RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  7 June 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060017452 


	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:


Ms. Carmen Duncan

Chairperson

Mr. Michael Flynn

Member

Mr. Jeffrey Redmann

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 hit by Japanese mortar in June 1944 in a battle at Myitkyina, Burma.  He also contends that he was hospitalized for brain trauma and hearing loss.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); two letters he wrote to his parents at the time in question; and a roster of deceased members of Merrill’s Marauders.    

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which occurred on 14 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 6 December 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 17 February 1943 and entered active duty on 24 February 1943.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 25 May 1944 through 20 May 1945 and was honorably discharged on 
14 November 1945 to accept an appointment as a second lieutenant in the Army of the United States.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, and the Presidential Unit Citation as authorized awards.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO shows the entry, “None.”  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he received the Combat Infantryman Badge.   

6.  The applicant was commissioned a second lieutenant and entered active duty on 15 November 1945.  He was released from active duty on 13 January 1947.    
7.  The applicant’s WD AGO 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation) shows the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal as authorized awards.

8.  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.

9.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided two letters he wrote to his parents at the time in question.  One letter states, in pertinent part, that his watch was broken by a concussion from an artillery shell and the other letter states that he “is resting in the hospital.”

10.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was hospitalized in June 1944 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for otitis (ear infection) and disease of the intestine; he was hospitalized in July 1944 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for dysentery; and he was hospitalized in October 1944 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for ankylostomiasis (hookworm infection).  

11.  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.  

12.  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.


DSCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action, the letters provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for an award of the Purple Heart. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award of the Purple Heart.

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

3.  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.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now under consideration on 13 January 1947; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 12 January 1950.  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

CD_____  _MF____  _JR_____  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 an 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) to his WD AGO Form 53-55.




____Carmen Duncan_________
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060017452
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20070607
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.