IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:  7 January 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130008201 


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:

   a.  At the hospital he was never asked where or how he was wounded.  He was wounded in the line of defense of his unit.  The incident occurred around 10:00 pm in either late 1944 or early 1945 when he was assigned to an outpost near the Siegfried Line.  A German patrol tried to infiltrate their position.  They opened fire, returned fire, and then retreated.  During the skirmish he was hit in the left shoulder and taken to the rear where a medic gave him something to deaden the pain.  He was sent to a hospital in Paris where the bullet was removed and the bone scraped to prevent infection.

   b.  After about 6 weeks, he was well enough to leave the hospital.  He hitched a ride on a truck leaving with medical supplies for the 3rd Army Supply Depot.  At the depot he caught a ride with a troop carrier with replacements that were heading to Company K, 347th Infantry Battalion, 87th Division, 3rd Army, which was assembling to cross the Rhine River.  He made the crossing and stayed with Company K until the end of the war.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge), Honorable Discharge 


Certificate, five 2012 Medical Record – Progress Notes, and a statement of support from staff member of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

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 for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, a reconstructed record and the evidence the applicant provided are sufficient to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  

3.  The available evidence shows the applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 9 August 1944 and entered active service on the same day.  He completed training and was awarded military occupational specialty 745 (rifleman).  He served in France from 15 January 1945 through 5 July 1945.  

4.  He was honorably discharged on 8 July 1946.  He was credited with completing 1 year, 4 months, and 24 days of net active service and 6 months and 6 days of foreign service.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:

* Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) – Combat Infantryman Badge and Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar
* Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) – Army Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Ribbon, Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, and World War II Victory Ribbon
* Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows the entry "None" to indicate he was not wounded while he served in Europe  


5.  There are no medical records and no orders in his available records that show he was wounded in action.  

6.  He provided copies of the following:

   a.  Five Medical Records – Progress Notes, dated 18 December 2012, which show during a medical visit he listed he had undergone surgery on his left shoulder after being injured in the war.

   b.  A letter, dated 6 February 2013, wherein a VA staff member stated that the applicant told him that after leaving the hospital, he was assigned to the Military Police and assigned duties in Paris.  The applicant also stated that he wanted to go back and fight the Nazis until the end of the war.  When the applicant thought it was safe he left the hospital and went back to the front and found his unit, but was never awarded the Purple Heart.  He found the applicant to be a very decent gentleman of the mindset of World War II Veterans that he grew up knowing, who got the job done, and who went home and helped make America even greater.  The applicant told him that if he received his Purple Heart, he would die happy.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart was awarded for a wound sustained while in action against the 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 had required treatment, and the medical treatment must had been made a matter of official record.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart has been carefully considered.  By regulation, to be awarded the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded or injured in action; the injuries were treated by medical authorities, and were made a matter of official record.  There is no evidence available, and he has not provided sufficient evidence, which confirms he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his period of service.  Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None" to indicate he did not receive a wound in action against a hostile force.  

2.  Based on the foregoing, he does not meet the regulatory requirements for award of the Purple Heart; therefore, regrettably there is insufficient evidence to award him the Purple Heart and to have this award added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.


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)                                         AR20130008201





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130008201



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