IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 28 October 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100012227
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 son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests reconsideration of an earlier request that the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart for his prisoner of war (POW) status during World War II.
2. The applicant states:
* His failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations should be null and void since the government has decided to award 17,000 Purple Hearts to deceased POWs
* Due to the fire in 1973 in St. Louis, MO and a fire in 1984 in Harrisburg, PA, that held PA veterans service records, it is quite clear the records are not complete
* He had to engage in an exhaustive writing campaign with St. Louis to get the medals the FSM earned
* He has read over 30 books on World War II, including many by wounded Soldiers who claim they received the Purple Heart for minor wounds
* He personally feels that every Soldier who spent one day in an enemy prison camp should receive the Purple Heart
* These men suffered unbearable torture in beatings, starvation, and unmentionable physical labor
* His father became hard of hearing in his right ear due to the firing of the German rockets next to his prison camp
3. The applicant provides:
* Pages 14 and 18 from the book titled General Thoughts: Seventy Years with the Army
* Internet article pertaining to families of deceased Soldiers thankful for new Purple Heart criteria
* Page 740 from the Webster's dictionary
* Excerpts from Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) pertaining to the Purple Heart
* Copy of front and rear covers of the book titled KRIEGIE (the name Germans called POWs)
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20090004011, on 1 July 2009.
2. The applicant's submissions are new evidence that will be considered by the Board.
3. The FSMs 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 FSMs 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 FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 28 January 1944 and entered active service on 18 February 1944. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 22 August 1944 to 16 June 1945. On 4 November 1945, he was honorably discharged.
5. The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal and European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal with two bronze service stars as authorized awards. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows the entry "NONE."
6. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
7. In September 2005, the National Personnel Records Center informed the applicant the FSM was entitled to the POW Medal.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Paragraph 2-8b(2) states 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.
9. Section 521a of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 authorized award of the Purple Heart to any former POW who was wounded before 25 April 1962 while held as a POW or while being taken captive, in the same manner as a former POW who was wounded on or after that date. Section 521b specifically stated that award of the Purple Heart for POWs under Section 521a shall be made in accordance with the standards in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act to persons wounded on or after 25 April 1962.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
The applicant's contentions and the documentation he provided were carefully considered. However, there is no evidence in the available records, and the applicant did not provide any evidence, which shows the FSM was wounded while held as a POW or while being taken captive. There is also no evidence of record which shows the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II. Therefore, regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart.
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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20090004011, dated 1 July 2009.
_______ _ 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) AR20100012227
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100012227
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