IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 17 July 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120001148
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 daughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM's discharge document to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states the FSM's discharge document shows he was wounded in action on 19 May 1945, but it does not show the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides a copy of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge), Purple Heart award elements, and a death certificate that shows the FSM died on 12 February 2011.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM's military service 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 FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 offers sufficient evidence for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
2. The FSM was inducted and entered active service in the Army of the United States on 27 September 1944.
3. A WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the FSM was honorably discharged on
21 July 1946. He completed 4 months and 29 days of continental service and
1 year, 4 months, and 26 days of foreign service, equaling 1 year, 9 months, and 25 days of total service. It also shows in:
a. item 6 (Organization): Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion,
342nd Infantry Regiment;
b. item 31 (Military Qualification and Date): Combat Infantryman Badge,
27 May 1945;
c. item 32 (Battles and Campaigns): Ryukyus campaign;
d. item 33 (Decorations and Citations): Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with
1 bronze service star, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and two Overseas Service Bars; and
e. item 34 (Wounds Received in Action): "AP [Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations], 19 May 1945."
4. In support of the application, the applicant provides the following documents a card from the Honorable Robert P. Patterson, Secretary of War, showing he forwarded the engraved Purple Heart decoration to the FSM (circa 1946); and
5. A review of the FSM's available military service records reveals he may be authorized additional awards that are not shown on his WD AGO 53-55.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning military awards and decorations.
a. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy. The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between
7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, or whose achievement or service during that period was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders. This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.
b. The Purple Heart is awarded to any member who has been wounded or killed in action. 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. In order to support awarding a member the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that the wound for which the award is being made required treatment by medical personnel and the medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Records show the FSM was wounded in action on 19 May 1945 in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct the FSM's records to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The FSM was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy during World War II. An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge is considered to be a citation in orders. This means that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized the Combat Infantryman Badge for service during World War II. Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct the FSM's records to show award of the Bronze Star Medal.
3. In view of the foregoing, the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected, as recommended below.
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. issuing orders and a DA Form 4980-10 (Purple Heart Certificate) awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 19 May 1945;
b. issuing orders and a DA Form 4980-5 (Bronze Star Medal Certificate) awarding the FSM the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement for exemplary conduct in ground combat during the period 28 February to
27 May 1945; and
c. correcting the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 by adding the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
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 II 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) AR20120001148
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120001148
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