IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	 29 December 2009 

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090012967 


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) to show award of the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded while serving with the 25th Infantry Division in Luzon, Philippines in March or April 1945.  He contends that shrapnel from a tree burst hit him in the right knee, that a medic treated him and sent him back to duty, and that the orders were apparently lost or never submitted.

3.  The applicant provides a letter, dated 4 May 2009, from the Military Awards Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command; a WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated 15 February 1946; documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs; a letter, dated 29 October 2006, from the applicant to Senator Obama; and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 in support of his application.

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 were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 17 October 1944.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 13 April 1945 to 27 January 1946 and was honorably discharged on 16 February 1946.

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, one award of the Overseas Service Bar, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal as authorized awards.  Item 
34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "NONE."  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows he received the Combat Infantryman Badge.

5.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.

6.  Item 11 (List all significant diseases, wounds, and injuries) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 38, dated 15 February 1946, shows the entry "Wounded in action - Shrapnel wound - right knee - no hospitalization."

7.  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.  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.

8.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), effective 13 October 1949, provided in pertinent part, that 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he was wounded in Luzon, Philippines in March or April 1945 and contemporaneous medical evidence of record shows he was wounded in action (shrapnel wound to right knee).  His statement that a medic treated him and sent him back to duty is accepted as evidence that he was treated for this wound.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show this award. 

2.  Based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.

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 Purple Heart for wounds received in action in March/April 1945 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations; 

   b.  awarding him the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge; 

	c.  adding the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) on his WD AGO Form 53-55;   

	d.  deleting the entry in item 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and


	e.  adding the entry "Shrapnel wound to right knee, March/April 1945, Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations" in item 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55.




      _______ _ 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)                                         AR20090012967





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090012967



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