IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  24 May 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100027383 


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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

* he was sent from Italy to the Normandy Invasion with the 3rd Infantry Division attached to General Patton
* they moved up through France into Germany and he was knocked out from a mortar shell explosion
* he went from the front lines to the hospital in England and was there for approximately 3 weeks
* he was told he was being awarded the Purple Heart and it would be sent to his parents
* his mother was very ill and he thought the Purple Heart would cause her to worry and adversely affect her already poor health, so he refused the Purple Heart
* he was told his records were burned in a fire in St. Louis, MO

3.  The applicant provides:

* letter from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO, dated 27 October 2010
* Request for Information Needed to Reconstruct Medical Data
* Department of Veterans Affairs letter, dated 12 April 2010


* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge)

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.  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.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 September 1943 and he entered active duty on 2 October 1943.  He served as a rifleman in the European theater of operations from 15 July 1944 through 2 September 1945.  He was honorably discharged on 11 November 1945.

4.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "NONE."

5.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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.



7.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he:

* was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal [properly known as the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]
* participated in three campaigns during World War II

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 for the Bronze Star Medal.  Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is awarded for service within the European African-Middle Eastern theater of operations between 7 December 1941 and 8 November 1945.  This same regulation states a bronze service star is worn on the appropriate service ribbon, to include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, for each credited campaign.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The evidence shows the applicant's records contain administrative errors which do not require action by the Board.  Therefore, administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished by the Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) Case Management Division (CMD) as outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section.







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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board determined that administrative errors in the records of the individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that ARBA CMD administratively correct the records of the individual concerned by: 

* awarding him the Bronze Star Medal based upon award of the Combat Infantryman Badge
* deleting the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal from his WD AGO Form 53-55
* adding the Bronze Star Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars to 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)                                         AR20100027383



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100027383



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