IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 February 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130011324
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. He states he was wounded in the left leg by shrapnel in November 1944 while serving in Germany with the 7th Corps. He was the only radio operator; therefore, the commanding officer (CO) would not allow him to be evacuated. He received minimal treatment. Bandages were applied to his leg by a fellow Soldier who was a dentist. Due to the intense fighting, his CO never submitted a request to award him the Purple Heart. He did not receive any further treatment for his leg while he was in the service, and he never received the Purple Heart. When he came home, he had surgery on his leg at a Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center on 6 June 1947. He has received a 20 percent service-connected disability rating from the VA for his injury. He states he is now
93 years of age and would like to receive the Purple Heart if he is entitled to it.
3. He provides a self-authored summary of his military service, an unsigned statement that appears to have been authored by his wife, and his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge).
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 for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO, in 1973. It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents he provides and a reconstructed record provided by NPRC.
3. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 16 January 1942. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 31 August 1942 to 2 June 1945, and he participated in eight campaigns. Item 22 (Decorations and Citations) does not show the Purple Heart, and item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) contains the entry "None."
4. On 19 June 1945, he was honorably discharged.
5. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. To award the Purple Heart there must be substantiating evidence verifying that a wound was the result of hostile action and required treatment by medical personnel and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.
2. Unfortunately, the only evidence of a wound available in this case is the applicant's own statement. In the absence of documentary evidence substantiating the circumstances under which he was wounded, there is an insufficient basis upon which to award the Purple Heart.
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) AR20130011324
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130011324
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