BOARD DATE:	26 March 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140013877 


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 that the discharge (i.e., WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge)) of his deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show that he was awarded a Purple Heart (PH), a higher rank, and an "Expert Badge with 3 Bars."

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  The FSM was promoted to a higher rank than his records show, that he received a PH for a wound while in World War II, and he was awarded an Expert Badge with 3 Bars.

   b.  The FSM's record shows him listed as a private first class (PFC)/E-3 on three location cards, dental records, and on an 82nd Field Hospital record.   Also, his immunization register states he was a staff sergeant (abbreviated as "SS") due to a field promotion he received, but it was never forwarded to his record because he was the only survivor of his squad.
   
   c.  He contacted the U. S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) to correct the FSM's service record to show he received a PH, Bronze Star Medal (BSM), an Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM), and an Expert Badge with 3 Bars.  HRC administratively corrected the FSM's file by sending a letter to the FSM's son, indicating the FSM was authorized the BSM and the AGCM; however, HRC determined he was not authorized the PH or the Expert Badge with 3 Bars.
   d.  He contacted several DA offices regarding the FSM's awards and was told that the FSM was not entitled to the PH.
   
   e.  In addition, the FSM's grave marker states that the FSM was a PFC/E-3 with a "Purple Heart" which confirms the FSM's entitlement to the PH.
   
   f.  There are pictures he provides that shows the FSM with the Expert Badge with 3 Bars.

3.  The applicant provides:

* a self-authored letter
* WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge)
* WD AGO Form 40 (Certificate of Disability for Discharge)
* FSM's birth certificate
* family photos
* photograph of the FSM's grave marker
* letter from the Disabled American Veterans letter, dated 7 May 2014
* National Personnel Records Center letter, dated 21 October 2013
* HRC letter, dated 24 April 2014
* HRC letter, dated 28 April 2014

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 complete military record is 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 most of his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  This case is being considered using the documents the applicant's provides and records in his reconstructed NPRC file.

3.  On 9 March 1943, the FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States.  He entered active duty on 16 March 1943.  He completed initial training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 745 (Rifleman).  On 12 October 1945, he was honorably discharged and received a WD AGO Form 53-55.

4.  The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:

* item 3 (Grade) – Private (PVT)
* item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) – "Not available"
* item 38 (Highest Grade Held) - "PVT"

5.  FSM's WD AGO Form 40 shows he was being separated from active duty service due to an anxiety reaction in the grade of PVT/E-1.

6.  The available records are void of documentation showing he was wounded in action during his military service.  However, an AGO Form 0645 (Casualty Report) shows "erroneously rpted battle cas, [reported…casualty] wounded while cleaning rifle…"  Additionally, a letter dated 25 October 1944 was sent to FSM's father that stated, "…the report further states that he was not wounded in action as previously reported, but that he was accidentally wounded while cleaning a rifle."

7.  His medical records show he had a grade of PFC/E-3 in 1945.   However, his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was discharged in grade PVT/E-1.  Additionally, the FSM's immunization register shows his grade at "SS".  The meaning of this abbreviation is unclear.  It is not a standard rank abbreviation that was in use at that time.

8.  HRC sent a letter to the applicant on 28 April 2014, stating they were unable to verify the FSM's entitlement to the Expert Badge with Rifle Bar; therefore, he is not entitled to the Expert Badge with 3 Bars.  His record indicates that he only qualified for the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar.  However, they did annotate that he was entitled to receive the AGCM and the BSM.

9.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), which governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a “wound” was defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) sets forth requirements for award of basic marksmanship qualification badges.  The 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of documentation verifying he was wounded as the result of hostile action, there is an insufficient basis upon which to award him the Purple Heart.  Furthermore, his records indicate that the FSM was injured not in hostile action but due to an accident while cleaning a rifle.

2.  There is insufficient evidence in the FSM's record to show that the applicant met the regulatory requirements for the Expert Marksmanship Badge; therefore, there is no basis upon which to correct his record to show the Expert Marksmanship Badge in this case.

3.  Although the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was discharged from service in the grade of PVT/E-1, there is sufficient medical documentation to support that he was in a higher rank of PFC/E-3 when he was discharged.  It is not unreasonable to believe that, since the FSM was discharged from the hospital where he was receiving treatment, they made an administrative error in his rank.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___X_____  __X______  __X___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

   a.  deleting from his WD AGO Form 53-55 for the period ending on 
10 May 1945, in items 3 and 38: PVT
   
   b.  adding to his WD AGO Form 53-55 for the period ending on 10 May 1945, in items 3 and 38: PFC
2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to his PH and Expert Badge with 3 Bars.



      __________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)                                         AR20110019594



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140013877



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