RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  20 March 2008
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070012370 


	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

Ms. Phyllis B. Mackey

Analyst


The following members, a quorum, were present:


Ms. Linda D. Simmons

Chairperson

Ms. Eloise Prendergast

Member

Mr. Donald Lewy

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, in an application submitted through his Member of Congress (MOC), in effect, to be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was injured in 1945, while serving with the 9th Infantry Regiment and should be awarded the Purple Heart. 

3.  In support of his request, the applicant submitted a written statement; a copy of a prior request for the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge; and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge, dated 28 June 1946.  He also submitted a newspaper article and other administrative documents.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice which occurred on 28 June 1946, the date of his separation from active duty.  

2.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from the applicant's enlisted record and report of separation and from other official Army sources.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 7 July 1944 and entered active duty on the same date.  The applicant received infantry basic training and was classified as a rifleman in MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 745.  He was later reclassified to the MOS 345, truck driver, light.  He served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 22 December 1944 to 20 June 1946.  He was honorably separated on 28 June 1946.

3.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was credited with participation in three campaigns of World War II.  He was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; the Good Conduct Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the Army of Occupation Medal, with Germany Clasp; and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge, with Rifle Bar (M1).  His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart or any additional awards.

4.  In a separate action, while exhausting his administrative appeals, the applicant applied for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  On 21 March 2006, he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star Medal.   Award of the Bronze Star Medal was based on the special provisions of the awards regulation that authorized award of the Bronze Service Star Medal to 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.

5.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns), of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55,  shows that the applicant was given credit for participating in the Rhineland, Ardennes, and the Central Europe campaigns of World War II.

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry, “NONE.”  

7.  There are no orders in the applicant’s available personnel records which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II. 
 
8.  Information obtained from the Hospital Admission Card data files (1942-1945; 1950-1954); created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army; show that the applicant was hospitalized on 1 February 1945 and again on 1 March 1945.  The Hospital Admission Card data files show he was admitted to the hospital and treated, for a hematoma, traumatic of the thigh.  The Hospital Admission Card data files show this injury and other ailments that were treated during his 44 day hospital stay were all unspecified non-battle injuries.  Entries on the Hospital Admission Card data files show he fell into a hole or a ditch.  

9.  AR 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.  

10.  AR 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal, in this case, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  

11.  The applicant participated in three campaigns while serving with the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater.  A bronze service star is authorized for each campaign.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that a wound was received as a result of enemy action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant alleges he was injured in 1945, while serving with the 9th Infantry Regiment.  He states that he was injured when he fell into a fox hole or a slit trench while running across a field.  This report is corroborated by the Hospital Admission Card data files; however, the Hospital Admission Card data files classified the injury as an “unspecified non-battle injury.”  

3.  Item 34, of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows the entry, "None."  There is no documentation to show that he was issued orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

4.  Based on the available evidence and the lack of corroborating evidence to show he was wounded in action by a hostile enemy, he is therefore not entitled to award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.  However, he participated in three campaigns: the Rhineland, Ardennes, and the Central Europe.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of three bronze service stars to be affixed to the already awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

6.  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

__LDS __  __EP____  __DL___  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 for award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55. 

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 three bronze service stars, to be affixed to the already-awarded European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and adding this award to his WD AGO Form 53-55. 






_____Linda D. Simmons___
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR
SUFFIX

RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
YYYYMMDD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .  
DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.