RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        17 April 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060014086


      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      |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas M. Ray                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Rea M. Nuppenau               |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he sustained wounds while in combat and was
hospitalized as a result of those wounds.  He has a letter he wrote home
that supports that he was hospitalized.

3.  The applicant provides an undated letter with half of an envelope,
postmarked 8 September 1944.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 29 September 1945.  The application submitted in this
case is dated 25 September 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 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, to include
his service medical records, for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial
review of this case.

4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 14 January 1943 and entered
active duty on 21 January 1943.  He arrived in the European-African-Middle
Eastern Theater of Operations on 2 September 1943.

5.  The applicant provided a letter, postmarked 8 September 1944, in which
he wrote in pertinent part, “I just got out of the hospital here awhile
back, but I am feeling fine and I hope you all are the same.”

6.  The applicant’s service medical records contain a Clinical Record Brief
that shows the applicant was discharged from the 69th Station Hospital on
15 August 1944 with a final diagnosis of furuncle (i.e., a boil), acute,
suppurative on the left knee; and lymphadenitis (i.e., a lymph node
infection) of the left femoral, non-suppurative and non-venereal.

7.  The applicant departed the theater of operations on 22 May 1945.  On
      29 September 1945, he was honorably discharged.  His WD AGO Form 53-
55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows he was awarded the
Combat Infantryman Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Medal with one bronze service star, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to
any person who distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious
achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in
connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  It also
provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to members of the armed forces
who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited
in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct
in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the
Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the
period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation
for exemplary conduct in ground combat.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the World War II
Victory Medal for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946,
both dates inclusive.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence of record supports the statement in the
applicant’s letter, postmarked 8 September 1944, that he was hospitalized.
However, it does not substantiate that he was hospitalized as a result of
being wounded in action.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to
warrant awarding the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and therefore is
eligible for award of the Bronze Star Medal based upon award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  He also meets the eligibility criteria for award of the
World War II Victory Medal.  These awards should be added to his WD AGO
Form    53-55.

3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
errors which do 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 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section
below.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 29 September 1945; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on      1 January 1950 (3 years after the Board was
established on 2 January 1947).  Although the applicant did not file within
the 3-year 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

__jtm___  __tmr___  __rmn___  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.

2.  The Board determined that administrative errors in the records of the
individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests
that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned by amending his WD AGO Form 53-55 to add the Bronze Star Medal
(based upon award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) and the World War II
Victory Medal.




                                  __John T. Meixell_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060014086                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070417                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schwartz                            |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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