IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  17 April 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110020159


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 granddaughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests her grandfather be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action during World War I.

2.  The applicant states she is unsure if the Purple Heart medal was issued or awarded for veterans of World War I.

3.  The applicant provides:

* Self-authored letter
* Letter from War Department, The Adjutant General, Washington, D.C., dated 14 December 1918
* Local Board for Fillmore County Notice of Classification, dated
29 December 1917
* Casuals Mess Ticket – Hospital Mess
* Handwritten letters from the FSM, dated 13, 24, and 27 October 1918
* Accolade of the new Chivalry of Humanity Certificate for serving with honor in the World War and being wounded in action
* WD AGO Form 740-C (Extract from Discharge Certificate of Enlisted Man to Secure Victory Medal)
* Enlistment Record
* AGO Form Number 525 (Honorable Discharge Certificate)
* Draft Registration card


* Officer Down Memorial Page
* Newspaper articles
* Her Passport
* Her Social Security card
* Birth Certificates
* Marriage Certificates
* Death Certificates

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 were 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 his records were lost in that fire.  The primary documents available are those provided by the applicant.

3.  The FSM's record consists of his Enlistment Record and Honorable Discharge Certificate.  These documents show the FSM was inducted in the Army on 25 February 1918 and entered active service as a private.  He served as a member of Company L, 131st Infantry during World War I.

4.  A War Department letter from The Adjutant General, Washington, D.C., dated 14 December 1918, addressed to the FSM's father, indicates the FSM was slightly wounded in action about 10 October 1918.

5.  The FSM's Honorable Discharge Certificate indicates that he was discharged from the Army at Camp Dodge, IA on 21 January 1919.

6.  The FSM's Enlistment Record shows he sustained a bullet wound to his left shoulder during World War I.  His Accolade of the New Chivalry of Humanity 


Certificate shows he was wounded in action.  The certificate appears to be signed by President Woodrow Wilson, the then Commander-In-Chief.

7.  The applicant provided three handwritten letters from the FSM to his family.  Two of the letters indicate he was on active service with the American Expeditionary Force.  Excerpts from the letters cited:

	a.  "One of Jerries machine gun bullets got me in the shoulder.  It is not a bad wound so you must not worry."

	b.  "We entered the lines on the 19th of Sept[ember] and I was hit on the
10th of August."  (Most likely he meant October.)

	c.  "I am getting along fine and am receiving the best of care."

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

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 2-8d, governs award of the Purple Heart authorized for wounds sustained during World War I.  This paragraph authorizes award of the Purple Heart to any member of the Army, who during World War I, was awarded the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate signed by the Commander-in-Chief, American Expeditionary Forces, or who was authorized to wear wound chevrons.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, paragraph 6-15a, governs award of the World War I Victory Button.  This paragraph states that the Silver World War I Victory Button is issued to persons wounded in action during World War I and the Bronze World War I Victory Button is awarded to all others.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The FSM's Enlistment Record shows he sustained a bullet wound to his left shoulder during his service in World War I.

2.  The letter from the War Department, The Adjutant General, indicates the FSM was wounded in action on 10 October 1918.  Therefore, the FSM should be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on
10 October 1918 during World War I.


3.  The FSM's handwritten letters indicate he was wounded while a member of an American Expeditionary Force.  Therefore, the FSM's is entitled to the World War I Victory Medal.

BOARD VOTE:

____x___  ____x___  ____x___  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

	a.  posthumously awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 10 October 1918 during World War I;

	b.  issuing an appropriate document to show the FSM's posthumous award of the Purple Heart and the Silver World War I Victory Medal; and

	c.  issuing the posthumous awards to the applicant, as the FSM's next of kin.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others to know that the sacrifices the FSM made in service to the United States during World War I are deeply appreciated.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of the FSM'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)                                         AR20110015674



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110020159



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