IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  9 September 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100009721 


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, the wife of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states the FSM received the Purple Heart during combat operations in World War II.  She states he was injured during 1944 or 1945 either during the battles at Leyte, Peleliu or Angaur Islands.  He was injured while serving with his tank commander and sent to a major hospital.  She believes the hospital was in Australia.  The FSM was discharged on 3 January 1946 and his Purple Heart medal was sent to his mother's home in Cleveland, OH.  As the applicant is 83 years old, she wants her children to have the FSM's World War II records and Purple Heart certificate.    

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the FSM's death certificate and a Department of the Army Certificate of Training dated 9 October 1962.

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 FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 6 May 1942 and entered active duty.  The FSM completed basic combat training.  His unit identified on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) was Company A, 710th Tank Battalion.

3.  The FSM served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of operations from 22 May 1944 to 6 December 1945.  He served in two campaigns:  the Western Pacific from 15 June 1944 to 2 September 1945 and the Southern Philippines from 27 February to 4 July 1945.  

4.  A review of the Office of the Surgeon General Hospital Admission Cards for the years 1942 to 1945 failed to show evidence that the FSM received medical treatment for combat wounds.

5.  The FSM's available military personnel and medical records are devoid of documents showing he was injured during combat operations, that he received medical treatment for combat injuries, or that he was awarded a Purple Heart medal by publication of official orders. 

6.  On 3 January 1946, the FSM was honorably discharged due to demobilization of the Armed Forces.  He received a WD AGO Form 53-55 upon discharge which shows the following entries:

	a.  item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty and Number) "Tank Commander – 2736";

   b.  item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) - "Southern Philippines; Western Pacific";

	c.  item 33 (Decorations and Citations) - "American Theater, Asiatic Pacific Theater with two bronze stars, Philippine Liberation Medal,  Good Conduct Medal, and Victory Medal"; and

	d.  item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) - "None."

7.  The FSM enlisted for a second period of service on 25 November 1946.  He served continuously on active duty until his date of retirement on 1 August 1963 after 20 years, 3 months, and 5 days of active service.  A review of all available WD AGO Forms 53 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) and DD Forms 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) fails to show he was wounded during combat operations or awarded the Purple Heart.  However, the FSM's retirement physical examination shows that the FSM had a head injury which required suturing in 1944 due to a tank hatch closing on his head on Peleliu Island.

8.  The FSM died on 18 March 2000. 

9.  References:

   a.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), then in effect, which governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951, stated the Purple Heart was awarded to citizens of the United States serving with the Army who were wounded in action against an enemy of the United States or as a direct result of an act of such enemy provided such wound necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  This regulation 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.

   b.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  An example of an injury which does not justify award of the Purple Heart are accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant, the FSM's wife, contends he received the Purple Heart for combat wounds incurred during World War II while serving in the Pacific.  

2.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he had no wounds documented.  The Office of the Surgeon General files for World War II do not show he received medical treatment for wounds incurred during combat operations.  In addition, the applicant has not provided any medical evidence from the FSM's period of active duty that shows he sustained combat wounds.

3.  Award of the Purple Heart requires that a Soldier must have received medical treatment by medical personnel of the U.S. Armed Forces and that the injury or wound must be documented in military medical records.
4.  There is insufficient evidence to show the FSM sustained a wound as a result of hostile action.  There is no evidence to show that U.S. Armed Forces medical personnel treated the FSM and that this treatment was made a matter of official record.  Therefore, regrettably, there is an insufficient basis for awarding the FSM the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X____  ___X____  ___X___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant's deceased husband in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of her husband's service in arms.





      __________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)                                         AR20100009721





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100009721



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