IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 May 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130016863
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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart to her late father, a former service member (FSM).
2. The applicant states her father should be awarded the Purple Heart for an injury he sustained in the Battle of the Bulge and the resulting 20 percent pension he received. Her father was injured on 2 January 1945 and was discharged from a Colorado hospital on 23 August 1945. They always wondered why he was overlooked for award of the Purple Heart. They were told that may have been the paperwork was completed on the battlefield because he was sent directly to the hospital and finally discharged from the hospital. Her father never talked about the times in Germany, the coldest winter in history. Her father died 2 years ago and she and her sibling started researching.
3. The applicant provides copies of the:
* FSM's:
* birth certificate
* Western Union telegram and newspaper article pertaining to him being wounded in action
* WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record)
* WG AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) and Honorable Discharge Certificate
* Certification of Military Service
* letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
* letter from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) and Signature Verification form
* death certificate
* her letters from the Veterans Service Office (VSO) and the NPRC, birth certificate, and driver license
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSMs complete military records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 16 million service members records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed his records were destroyed in that fire. However, there was sufficient documentation contained in a reconstructed record and those which were submitted by the applicant for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
2. The applicant provided copies of the following:
a. A Western Union telegram, dated 4 February 1945, wherein the FSM's mother was advised that the FSM was seriously wounded in action on 21 January 1945 in Belgium and was hospitalized.
b. A newspaper article, dated 1 March 1945, which announced the FSM had been seriously wounded at the front on 21 January and four days after the official telegram from the War Department his parents received a letter written by him at a base hospital in England.
3. The applicant also provided a copy of and the FSM's available record contains the following:
a. A WD AGO Form 100 which shows the FSM served as a light mortar crewman with the 424th Infantry Regiment in Belgium. He fired and maintained a 60 millimeter mortar and set up gun to destroy enemy emplacements to support advancing infantry.
b. A WD AGO Form 53-55 which shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 24 June 1944 and entered active duty on the same day. He served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 17 December 1944 through 17 May 1945. He was discharged on 23 August 1945, with a certificate
of disability, from the Hospital Center, Carson, CO. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:
* Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) - Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-1) 14 August 1944
* Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) - Rhineland and Ardennes
* Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) - the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Ribbon with two bronze service stars
* Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) - 22 January 1945 Belgium
* Item 55 (Remarks) - World War II Honorable Lapel Button
4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states:
a. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under component authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded in any action against an enemy of the United States.
b. The World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.
5. DA Pamphlet 672-1 shows his unit was cited for the French Fourragere for the periods 16 to 31 December 1944 and 20 to 29 January 1945, by DA General Orders Number 43, dated 1950.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The available evidence shows the FSM was wounded in action on 21 or
22 January 1945 in Belgium, was hospitalized, and discharged with a certificate of disability on 23 August 1945. Therefore, he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and its addition to his WD AGO Form 53-55.
2. The FSM served a qualifying period of service for the World War II Victory Medal. Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be correction to show this award.
3. Orders awarded his unit the French Fourragere (2nd Award). Therefore, his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be corrected to show this award.
BOARD VOTE:
___x____ ____x___ ___x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
* Awarding the FSM the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 22 January 1945
* Adding to his WD AGO Form 53-55 the Purple Heart, World War II Victory Medal, and French Fourragere (2nd Award)
____________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) AR20130016863
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130016863
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