IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 January 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120010008
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 for wounds he received on 19 November 1944, while serving in World War II (WWII).
2. The applicant defers to the evidence he submitted in support of his request.
3. The applicant provides:
* a 2-page statement from Mr. Jxx Hxxxxx, a police detective in central New Jersey
* a 1-page biographical summary
* his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge), for the period ending 20 April 1946
* his Army of the United States Honorable Discharge Certificate
* 4 black and white copies of photographs
* Company Morning Reports, dated 8 November and 26 November 1944
* a roster of men assigned to Company F, 377th Infantry Regiment, dated on or about 26 November 1944
* Company Morning Report, dated 22 January 1945
* a roster of men assigned to Company F, 377th Infantry Regiment, dated 22 January 1945
* a letter from Mr. Jxxxxx Rxxxxxxxxx, dated 1 July 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 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 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 was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 March 1944. He served in WWII, in the European Theater of Operations, from on or about 26 September 1944 to on or about 20 June 1945.
4. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows at the time of separation, he held military occupational specialty 745 (Rifleman) and he was assigned to Company F, 377th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division.
5. His available record is void of documentation that indicates he was wounded in action during his service in WWII. Additionally, he underwent a separation physical examination on 20 April 1946. This examination is documented on a WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement); however, specific questions regarding wounds or injuries show negative responses, indicating he was not wounded or injured during his period of active military service.
6. On 20 April 1946, he was honorably discharged from the Army of the United States. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he completed 1 year, 3 months, and 12 days of service in the continental United States., and 9 months and 9 days of foreign service.
a. Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns during WWII;
b. Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of this form does not indicate he was awarded the Purple Heart; and
c. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of this form contains the entry "None."
7. The applicant provides multiple documents as evidence, including statements and letters, photographs, Company Morning Reports, and rosters of company men; however, none of the documents definitively show he was wounded as a result of enemy engagement in combat.
8. The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, NY, on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War. It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932. It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.
9. 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 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 applicant contends he should be awarded the Purple Heart. Regrettably, the evidence of record fails to show he was wounded in combat, or that his wounds required medical treatment, or that such treatment was made a matter of official record. Absent evidence to the contrary, there is an insufficient basis to grant relief in this case.
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 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) AR20110020936
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120010008
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