BOARD DATE:	  11 October 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20120006834 


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 (PH).

2.  The applicant states he was not awarded the PH for any of the wounds he sustained while serving in World War II (WWII).  Additionally, he received a copy of his military record and noted the following wounds were not annotated:

* 16 February 1944, Anzio, Italy, head wound
* 2 April 1944, Anzio, Italy, back wound
* 8 April 1944, Anzio, Italy, finger wound
* 28 December 1944, Colmar, France, hand wound
* 9 January 1945, Orbey, France, leg wounds
* 4 April 1945, Eichenbach, Germany, chest wound

3.  The applicant provides:

* Letter, dated 12 October 2010
* Excerpt from a newspaper, dated May 2011
* Self-authored statement, dated 20 January 2012
* Letter, dated 10 February 2012
* Letter, dated 9 March 2012 
* Email from his Congress Member, dated 20 March 2012
* Three pages listing awards
* Photo of a sign 
* Listing of wounds
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge)
* Certification of Military Service
* 11 Pages of personal journal entries
* Excerpt from a fellow Soldier's journal entry

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 (NPRC) 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.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 4 May 1942 and he entered active service on the same date.  He held military occupational specialty (MOS) 014 (Automotive Mechanic) and was assigned to Company B, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division.  The highest rank he held was Technician Grade 5.  He was honorably discharged on 
13 November 1945.

	a.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show award of the Purple Heart.

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

4.  There were no medical records available for review and the applicant did not provide any with his application.

5.  He provided 11 pages of personal journal entries wherein he states:

	a.  On 16 February 1944, in Anzio, Italy, he was driving in his Jeep "when a German tank picked [him] off.  [The shot fired by the tank] took the front wheel off, the windshield went, [his] helmet went, and wheels were flying around.  [He was] catapulted upside down into a ditch [and] hit [his] head.  When [he] woke up [he] was in the hospital down by the beach."

	b.  On 2 April 1944, in Anzio, Italy, he and a lieutenant (LT) drove across a "bridge and headed into the open country where a salvo of 88s detected [them].  [They] pulled off the road and waited ten minutes until the firing subsided.  [They] started out again [and] made it the rest of the way when three rounds landed within 30 feet of [them].  [He got] a hole in his jacket [and hurt his back]."

	c.  On 8 April 1944, in Anzio, Italy "[he] took LT E----n to LT F-----y where [his unit had] transferred a tank, the [enemy] threw a couple 170s (German 170mm short range mortars) at [them as they] crossed the field.  [He] got a knick in the finger from shrapnel.

	d.  On 20 April 1944, in Anzio, Italy, he was operating a radio from his jeep.  They "fired 400 rounds.  [His] head was bouncing and bobbing from the concussion with a severe headache."

	e.  On 28 December 1944, in Colmar, France, a shell landed in the snow about 50 yards from his position and some shrapnel hit him in the middle of his [gloved] left hand.  [The] shrapnel burned a hole in his glove and burned his hand.  "[His] hand was injured but it was not bad.  [He] put [his hand] down in the snow for awhile.  [His company medic] put stuff on it and a bandage around it."

	f.  On 9 January 1945, in Orbey, France, he was staying in a hotel.  "[He] took [his] combat pants down the street.  [He] dug around [for a] few dollars until [he] found a lady to put two patches on the legs (shrapnel)."

	g.  On 1 April 1945, in Eichenbach, Germany, he was driving down a road with a captain when "something hit the side of the vehicle."  They came to a stop and realized they had been ambushed.  They exited the vehicle and were circling around with their weapons when one of their tanks came along.  The German Soldiers surrendered.  After the incident he "began to feel some kind of burning sensation just under [his] heart in [his] left side.  [The] bullet which had hit the Jeep splintered, and about half of it, a squished little bit, went forward into [his] chest, [but not] very deep.  [He] could feel the splintered bullet protruding through [his] shirt.  The company medic put some sulfanilamide on it and a bandage."

6.  He provided an excerpt from a fellow Soldier's journal entry.  The applicant has annotated the date of this document as 1 April 1945.  The entry elaborates on the applicant's 1 April 1945 journal entry by indicating several shots were fired at their jeep breaking the windshield.  

7.  He provided a letter from his doctor, dated 10 February 2012, wherein his doctor indicated he complains of being sensitive to light exposure.  The doctor's professional opinion is that his symptoms are directly related to his exposure to multiple shell firings during WWII.  

8.  He provided a self-authored statement, dated 20 January 2012, wherein he stated his first sergeant (1SG) disliked him because he lost a lot of money in a card game with the applicant; therefore, the 1SG had his PH removed from his record.

9.  He provided a letter, issued by the Army Human Resources Command (HRC), dated 9 March 2012, wherein HRC denied his request for award of the PH.  The letter stated HRC was unable to verify his entitlement to the PH.  In order to process the request they required notarized eyewitness statements, if available, and military medical documentation from immediately after or close to the event describing both the diagnosis and the treatment of injuries caused by the enemy.  HRC stated an injury may have been treated by a medical professional other than a medical officer, provided a medical officer included a statement in his medical record which recorded the extent of the wounds were such that they would have required treatment by a medical officer had one been available.  The letter further stated his wounds could be verified by morning reports or War Department notifications which were sent to service members' next of kin to notify them of military personnel who were wounded.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that 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 medical treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the PH are as follows:  injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by an enemy-placed mine or trap; injury caused by an enemy-released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; injury caused by a vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy-generated explosions.



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence available for review and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to show he sustained any injuries as a result of hostile enemy action.  Absent such evidence, regrettably, there is no 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:

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.



      _______ _  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)                                         AR20120006834



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20120006834



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