IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  26 January 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110014092 


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:

	a.  as a combat wounded veteran he should have been awarded the Purple Heart pursuant to Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962; Executive Order 12463, dated 23 February 1983; and Public Law 98-525, dated 19 October 1984.

	b.  his Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Rating decision, dated 5 May 2011, indicates he sustained shrapnel wounds to his left forehead, left ankle and knee, and right thumb and wrist during World War II.  These conditions were service-connected.

	c.  he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal on 1 January 1944 for meritorious achievement in active ground combat.

3.  The applicant provides:

* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation)
* DD Form 215 (Correction to WD AGO Form 53-55)
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* Orders and award certificate for the Bronze Star Medal


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 applicant's complete 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.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 January 1943 and he entered active service on 18 January 1943.  He served as a rifleman in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations (EAMETO) from 13 June 1943 to 11 September 1945.  On 28 October 1945, he was honorably discharged.

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.  In support of his claim, he provides:

	a.  a WD AGO Form 100 that states he performed duties with a combat infantry company in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operation and he maintained and repaired infantry hand and shoulder weapons and light and heavy machine guns.


	b.  orders and award certificate for the Bronze Star Medal.

	c.  a DD Form 215, dated 7 February 2008, that corrected item 33 of his
WD AGO Form 53-55 by deleting the Bronze Star Medal and adding the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, French Fourragere, and Belgian Fourragere.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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 3, 1932 and is currently awarded pursuant to Executive Order 11016, 25 April 1962; Executive Order 12464, 23 February 1984; Public Law 98-525, 19 October 1984 amended by Public Law 100–48, 1 June 19871; Public Law 103-160,
30 November 1993; Public Law 104-106, 10 February 1996; and Public Law
105-85, 18 November 1997.  It 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  He contends his DVA Rating decision indicates he sustained shrapnel wounds to his left forehead, left ankle and knee, and right thumb and wrist during World War II.

2.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards.  The Purple Heart requires:

* a wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
* official orders awarding the decoration

3.  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.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him 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)                                         AR20110014092



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110014092



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