IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 25 November 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140006303
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 daughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests that the FSM's military records be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states the FSM received shrapnel wounds to his left arm. The FSM did not report his shrapnel wounds to anyone and just let them stay in his arm. They were bumpy to the feel and were still in his arm when he passed away. The FSM was a medic with the 322nd Field Artillery Medical Detachment, 83rd Infantry Division.
3. The applicant provides copies of:
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge)
* The FSM's Certificate of Death, dated 20 January 1997
* The applicant's Notification of Birth Registration
* The applicant's Marriage Certificate
* Photocopies of photographs of the FSM
* Letter of support from the FSM's son-in-law, dated 31 January 2014
* Letter of support from the FSM's grandson, undated
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 FSM'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 that the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, the applicant has provided a copy of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 which is sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
3. The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows:
a. he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 September 1942 and entered active service on 14 October 1942;
b. he served as a surgical technician in the Medical Corps;
c. he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe campaigns;
d. he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 5 bronze service stars, World War II Victory Medal, and was issued the Lapel Button;
e. in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) no entry indicating he did not received any wounds in action; and
f. he was honorably discharged on 16 November 1945 due to demobilization.
4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the Purple Heart to a member of the Armed Force of the United States who, while serving 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 die after being wounded in any action against an enemy of the U.S. 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.
5. The two letters of support speak to the FSM's left arm as having shrapnel which he did not have removed at the time.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant contends, in effect, that the FSM's military records should be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
2. There are no available general orders showing the applicant was awarded a Purple Heart. There is no available documentation showing that the FSM was wounded as a result of enemy action. Furthermore, the statements made by the applicant in this case clearly indicate that the FSM did not receive any medical treatment for the shrapnel wounds and that the fragments remained in his arm until his passing. Medical treatment is a requirement for award of the Purple Heart.
3. In view of the above, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for 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:
1. 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.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others to know that the sacrifices the FSM made in service to the United States during World War II are deeply appreciated. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of the FSM's service in arms.
____________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) AR20140001285
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140006303
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