RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        02 NOVEMBER 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060015027


      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. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Rene’ R. Parker               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. James Gunlicks                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Scott Faught                  |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Edward Montgomery             |     |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, in effect, that he was wounded on 24 March 1945
during Operation Varsity at the Battle of the Rhine.  The applicant admits
that during this battle there were so many casualties that many of the
wounded incidents were not recorded.

3.  The applicant provides his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and
Report of Separation), three supporting statements, photograph, letter, and
a website article.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Army Board
for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) 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 for the ABCMR to conduct a fair and impartial review of this
case.

2.  Records available to the Board show that the applicant was inducted
into the Army of the United States on 14 January 1943 and entered active
duty on 21 January 1943.  He served in the European Theater of Operations
from
30 January 1945 to 11 August 1945 and was honorably discharged on
1 February 1946.

3.  The applicant’s WD AGO 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Combat
Infantryman Badge.

4.  The applicant provided supporting statements from a "comrade" that
verify the applicant was wounded during Operation Varsity.  The author
states that he (comrade) was forced to jump from his plane when the plane
was hit by enemy fire.  During the process of trying to rejoin his unit, he
ran across the applicant who was in a foxhole with a wound to his right
cheek.  After inquiring about the wound, the applicant informed him that
"he was hit by flak in the face."

5.  The supporting statement provided by the aircraft pilot, during the
time period of the applicant’s wounding, provided information concerning
the 47th Squadron activities and the aircraft involved.  This statement
does not verify that the applicant sustained wounds as a result of hostile
action.
6.  The applicant also provided a supporting statement from his medical
doctor at the 127th Medical Squadron, Michigan Air National Guard.  The
medical doctor recounted the information as provided to her by the
applicant.  She stated that on 24 March 1945, the applicant was parachute
infiltrated across the Rhine River into Germany with his company.  A 60-
mortar ammunition bundle landed on his leg on impact and shrapnel lodged
into his cheek.  She stated that she has copies of letters submitted to her
by his family members documenting the battle, the injuries sustained, as
well as the damage the supporting aircraft suffered in the course of the
battle.

7.  The applicant provided a letter dated 2 April 1945, that offered
information concerning the damage aircraft that occurred on 24 March 1945,
during a Paratroop Mission over Germany.

8.  The website article verified that Operation Varsity was the last full-
scale airborne drop of Word War II and occurred on 24 March 1945.

9.  The SGO (Office of The Surgeon General) files show that the applicant
was admitted to the hospital as a battle injury on 5 April 1945 for 19
days.  The cause of his injury was listed as trench foot, "Cold Injury,
Ground Type."

10.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), which governed the award of Army
decorations until 23 August 1951, stated that for the purpose of
considering an award of the Purple Heart, a "wound" is defined as an injury
to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained
while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile
act of such enemy.  An "element" pertains to weather and the award of this
decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually
engaged in combat is authorized.  Trench foot will not be considered as
meriting award.

11.  Review of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 indicates that he is
entitled to an additional award that is not shown on this form.  The
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not list award of the Bronze Star Medal.


12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.  Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to
individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War
II.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1. There are no medical records available which show that the applicant was
wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action which occurred
on
24 March 1945.  There are no general orders available which awarded the
applicant the Purple Heart.  In the absence of medical records supporting
the applicant's contention, there is an insufficient basis for award of the
Purple Heart in this case.

2.  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 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JG___  __SF ___  __EM ___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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 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 award of the Bronze Star Medal.




                                  _____James Gunlicks_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060015027                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061102                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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