RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  10 May 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060016019 


	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. Wanda L. Waller

Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. Kenneth Wright

Chairperson

Mr. Patrick McGann

Member

Ms. Karmin Jenkins

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 that he was not awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained while on combat patrol during World War II.  He contends that while stationed in Germany they came under mortar attack and that he was thrown by a blast and damaged both of his ear drums.

3.  The applicant provides no additional evidence in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which occurred on 18 April 1946.  The application submitted in this case is dated 31 October 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 for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  

4.  The applicant was inducted on 31 March 1944.  He served in the European Theater of Operations and was honorably discharged on 18 April 1946 by reason of physical disability.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge as authorized awards.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO shows the entry, “None.”  
6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.

7.  A service medical record, dated 6 April 1946, states that an insect was removed from the applicant’s right ear canal in September 1945 and that his ear continued to buzz.  This medical record also states that the applicant had occasional dull ache in his ear; that his left ear drum had perforation, but no discharge; that his right ear drum was partly obscured by carumen; and that there was some scarring.  He was hospitalized for otitis media (ear infection), chronic, suppurative, moderate, bilateral, cause undetermined.

8.  The applicant’s Certificate of Disability For Discharge, dated 18 April 1946, shows that he was found permanently unfit for military service because of otitis media, chronic, suppurative, moderate, bilateral, cause undetermined.  

9.  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.  

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant contends that during a mortar attack he was thrown by a blast and damaged both of his ear drums, there is no evidence of record, and he has provided no evidence, to support this contention.  Medical evidence of record shows that an insect was removed from his ear in September 1945, that he was hospitalized in April 1946 for a chronic ear infection in both ears (cause undetermined), and that he was discharged by reason of disability because of a chronic ear infection in both ears (cause undetermined). 
2.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.  

4.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain an 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.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now under consideration on 18 April 1946; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 1 January 1950 (3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).  Although the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's 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

KW_____  _PM_____  _KJ_____  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 error 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 to add the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge).




___Kenneth Wright_____
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060016019
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20070510
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.0015
2.
107.0000
3.

4.

5.

6.