BOARD DATE:	  1 October 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140000668 


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 son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests reconsideration of his earlier application to amend his father's discharge by adding the Purple Heart and Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

2.  He states he would like to thank the Board for awarding his father the Combat Infantryman Badge.  The Bronze Star Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, and three bronze battle stars were awarded to his father in the 1980's.

3.  He contends that based on common sense and logic rather than military orders that no longer exist it is the Board's burden of proof to explain why the documentation submitted was denied "and why they base their decision with no proof for denial of the Expert Badge Rifle and Purple Heart."

4.  The applicant also contends that since his father held military occupational specialty (MOS) 745 (Rifleman), common sense tells him he had M1 Rifle training.  The American War Library did a better job evaluating the same information that was mailed to this Board regarding his father's qualification for medals.  He wants to know how the Board can justify their decision when they have no proof; the records were destroyed.  Why should the veteran or his family have the burden of proof?



5.  He adds that his father was captured the evening of 6 October 1944 in Breven.  Company K was left behind for 2 days.  The records state that all 
61 men were killed or wounded on 4 October 1944.  His father was wounded between 4 and 6 October 1944 while behind enemy lines and that is why there is no record of his wound.  His father showed him the scar and it was recorded twice in his interview while he was in recovery in Miami, FL, from late June to 
1 October 1945.  He states these records were destroyed by human hands and not by fire.  

6.  The applicant states his father has been deceased for 24 years and he knows it does not matter to the Army Review Boards Agency, but it matters to him how his father was treated by the Army after his discharge on 1 October 1945.  His father was not able to get proper medical care since he did not have the Purple Heart and turned very bitter towards the Army.

7.  The applicant provides:

* FSM's discharge document
* Prisoner of War documentation
* S-2 Periodic Reports from the National Archives
* [Applicant's name] 1906-1989… Family History, Volume 2
* documents from the American War Library
* various other documents as listed in his reconsideration request

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20120006597, on 2 October 2012.  The Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence to award the FSM either the Purple Heart or Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.  However, his WD AGO Form 53-55 was amended to add the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Prisoner of War Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.

2.  The applicant provides new evidence that includes an S-2 Periodic Reports for Company K, 175th Infantry that will be considered with his request.  The other evidence he submits was considered with his previous application and will not be discussed in this record of proceedings. 

3.  The FSM's complete 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 (NPRC) in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant's 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 discharge document does not show the heading/title or footer/form number as the type of discharge received.  It does show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 November 1943 and entered active duty on 
2 December 1943.  At the time of separation, on 1 October 1945, he held MOS 745 and was assigned to Company K, 175th Infantry.

5.  The FSM's discharge document also shows the following:

	a.  Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) – None;

	b.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) – Southern France, Northern France, and Rhineland;

	c.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) – is blank; and

	d.  Item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. and Return) – he arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 14 August 1944 and departed for the United States on 15 June 1945.

6.  The S-2 Periodic Reports provided by the applicant give a detailed description of the enemy situation, enemy operations at the end of the period, enemy capabilities, and miscellaneous information for the 175th Infantry from 3 through 7 October 1944.  

	a.  The report for the period from 1500 hours 3 October to 1500 hours 
4 October 1944 shows, in part, that 26 Prisoners of War were taken into captivity and casualties were reported as moderately heavy.  The next period shows 
8 Prisoners of War were taken.  The applicant underlined the portion pertaining to four American Prisoners of War that were seen in the vicinity of Breberan.  However, the unit to which they belonged was unidentified.  

	b.  The FSM's name does not appear in this report.  This report also contains a numerical listing of officers and enlisted men killed or wounded in action.  The total number of personnel assigned is not shown.  The only name listed is that of Major JLB.  The dates the Soldiers received their wounds is not listed. 


7.  The applicant also provided a report on his father that was filed with the American War Library.  This document shows the applicant highlighted the Marksman Rifle and Purple Heart. 

8.  A verification of the World War II Prisoner of War Data File dated 
7 December 1941 to 19 November 1946 shows the FSM was captured on 
4 October 1944 by German forces.  He was reported as a Prisoner of War through official sources at the time.  The copy of this report which the applicant provided shows he annotated the date that his father was taken into captivity as 6 October 1944. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides guidance and authority on the issuance of military awards and lists the following criteria:

	a.  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 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.

	b.  The marksmanship qualification badge is awarded to indicate the degree – Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman -- in which an individual has qualified in a prescribed record course.  An appropriate bar is furnished to denote each weapon with which the individual has qualified.  

10.  A search of the internet shows the American War Library located at http://www.amervets.com/index.htm was established by veterans for veterans in 1988.  Any military person who served or is serving in any service branch during war or peace is eligible for listing.  To register a name in the library, one clicks a link and fills out the information including awards, decorations, and campaigns.  This is not an official source that the ABCMR would use.

11.  Army Regulation 15-185 (ABCMR) provides Department of the Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions regarding an applicant's request for the correction of a military record.  It states the ABCMR operates pursuant to law (Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552) within the Office of the Secretary of the Army and begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record.  It is not an investigative body.  The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence.  



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim that his father was wounded while a Prisoner of War during WWII is not in question; however, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case.  The available evidence shows the FSM was taken into captivity on or about 4 October 1944 by German forces.  Additionally, item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None."

2.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded by hostile action; that the wound required treatment by medical personnel; and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The S-2 Periodic Reports do not list his father's name.  For the ABCMR to make the presumption that his father was included in the figures shown, one would have to know the total number of personnel assigned to the unit, that his father was present with the unit at the time, and that everyone assigned to that unit who engaged the enemy was wounded.  

3.  While it is evident that a Soldier who served in MOS 745 Rifleman during the FSM's period of service would qualify with and be assigned an M-1 Rifle, the degree of qualification is not known.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states there are three levels of qualification:  Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman.  The FSM's record does not show and the applicant has not provided sufficient evidence such as orders or copy of a prescribed record fire course for the M-1 Rifle.  Further, item 31 of his discharge document shows "None."  

4.  The ABCMR operates pursuant to law and begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity.  The presumption of administrative regularity has been applied to this case in that the items recorded on the FSM's discharge document are correct as listed.  The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record.  The American War Library is a repository created by veterans for veterans and its contents are entered by those who apply to have their information listed.  It is not an official source that this Board would use to verify proof of military service or verify awards and decorations received.  

5.  The applicant contends that it is the ABCMR's mission to provide the burden of proof why a case is not granted and it should not fall on the applicant to provide the burden of proof.  The ABCMR is not an investigative body and the applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by the preponderance of the evidence.  This requirement has not been satisfied in this case.


6.  Regrettably, in view of the foregoing there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for the granting the applicant's requested relief.

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 AR20120006597, dated 2 October 2012. 



      __________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)                                         AR20140000668



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140000668



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