BOARD DATE:	  13 August 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090004313 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he received a shrapnel wound to his right lower extremity on 15 January 1945 in Central France as well as severely frostbitten bilateral lower extremities requiring a 95-day period of hospitalization in Paris, France.

3.  The applicant provides, in support of his request, copies of a Standard Form (SF) 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), a WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record), and a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Honorable Discharge).

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.  It is believed that the applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from limited reconstructed personnel records and records provided by the applicant.

3.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 26 November 1941.  He served on active duty from 26 November 1941 through 9 May 1945.  Block 32 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 lists his awards as the Army Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star. Block 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows the entry "none."

4.  The WD AGO Form 100 shows the applicant, a staff sergeant, served as a platoon sergeant engaged in combat during the Southern France Campaign.

5.  In the processing of this case a search was made of the health record research project records, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files."  These records involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the NPRC.  It was widely believed that they would  become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  A search of these files found that the applicant had been admitted to a general hospital on 10 January 1945 for a battle injury due to reduced temperature, trench foot.

6.  Considerable discussion was undertaken during WW II on the issue of trench foot, immersion foot, and frostbite.  This included their proper diagnosis and under what conditions they would be considered for entitlement to the Purple Heart.  In October 1944 the commander of the 7th Infantry Division in the Aleutians was authorized to award the Purple Heart for immersion foot or trench foot provided it was incurred while actually engaged in combat and provided the injury necessitated hospitalization while in service.  However, the governing regulation, Army Regulation 600-4 (Decorations), was not changed at this time.  Considerable additional discussion was undertaken for the remainder of the war. Although there was a growing body of evidence in support of including all cold injuries for Purple Heart entitlement, the final official outcome classified 


immersion foot and trench foot into a different category from frostbite, allowing for award of the Purple Heart for frostbite, but not trench foot.   The issue was never fully resolved due to a waning of occurrences of cold injuries, and the end of the war.  As a result, the official awards regulation was never changed to officially allow for award of the Purple Heart for immersion foot and trench foot.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant states he received a shrapnel wound to his right lower leg on 15 January 1945 as well as suffering from bilateral lower extremity frostbite that required a 95-day period of hospitalization.

2.  The SGO records show the applicant was hospitalized for a battle injury of trench foot.  There is no indication he was ever diagnosed as suffering from severe frostbite while actually engaged in combat. 

3.  Due to the differing opinions between field personnel and those writing policy, a clear directive related to award of the Purple Heart for trench foot was never promulgated.  Whether or not a Soldier received the Purple Heart for this condition depended on the command to which they were attached and that command's attitude toward the condition.

4.  However, since the awards regulation was never changed to allow award of the Purple Heart for trench foot, there is an insufficient basis to grant the applicant's requested relief.

5.  The available official documentation does not include and the applicant has not provided any documentation showing he received a shrapnel wound.  Therefore, entitlement for the Purple Heart cannot be established.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__x_____  ___x____  ___x____  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.



      ____________x____________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004313



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004313



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