IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 9 June 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100028920
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 never given a Purple Heart
* He was grazed on the left side of his head by a bullet
* The bullet went through his helmet liner
* He has a scar
3. The applicant provides:
* His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge)
* An eyewitness statement from a fellow Soldier at the time in question
* Page 2 of a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) document
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 applicants 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 applicants 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. He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 23 September 1944. He served as a rifleman in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from
17 March 1945 to 18 September 1945. He was honorably discharged on
23 November 1946.
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 record that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.
6. He provided an eyewitness statement, dated 8 March 2006, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question. He attests:
* he was a member of the applicant's squad in Company E, 136th Regiment of the 33rd Infantry in April 1945
* he was present when the applicant was creased above the ear by a Japanese bullet that went through his helmet liner
* they were fighting in the mountains of Northern Luzon
7. He also provided a DVA document that states "
In your statement in support of claim, you reported that you were fighting the Japanese at Luzon, when you were struck by a bullet in your helmet; the bullet traveled through the helmet, grazing the side of your. [sic] You stated that you still have a scar from this bullet wound head [sic]
."
8. 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 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. He contends he was grazed by a Japanese bullet on the left side of his head, the bullet went through his helmet liner, and he has a scar.
2. There is no evidence in the available record that shows he was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II. In the absence of evidence showing he was injured and treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II, the eyewitness statement and DVA document provided by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for awarding the Purple Heart or adding it to his WD AGO Form 53-55. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence in which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
3. In view of the foregoing, there is insufficient basis for granting the applicant's request.
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 to know that the sacrifices he made in service to our Nation during World War II are deeply appreciated. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his 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) AR20100028920
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100028920
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
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