IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       28 JULY 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090004343 


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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded when a mortar round landed in the middle of him and two other Soldiers.  He states that he had wounds to his right side and chest, his assistant gunner was killed, and his squad leader was hit in the foot.  He states that he was taken to the hospital in Leyte and that he was there for several months.  He states that the Purple Heart was presented to him while he was still in the hospital in Leyte.

3.  The applicant provides a Western Union Telegraph, dated 8 February 1945, informing his mother that he had been wounded in action; a copy of his WD AGO Form 100 (Army of the United States Separation Qualification Record); a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55; and a copy of a letter from the Veterans Administration, dated 24 August 1951.

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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25 February 1943 in San Francisco, California.  He successfully completed his infantry basic training and was awarded a light machine gunner military occupational specialty.

3.  The Western Union Telegraph that the applicant submits in support of his application shows that on 8 February 1945 the applicant’s mother was notified that he had been slightly wounded in action on 10 January 1945.

4.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 18 November 1945 under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365 (Enlisted Personnel Discharge - Convenience of the Government) for the convenience of the government due to demobilization.

5.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 that the applicant was furnished at the time of his discharge shows that he was awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and two overseas service bars.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he was issued the Army Lapel Button and that he qualified for the Combat Infantryman Badge which he was issued on 10 January 1944.

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he was wounded in action on 10 January 1945.  However, it does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

7.  Information from the Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General shows that the applicant was admitted to the hospital on 11 January 1945, due to a penetrating wound to his thoracic wall from artillery shell fragments.

8.  Technical Manual 12-236 (Preparation of Separation Forms), in effect at the time, served as the authority for the preparation of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  It provided, in pertinent part, that all entries on the form are to apply only to the current period of active duty.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

10.  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.  Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  His contentions have been noted and the available evidence of record indicates that he was wounded in action on 10 January 1945 due to a penetrating wound to his thoracic wall from artillery shell fragments.

3.  Based on the previous conclusion, it is reasonable to believe his contention that he was awarded the Purple Heart and to amend his WD AGO Form 53-55 to include this award.

4.  The applicant is also authorized award of the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and his WD AGO Form 53-55 should corrected accordingly.

BOARD VOTE:

___X_____  ____X____  ____X____  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.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  awarding him the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy on 10 January 1944; and

	b.  amending his WD AGO Form 53-55 to add the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal.



      _________XXX________________
                 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)                                         AR20090004343



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004343



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