IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 10 May 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110022608
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 two awards of the Purple Heart (PH).
2. He states he:
* was drafted on 7 January 1943 and discharged on 8 November 1945
* served with the 1317th Engineer General Service Regiment
* went to England for 17 months
* served in France and Belgium
* participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Rhine River
* participated in placing a bridge across the river under fire
* was in the hospital for 11 days during the Battle of the Bulge
* was hit by bombs in England and Germany
3. He provides:
* a letter, dated 22 February 2010, expressing his thanks to those who assisted him in obtaining his medals
* an article from September 2007 issue of Veterans Magazine
* an article from The California Advocate
* two pages from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical record
* a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Certificate of Appreciation
* a photograph
* a page from the August 2001 issue of VFW magazine
* the first page of a self-authored statement, dated 8 April 2007
* two pages from the August 2011 issue of The Bulge Bugle
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 complete military record is not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed most of his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents he provides and records in his reconstructed NPRC file.
3. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 1 April 1943 and entered active service on 8 April 1943. He was honorably discharged on 8 November 1945.
4. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) shows he served with Company C, 1317th Engineer General Service Regiment and served in the European Theater of Operations from 27 March 1944 to 7 August 1945. His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was awarded the PH. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows the entry "None."
5. The available records are void of documentation showing he was wounded during his military service.
6. He provides an article from Veterans Magazine describing his military service and post-war life. The article refers to him having been wounded by shrapnel during the Battle of the Bulge and subsequently hospitalized for 11 days.
7. He provides pages from a VA medical record prepared in 2010 showing he had symptoms that may have been related to a cold injury. The examining physician stated he did not receive any treatment nor did he bring a cold injury to the attention of any medical practitioners while in the service or following the service. The record makes no mention of any wounds he may have received as the result of exposure to a bomb blasts.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the PH is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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:
The evidence of record does not show and the applicant has not provided evidence showing he received wounds as a result of hostile action that required treatment by medical personnel. In the absence of such evidence, there is no basis for awarding him the PH.
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 wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices he made 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) AR20110022608
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110022608
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