RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 12 June 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20070000099
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.
Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano
Director
Mr. Dean L. Turnbull
Analyst
The following members, a quorum, were present:
Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas
Chairperson
Mr. Edward E. Montgomery
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 daughter of the deceased Former Service Member (FSM) requests that her father be awarded of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that her father received the Purple Heart but it was recently stolen. She has tried to get it replaced but she was told it cannot be verified. She further states that her father was assigned to the 1st Armored Division when his tank was hit by the Germans at Fiad Pass in North Africa in
14 February 1943.
3. She states that her father was badly burned on his face and hands. He was taken to a hospital in Rome, Italy, where he received treatment for his burns. She states that her father died on 12 February 1978. All of his possessions were left with her mother and they got stolen. After the medals were stolen, she was able to replace all of them except the Purple Heart.
4. The applicant provides excerpts from two local newspapers. The articles states that the applicant was reported missing in action in North Africa. His face and hand was badly burned from being trapped in a tank. In the article it was also stated that he was a prisoner of war in an Italian camp.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM'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 FSM'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.
2. The applicant submitted a letter, dated 26 September 2005, from the Military Personnel Records section of the National Personnel Records Center. This letter informed the applicant that her father was entitled to the following awards: the Prisoner of War Medal, American Defense Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII. According to the applicant these medals were already reissued to her.
3. The applicant's reconstructed records show that the FSM entered active duty on 3 July 1941, and was separated on 18 August 1945.
4. There are no records to verify that the FSM was entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.
5. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests that her father be awarded of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant submitted two articles from the local newspapers stating that her father's face and hands were badly burned from being trapped in a tank and she states he was treated at a hospital in Rome, Italy. However, there is no official documentation to validate the information in the articles, or to show that her father was wounded as a result of hostile action. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to show the FSM is entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___lmd__ ___rmn__ ___eem__ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
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.
_________LaVerne M. Douglas___________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20070000099
SUFFIX
RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070612
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.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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