IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 July 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130021515 


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, the spouse of a deceased service member (FSM), requests reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states her deceased husband was wounded on 1 March 1945 in France during World War II.  He and his sergeant were wounded when a shell exploded sending him and his sergeant back into the trenches.  He was bleeding from his nose and mouth in a state of shock with a concussion and the sergeant had shrapnel. 

3.  The applicant provides Congressional correspondence and the following previously-considered and/or available documents: 

* Self-authored summary of service highlights
* Letters from fellow Soldiers
* Certificate showing another Soldier was awarded the Purple Heart 
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Service)
* Honorable Discharge Certificate
* Certificate awarding the FSM the Bronze Star Medal
* Self-authored memoirs
* Photographs of individuals
* Notes on scratch paper



CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the FSM's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20110010516, on 
10 November 2011. 

2.  The FSM submitted the original application in 2011.  However, he has since died.  His spouse was unaware of the 1-year rule regarding submission of a request for reconsideration.  Although she provides no new documentary evidence, she provides a new argument which is considered new evidence and warrants consideration by the Board, as an exception to policy. 

3.  The FSM'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.

4.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 8 May 1944.  This form also shows that at the time of separation he was assigned the 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division. 

5.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 10 December 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 23 December 1944.  He departed the ETO on 16 May 1946 and arrived back in CONUS on 26 May 1946.

6.  He completed 7 months and 7 days of continental service and 1 year, 
5 months, and 17 days of foreign service.  He was honorably separated on 31 May 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:

   a.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. 

   b.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) that during his service in World War II he participated in the Central Europe and Rhineland campaigns.  

   c.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal; and 
   d.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) "None."

7.  On 15 November 2011, in response to the FSM's (he was the applicant at the time) petition for award of the Purple Heat and Bronze Star Medal, the Board awarded him the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge but denied the award of the Purple Heart due to lack of evidence. 

8.  The applicant provides:

	a.  Congressional correspondence in relation to the FSM's issue.

	b.  Self-authored summary of service highlights, indicating he was wounded on 28 February or 1 March 1945 in Kreutzberg, Germany by a mortar attack/explosion. 

	c.  A statement from Mr. Andrew J. M------, dated 15 April 2013, to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  He states he was the platoon sergeant of the 2nd Platoon, E Company, 276th Regiment, 70th Infantry Division when he and [FSM] were wounded on 1 March 1945.  They moved up taking their positions on Kreutzberger Ridge overlooking Stiring-Wendel, in Northeast France.  They were in zigzag trenches on the Maginot line.  The [FSM] of the mortar squad was assigned to his platoon as a rifleman because they could not fire their mortars out of the thick woods and they were short of men.  He was taking him to a squad leader when a shell came in.  They were moving from one trench to another when the German's mortar shell came in and exploded blowing both of them back into the trench.  The [FSM] was bleeding from the nose and face and in a state of shock.  When the shelling let up, he was able to get him back to the pillbox that was the Company Command Post.  On entering the pill box, the First Sergeant called the Medic over.  He treated both of them.  He stopped the bleeding and bandaged their wounds and a shot of morphine was usually given at that point.  Later that night they brought a jeep in with stretchers and they were evacuated.  They were taken to a large farm house with stretchers in every room.  They were examined by a medic and a doctor to determine the extent of their injuries and they were tagged.  The next day, he and others were moved to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital at Epinal, Northern France, (Dinoze) where he was operated on.  After 7 to 10 days he was sent by hospital train to Paris, France, for further treatment.  He did not see [FSM] after they were treated at the farm house but he remembers him being bloody and disabled at the trench.  He believes the FSM should be awarded the Purple Heart for his action in France.

	d.  A second statement from Mr. Andrew J. M------, dated 14 February 2011, written to the VA states he was the platoon sergeant of the 2nd Platoon, E Company, 276th Infantry Regiment, when he and the FSM were wounded on 1 March 1945.  They moved up taking their positions on Kreutzberger Ridge overlooking Stiring-Wendel, France.  They were in zigzag trenches on the Maginot line.  The FSM, of the mortar squad, was assigned to him as a rifleman because they could not fire their mortars out of the thick woods and they were short of men.  He was taking him to a squad leader when a shell came in.  They were moving from one trench to another when the German mortar shell came in and exploded blowing both of them back into the trench.  The FSM was bleeding from the nose and face and was in a state of shock.  When the shelling let up, he was able to get him back to the pillbox that was the Company Command Post.  Later that night they brought a jeep in with stretchers and they were evacuated.

	e.  A letter, dated 28 March 200, from Mr. Andrew J. M------ to the FSM informing him of this incident during World War II. 

	f.  Another letter, dated 28 16 May 2000, from Mr. Andrew J. M------ to the FSM with some photographs and a copy of his own certificate awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 1 Mach 1945. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:  injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire; and/or concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant contends the FSM sustained a combat injury that occurred over 60 years ago but she does not provide the necessary documentary evidence to support her contention.  Notwithstanding her sincerity, there is no evidence in the FSM's available record that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or treated for such wounds.  The statements provided by 
Mr. Andrew J. M------ to the VA do not satisfy the criteria for award of the Purple Heart. 

3.  Regrettably, absent evidence that conclusively shows the FSM sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding the FSM the Purple Heart 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 that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20110010516, on 10 November 2011.



      _______ _   _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)                                         AR20130021515



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130021515



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