RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        3 July 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070002231


      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. Deyon D. Battle               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Eric Andersen                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Scott Faught                  |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Ernestine Fields              |     |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, that he be awarded the Purple Heart
and that his records be corrected accordingly.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action on 22 January 1944,
in Italy, during World War II and that his records do not reflect the
Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a letter, with enclosures, from the
National Archive and Records Administration, addressed to his
Representative in Congress dated 17 July 2006; a copy of his Certificate of
Service; a copy of a letter from the National Personnel Records Center,
addressed to his Representative in Congress dated 1 August 2002; an
Authorization for Issuance of Awards (DA Form 1577) dated 30 July 2002; and
a copy of a Privacy Act Release Form dated 28 June 2006.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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.

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 into the Army in Wilkensburg, Pennsylvania,
on 5 May 1943.  He successfully completed his training as an Infantryman.

5.  Information from the Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of
The Surgeon General, Department of the Army, for the periods covering 1942
through 1945 and 1950 through 1954, indicates that the applicant was
hospitalized on 14 January 1944, after receiving artillery shell fragment
wounds, to his buttock and hips, while he was in Italy.  The Hospital
Admission Cards indicate that his wound/injury was incurred in the Line of
Duty; that he was listed as a battle casualty; and that he was returned to
duty on 24 February 1944.

6.  A Roster of Casualties submitted by the applicant through his
Representative in Congress covers the 1 January to 31 January 1944
timeframe.  The Casualty Roster indicates that the applicant was serving in
the rank of private first class when he was severely wounded in action on
22 January 1944.

7.  The Report of Separation that the applicant was furnished at the time
of his discharge is unavailable for review at this time.  However, the
available records indicate that after completing 2 years, 8 months and 8
days of net active service, he was honorably discharged from the Army on 13
January 1946, under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365, due to
demobilization.

8.  On 30 July 2002, the National Personnel Records Center furnished the
applicant and his Representative in Congress with an Authorization for
Issuance of Awards which shows that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal,
the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat
Infantryman Badge and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII.

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

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available records indicate that the applicant is entitled to award
of the Purple Heart.



2.  Although the Roster of Casualties that he submitted in behalf of his
application indicates that he was seriously wounded in action on 22 January
1944, Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General
indicate that he was hospitalized on 14 January 1944, after receiving
artillery shell fragment wounds, to his buttock and hips, while he was in
Italy.  The Hospital Admission Cards also indicate that he was not returned
to duty until 24 February 1944.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume
that his injury was incurred on 14 January 1944 instead of 22 January 1944.

3.  The applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and his records
should be corrected to reflect his decoration.

4.  In view of the foregoing, it would now be in the interest of justice to
correct the applicant's records as recommended below.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or
injustice now under consideration on 13 January 1946, the date of his
separation from active duty.  The ABCMR was not established until 2 January
1947.  Therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for
correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  However,
there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple
Heart; therefore, the issues will be decided on the overall merits of the
case.

BOARD VOTE:

___EA __  __SF  ___  __EF ___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual



concerned be corrected by publishing the proper orders and awarding him the
Purple Heart for artillery shell fragment wounds received to his buttock
and hips during World War II, on 14 January 1944, while serving in the rank
of private first class.




                            ______Eric Andersen________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20070002231                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070703                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000/AWARDS & DECORATIONS           |
|2.  61                  |107.0015/PURPLE HEART                   |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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