BOARD DATE: 20 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004573
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 for frostbite injuries.
2. The applicant states:
* He received frostbite injuries to his feet while fighting in Italy with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War ll
* He was hospitalized in Oran, North Africa from January to March 1944
* Per World War II standards the Purple Heart was awarded for frostbite
3. The applicant provides:
* Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) documentation
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty))
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 applicants 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 applicants 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 12 February 1943 and he entered active duty on 19 February 1943. He served as a squad leader in the European Theater of Operations from 6 August 1943 to 7 November 1945. On 26 November 1945, he was honorably discharged.
4. 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 are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
6. There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was diagnosed with severe frostbite.
7. In support of his claim, he provided DVA documentation which shows he was granted service connection for residuals of frostbite with gangrene of the bilateral feet manifested by onychomycosis (0 percent) and left shoulder degenerative joint disease (30 percent).
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, 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.
9. While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award. Until 23 August 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, 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. An element pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized. The regulation also specifically states that trench foot will not be considered as meriting award of the Purple Heart.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
Although the applicant contends he suffered frostbite injuries to his feet during World War II, there is no medical evidence of record which shows he was diagnosed with "severe" frostbite as required by the governing regulation at the time in question. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to award the Purple Heart in this case.
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 in service to our Nation. 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) AR20110004573
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110004573
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