RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  15 January 2008
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070012383 


	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. Jeanne Marie Rowan

Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. Curtis L. Greenway

Chairperson

Mr. Joe R. Schroeder

Member

Mr. Qawiy A. Sabree

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 effect, award of the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action the night of 27 November 1944 at Benfield, France.  

3.  The applicant provides in support of his application a letter from his Senator, a self-authored statement, one character reference letter from a former unit member, and two witness statements.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  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 are sufficient documents for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  The primary record available to this Board is the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation and Honorable Discharge) with a separation date of 1 December 1945.  

3.  The available record shows the applicant entered active service on 31 March 1944.  The applicant arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations on 28 October 1944.  He participated in the Rhineland Campaign (15 September 1944 to 21 March 1945) and the Central Europe Campaign (22 March to 11 May 1945).  This record shows he departed the theater of operations on 8 May 1945.

4.  A record of the units to which the applicant was assigned and the dates of his assignment was not available for the Board to review.  

5.  On 1 December 1945, the applicant was discharged under the provisions of War Department Circular Number 339 and the narrative reason provided was Prisoner of War (POW).  His characterization of service was honorable.  

6.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 
53-55 shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. 

7.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not contain an entry for award of the Purple Heart.  The entries listed in Item 33 are the "American Theater, European Middle Eastern 2 stars, Good Conduct, Victory Medal."

8.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None."

9.  The Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, hospital admission records show the applicant was admitted to an Army field hospital on 27 April 1945 as a repatriated prisoner of Germany.  The applicant was treated for malnutrition.  Records show he was hospitalized for eight days and released on 5 May 1945.

10.  A World War II POW Report from the Center for Electronic Records taken from the World War II Prisoners of War Punchcards from the Office of the Provost Marshall General, National Archives in College Park, Maryland shows the applicant was an Infantryman and that he was reported as a POW on 1 January 1945.  This same report shows he was returned to American military control, and repatriated on an unknown date.  He was detained by the German military at Stalag 4B, Muhlberg, Sachsen. 

11.  A search conducted by the National Personnel Records Center on 15 November 2001 shows the applicant was assigned to Company C, 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th Armored Division. 

12.  Permanent Order 212-05, dated 31 July 2006, published by United States Army Human Resource Command, Alexandria awarded the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds he received while a prisoner of war on or about 1 January 1945.

13.  In the applicant's self-authored statement, he states in pertinent part, that he was a member of a 12-man rifle squad in an infantry company on a reconnaissance mission on the night of 27 November 1944 near the town of Benfield, France when a concussion grenade exploded knocking him unconscious.  When he regained consciousness, he was bleeding from his ear.  He states he did not seek medical attention as the other unit members on the reconnaissance mission were seriously wounded and they were relocated to the rear to seek medical treatment.  He further states he is rated 100 percent disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

14.  As additional supporting documentation, the applicant provided the following character and witness statements in support of his application.

     a.  His former company commander states the applicant was a member of Company C, 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th Armored Division and that he was trustworthy, reliable, and honest.  

     b.  His platoon leader states, in effect, that he remembers the reconnaissance mission and that the applicant was a member of the reconnaissance team but he does not recall the exact date of the mission itself.  He states the unit took a beating until reason prevailed and that he, too, was physically thrown after the impact of a concussion grenade or an impact artillery shell and that he suffered a concussion with a brief memory lapse. 

     c.  A member of the applicant's rifle squad states, in pertinent part, that on the night of 27 November 1944 in Benfield, France, he and the applicant were on a reconnaissance mission and that they physically entered the town of Benfield and were met with heavy enemy resistance from small weapons fire and from an "88" artillery shells with armor piercing fragments.  He, the squad member, sustained a serious wound to his back, a medic treated him, and that he sought medical support from an ambulance.  When he was enroute to the rear, he met the applicant who was holding his ear with a bloody hand.  He states they spoke briefly, and then he was transported by ambulance to the rear for medical treatment.  

15.  The applicant's records show that he is entitled to additional awards, which he did not request and are not listed on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

16.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), then in effect, 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.  

17.  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.  This regulation also provides that there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

18.  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.  This provision did not go into effect until 10 September 1947.

19.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states that the Prisoner of War Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

20.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separations Document) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  In pertinent part, it directs that, in the case of prisoners of war, the unit of assignment, country and dates of capture and release will be entered in the “Remarks” section of the discharge document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Permanent orders awarded the applicant the Purple Heart for his injuries while a prisoner of war on 1 January 1945, the date of his capture by enemy forces.  Therefore, he is entitled to have his record corrected to show award of the Purple Heart on 1 January 1945.

2.  The applicant contends, in effect, that he is entitled to award of a second Purple Heart for wounds received to his head from an enemy concussion grenade on the night of 27 November 1944 near Benfield, France.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None" in Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action).  The applicant provides three character or witness statements from members of his unit to include his company commander.  Two witness statements stated, in effect, that they saw the applicant with blood near his ear and that they recall being in the vicinity when enemy artillery shells or concussion grenades exploded near them.  However, there is no medical documentation or creditable information from unit reports that shows the applicant was injured on this date and he states in his self-authored statement that he did not seek medical attention rather he continued with his assigned reconnaissance mission.  Based on the lack of official unit reports, lack of substantiating medical evidence that he was treated by military medical personnel, and his self-admission that he did not seek medical treatment for his wounds, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart First Oak Leaf Cluster.  

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

4.  Based on official transcribed POW Records for World War II and the narrative reason for his separation as stated on his separation document as a POW, the applicant is entitled to have his records corrected to show award of the Prisoner of War Medal and to have the Remarks Section of his separation document corrected to reflect his unit of assignment, country in which captured, dates of capture, and date released. 

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

__QAS__  __CLG___  __JRS__  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that the WD AGO Form 53-55 of the individual concerned with a separation date of 1 December 1945 be corrected:

     a.  by showing award of the Bronze Star Medal;

     b.  by showing award of the Purple Heart;

     c.  by showing award of the Prisoner of War Medal;

     d.  by showing in Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) the entry "Wounds received while a prisoner of war on 1 January 1945;" and, 

     e.  by showing in Item 55 (Remarks) the entry "Prisoner of War from 1 January 1945 to 27 April 1945, Germany, Company C, 62nd Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th Armored Division."

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to award of the Purple Heart First Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds received in action on 24 November 1944.





___Curtis L. Greenway__
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20080115
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
GRANT (partial)
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.