, in pay grade E-1, on 4 August 1943 and entered active duty on 25 August 1943.

5.  The applicant completed training and served as a rifleman in military occupational specialty (MOS) 745 and a military policeman in MOS 677.  He served overseas in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 31 January 1944 to 30 July 1944 for one campaign with Company B, 157th Infantry Regiment.  

6.  The applicant submits a copy of a newspaper article from the "The Morgan Country Herald," dated 28 September 1944, that states the applicant was shot through the hand while fighting on the Anzio beachhead and was treated at Fletcher Hospital.  

7.  A search of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) files, and more specifically, the "SGO Files," were searched for evidence the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action during World War II.  No evidence of a wound or injury was found in these files.

8.  He was honorably discharged from active duty on demobilization, in the rank of private first class, on 20 March 1946. 

9.  Entries on his WD AGO Form 53-55 do not show award of the Purple Heart.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) lists the following awards:  the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge, with Rifle Bar.  

Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) lists the following awards:  the European- 
African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon with one bronze service star, the American Theater Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.  Item 55 (Remarks) lists the Honorable Service Lapel Button, World War II.

10.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), of the applicant’s WD AGO Form
53-55, is annotated with “None” to indicate he was not wounded while he served in the ETO.

11.  The applicant's WD AGO 100 (Separation Qualification Record) shows he served as a rifleman for 2 1/2 months and as a military policeman with the 1560th Service Command Unit, Prisoner of War Camp, Camp Atterbury, Indiana, for
8 months.

12.  The applicant submits a letter, dated 30 April 1946, from the VA, notifying him of an awarded pension on account of disability resulting from the following conditions held to have been incurred or aggravated during his World War II service:  gun shot wounds to the left hand, scars on left hand, and deformity of the 2nd and 3rd fingers.  

13.  In a letter to the applicant, dated 24 August 2006, a staff member of the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, advised the applicant the record needed to answer his inquiry was not in their files.  If the record were there on 12 July 1973, it would have been in the area that suffered the most damage in the fire on that date and might have been destroyed.  Fortunately, there were alternative record sources that often contained information which could be used to reconstruct service record data lost in the fire; however, complete records could not be reconstructed.

14.  The letter also advised that the Purple Heart was awarded for wounds or injuries received as a direct result of hostile action.  A search of those records had failed to produce any evidence that the applicant received any such wounds. The letter recommended the nearest Department of Veteran Affairs Regional Office to determine if they had any military medical records on file showing he was wounded in action.  If the military medical records could be obtained that show he was wounded in action, he could resubmit his request for the Purple Heart to the National Personnel Records Center with copies of those documents.


15.  The letter further advised the applicant that he was entitled to the Bronze Star Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; the American Campaign Medal; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, with one bronze service star; 
the World War II Victory Medal; the Combat Infantryman Badge (1st Award); the Honorable Service Lapel Button, World War II; and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge, with Rifle Bar.  The Bronze Star Medal was based on the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

16.  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.  The regulation also states that the Purple Heart is not governed by the statute of limitations.

17.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various veterans' service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean War.  Searches of these files failed to shows the applicant was treated for wounds as a result of enemy action during World War II.

18.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.




19.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows the applicant's unit
was cited for award of the Presidential Unit Citation (formerly known as the Distinguished Unit Citation), by War Department General Orders Number 75, dated 1944.

20.  The Award of Disability Compensation or Pension (Service Connected) letter the applicant received from the Veteran's Administration, dated 30 April 1946, states, "Your claim has been rated on incomplete records; and when service records are received, it will be adjusted."  There is no evidence the applicant provided the VA service medical records and that the level of his compensation was adjusted.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.   By regulation, in order to be awarded the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded or injured in action.  Available records, to include the NARA "SGO Files," give no indication that the applicant ever sustained or was treated for a wound he received during World War II as a result of enemy action.

2.  The letter the applicant received from the VA is inconclusive for award of the Purple Heart.  The evidence shows service-connected disability compensation was granted based on incomplete records; and he was advised when service records were received, it would be adjusted.  There is no evidence the level of his compensation was adjusted.  The disability compensation decision the VA made was based on the authority inherent to that agency and has no force or effect on decisions made pertinent to award of the Purple Heart by the Army.  As a result, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The evidence of record confirms that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The applicant is eligible for award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service during World War II.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his records to show award of the Bronze Star Medal.

4.  The evidence confirms that the applicant is also entitled to award of the Presidential Unit Citation and this award should be added to his records.


5.  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.


6.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or injustice now under consideration on 20 March 1946, the date of his discharge.  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 statute of limitations, it is appropriate to waive failure to timely file based on the fact there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__LD____  __YM___  _GJP ___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
3.  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 by awarding the applicant the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, and providing him a corrected separation document.




____Yolanda Maldonado_______
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060013618
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20070515
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
HD
DATE OF DISCHARGE
19460320
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR615-365 - Demobilization
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY/NOTE
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.00
2.
107.15
3.

4.

5.

6.