IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  22 March 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100022312 


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 daughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Service) to show award of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal.

2.  The applicant states she possesses both medals with her father's name engraved on the back.  Her father, like so many other veterans, did not talk much about his wartime experience.  She does not have the documents that show how he was wounded or what he did to earn the Bronze Star Medal.  She believes he was originally in the cavalry but she knows nothing about the years before the war started.

3.  The applicant provides:

* the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55
* photographs of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal with the FSM's name engraved on them
* the FSM's Certificate of Death
* her birth certificate
* her mother's newspaper obituary

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’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 his 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 FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on    8 March 1939.  This form also shows that at the time of his separation, he held military occupational specialty (MOS) 505 [Ammunition NCO (Noncommissioned Officer] and he was assigned to Service Battery, 542nd Field Artillery Battalion.

4.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 6 January 1945 and he arrived in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations (EAMETO) on 18 January 1945.  He departed the EAMETO on an unknown date and he arrived back in CONUS on
5 August 1945.

5.  He completed 5 years, 10 months, and 3 days of continental service and 7 months of foreign service.  He was honorably discharged on 10 August 1945.

6.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar.

7.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns during World War II (WWII).

8.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, and EAME Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars (designating his participation in two campaigns).

9.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None."

10.  His reconstructed record contains various clinical documents that show he was either admitted to a hospital or received medical treatment:

* on 24 August 1944 for tonsillitis
* on 13 October 1939 for a right ankle sprain
* on 23 February 1940 for a mild infection
* on 16 August 1943 for a growth to his upper eye lid

11.  The FSM underwent a separation physical at Camp Chaffee, AR, on 9 August 1945.  No wound, injury, or disease incurred in the line of duty is noted on his report.

12.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

13.  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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, were cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.  
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that her deceased father's WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal was carefully considered; however, there is insufficient evidence to warrant relief.

2.  With respect to the Purple Heart, the criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

3.  The FSM's service in WWII is not in question.  However, notwithstanding the photographs provided by the applicant, there is no evidence in the FSM's reconstructed record that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.  Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows he sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient basis for correcting the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the Purple Heart.

4.  With respect to the Bronze Star Medal, the governing Army regulation states that for personal decorations (which include the Bronze Star Medal) formal recommendation, approval through the chain of command, and announcement of orders are required.  Again, the applicant’s sincerity and her late father's service in WWII are not in question.  However, in the absence of official orders, there is insufficient evidence to correct his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the Bronze Star Medal.

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 her father in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of her father'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)                                         AR20100022312



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100022312



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