BOARD DATE:	  28 June 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120000286 


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 wounded on 17 November 1944 during the battle of North Apennines and he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW).  The battle took place around a farmhouse when a large number of enemy soldiers attacked his unit.  There were many casualties on both sides.  He remembers the enemy soldiers throwing grenades and he recalls he was hit by something.  When he woke up, he found the enemy personnel were treating their own wounded.  He does not remember being treated but the bleeding from his head and neck had stopped and he was taken as a POW by the enemy.  He lost every tooth in his mouth and he still has shrapnel in his head.

3.  The applicant provides:

* A WD AGO Form 106 (Request for Decoration and/or Citation)
* His WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* His Honorable Discharge Certificate
* A letter from the National Personnel Records Center, dated 7 April 2011
* His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge)
* A letter from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), dated
4 May 2011
* Orders issued by HRC awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal, dated 3 May 2011
* A DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214 - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 4 May 2011

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 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 his 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's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 28 November 1942 and he entered active service in Cincinnati, OH on 7 December 1942.  This form also shows at the time of separation he held military occupational specialty 745 (Rifleman) and he was assigned to the 371st Infantry, 92nd Division. 

4.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows he departed the Continental United States (CONUS) on 21 September 1944 and he arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 19 October 1944.  He departed the ETO on 9 June 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 18 June 1945.

5.  He completed 2 years, 2 months, and 29 days of CONUS service and
8 months and 27 days of foreign service.  He was honorably discharged on
2 December 1945.

6.  Item 31 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-1) and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar.

7.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the North Apennines campaign during World War II (WWII).

8.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the:

* Army Good Conduct Medal
* American Theater Ribbon
* World War II Victory Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star

9.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None."

10.  His service medical records are not available for review with this case.

11.  The information from the Hospital Admissions Cards created by the Office of the Department of the Army Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) for the Year 1945 is not available for review with this case.

12.  The applicant's name is listed on the National Archives, WWII POW Data File for the period 7 December 1941 to 19 November 1946 as having been imprisoned at Stalag 4B Muhlberg Sachsen 51-13 and that he was returned to military control, liberated or repatriated.  The file does not list the date of his POW status or his parent unit.

13.  He provides:

	a.  His WD AGO Form 100, dated 2 December 1945 that summarizes his military education as a rifleman with Company I, 371st Infantry Regiment in Italy. He instructed men on the use of all infantry weapons tactics against the enemy.  He was in the battle at North Apennines and he was wounded and taken prisoner of war on 17 November 1944.  He was liberated by Russian forces on 25 April 1945 and returned to the United States on 23 June 1945.

	b.  A WD AGO Form 106, dated 2 December 1945, from a first lieutenant at the Fort McClellan, AL, Separation Point to the Decorations and Awards Branch, Adjutant General, Washington, DC, wherein the officer requests the applicant be awarded the Purple Heart and states that the applicant was wounded and taken prisoner of war in Italy near Balagona on 17 November 1944 while a member of the 371st Infantry, 92nd Division.

	c.  A letter from the Chief, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch, dated 4 May 2011, notifying him that there was insufficient evidence to support his claim for award of the Purple Heart.

	d.  Orders from the Chief, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch, dated 3 May 2011, awarding him the Army Good Conduct Medal.

	e.  A DD Form 215 from the Chief, HRC Awards and Decorations Branch, dated 4 May 2011, adding award of the POW Medal to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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.  Soldiers who became a POW may also receive the Purple Heart for wounds suffered at the hand of their captor or while being captured.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather, he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for the award.

2.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the wound or injury was the result of hostile action, the wound or injury must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Soldiers who became POWs may also receive the Purple Heart for wounds suffered at the hand of their captor or while being captured.

3.  In this case, there is insufficient evidence to support awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.  Both the WD AGO Forms 100 and the WD AGO Form 106 show the applicant was wounded but neither form lists the source of the wound, what caused it, whether it required treatment, or whether treatment was recorded.

4.  Regrettably, notwithstanding the applicant's sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation, such as a report of medical examination, repatriation 

physical, witness statements, morning reports, or other documentary evidence that conclusively shows that the applicant sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.

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 this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him 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)                                         AR20120000286



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120000286



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