BOARD DATE: 5 November 2013
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130004578
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 while serving with the 170th General Hospital Surgical Team they traveled to various hospitals in the Rhineland setting up operating rooms. Once they set up very close to a German tank corps and the Germans sent in planes. They were ordered to take cover in some trenches and the next thing he recalls is bleeding from his forehead and being helped into a tent. Colonel G_________ said he was unconscious and probably suffered a slight concussion. His open wound was sutured and they went right to work in a makeshift operating room. They worked on some and others were transferred.
3. The applicant provides:
* an undated statement with photographs taken during World War II
* his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge) with a separation date of 29 April 1946
* his WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* his Honorable Discharge Certificate
* a history of World War II Military Hospitals from the internet
* his VA Form 21-526 (Veteran's Application for Compensation and/or Pension), dated 9 September 2007
* two letters, dated 16 November 2007 and 18 January 2008, from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), West Palm Beach Mini Service Center
* a letter, dated 17 November 2007, from the VA, St. Petersburg, FL
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. The only records available to this Board are the records provided by the applicant. These records are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. The main record available to the Board was the WD AGO Form 53-55 he provided.
3. The WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 28 June 1943 and entered active duty on 12 July 1943. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 1 October 1944 to 15 April 1946.
4. On 29 April 1946, he was discharged. He completed 2 years,
9 months, and 18 days of active service that was characterized as honorable. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:
* Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) no entry for the Purple Heart
* Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) the entry "NONE"
5. His service medical records were not available for review.
6. In an undated statement, the applicant chronicles his period of service from the time he was drafted to his separation. He states he suffered a wound to his forehead as a result of being bombed by German planes as described above. He also describes his current medical condition and treatment by the VA.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained as a result of hostile action.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The veracity of the applicant's statement that he was wounded in the forehead is not in question. However, there are no official documents or substantiating evidence available to show he was wounded as a result of enemy action.
2. Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show that he received any wounds in action.
3. Therefore, regrettably, there is insufficient evidence in this case to award the Purple Heart.
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 that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant 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.
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