IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  12 November 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140015584 


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 reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  In August 1944, during the breakout from Normandy in World War II (WWII), he was wounded as enemy aircraft strafed the area where he was checking a ditched German officer's vehicle to retrieve an attaché case.  A quick examination revealed detailed Order of Battle data of the opposing German Army Corps which proved invaluable for planning and executing the counterattack by the U.S. XV Corps 7 days later in the Falaise Gap area.

   b.  In early 2007, he first learned of a 1996 law authorizing Members of Congress (MOC) to apply to the military Services for award of medals to veterans of past wars.  In April 2007, he applied for award of the Purple Heart in accordance with this law.  His representative, Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County, Maryland, forwarded his request, with notarized backup data, in April 2007.

   c.  The U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Army Military Awards Branch, denied his requests in May and November 2007.  His appeal to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) was denied on April 2008. Under the "Discussions and Conclusions" it states "A review of the available records does not substantiate that the applicant met the criteria for award of the Purple Heart."  However, between April 2007 and April 2008, the applicant provided specific data in response to requests by HRC.  This data apparently was not considered when evaluating the application although it had been submitted in response to the issues raised by HRC.

   d.  Justification for the denials of his application, as stated above, was based upon the criteria now in use.  The circumstances in WWII were entirely different from those which exist today.  In his case, no medical officer was in the area and the medic who treated him did not make a record.  The fact that not every injury was recorded was not unusual.  There are no records of his treatments at the 16th Field Hospital in early August because the hospital did not keep records of treatment of the walking wounded before September 1944.  The National Archives and Records Administration verified this.

   e.  The facts are clear.  He was wounded by enemy action, he received initial treatment by an Army medic, and subsequent treatments were provided by the 16th Field Hospital.

   f.  There is a precedent for WWII veterans being decorated for their wartime service late in life.  Recently, another WWII veteran, P____ H____, received medals for his service in the South Pacific.

   g.  He believes that an open-minded review of the data submitted by him and Representative Van Hollen will provide for an objective decision of his application.  Moreover, the sworn statement of an old Soldier should be given the respect and credibility that it deserves.

3.  The applicant provides:

* self-authored statement
* ABCMR Record of Proceedings, dated 22 April 2008
* letter to an MOC
* letter, dated 3 December 2013
* letter, dated 10 February 2014
* Cover of a "Secret" Diary 1944
* 2-pages of extracts from the "Secret" Diary 1944
* Letter, dated 6 September 2007
* 2 messages






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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20080001503, on 22 April 2008.

2.  The applicant provides a letter to an MOC which contains an argument which is considered new evidence and warrants consideration by the Board, as an exception to policy. 

3.  The applicant'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 applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Service) shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 23 June 1943 and he entered active duty on 7 July 1943.  This form also shows at the time of separation he was assigned the 83rd Order of Battle Team. 

5.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 10 April 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 16 April 1944.  He departed the ETO on 28 November 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 10 December 1945.

6.  He completed 9 months and 8 days of continental service and 1 year, 
8 months, and 1 day of foreign service.  He was honorably separated on 15 December 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in:

   a.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) he was awarded the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar (M-1). 

   b.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) that during his service in WWII he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns.  

   c.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Distinguished Unit Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal; and 
   
   d.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) "None."
   
7.  On 22 April 2008, in response to the applicant's petition for award of the Purple Heat, the Board amended his record to show award of the French Croix de Guerre, Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, and a silver service star for inclusion on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal but denied award of the Purple Heart due to a lack of evidence. 

8.  The applicant provides:

   a.  A message, to the G-2, dated 30 July 1944, which appears to indicate planes strafed a 4th Armored Division column at La Haye-Pesnel at 0600 hours.

   b.  A message, from the G-2, 4th Armored Division, dated 1 August 1944, which appears to indicate two German rocket planes attacked a column on a road near the vicinity of 247207 at 1520 hours.
   
   c.  Excerpts of a "Secret" Diary maintained by the applicant:
   
       (1)  The entry for 1 August 1944 states, "In bivouac near Avranches.  Left about 5pm through Ducey.  French very cheerful.  Attacked by planes.  [unknown word] valuable documents."   

       (2)  The entry for 7 August 1944 states, "Lt. Maul and SGT Jacobs on CQ at G-2!  Levine on guard.  Lousy day.  Hot.  Lots of work.  Paratroopers coming in, Capt. AForces."
   
       (3)  The entry for 8 August 1944 appears to state, "Went to hospital in Vannes.  Met Canadian paratrooper there.  Try to get him into division.  Dinner at André…Dobek, Irwin wine, Julia."
   
       (4)  The entry for 9 August 1944 states, "Again trouble with Lewine.  Again in hospital with G-1.  SGT went swimming on beach.  Dinner at André.  CQ."

	d.  In a letter written to his MOC, the applicant stated "I am writing to enlist your assistance in being retroactively awarded the Purple Heart Medal for injuries incurred during my WWII service."  He also stated that he believed the uniqueness of his service hampered the normal decision process.  "Due to the 'fog of war' as well as the dynamics of the battlefield I am one of many others 



who were treated for battlefield injuries and medical record entries were not made."  Additionally, the applicant states:

       (1)  He was in the small military intelligence team assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), attached to the 4th Armored Division.  Before being attached to the Division, he attended SHAEF Intelligence School which was operated by the British Army.  Upon graduation, the school gave him a blank diary which he was to maintain and submit to the SHAEF Military Intelligence Service after the war.  The pertinent entries in the diary are documented evidence which support his request and which the Board has ignored.

       (2)  The diary entries deal with events while he was in his jeep in a column of troops during the breakout of Normandy.  He was by himself; his team partner was elsewhere with the Division G-2.  He saw a German staff car ditched on the side of the road; he stopped and was examining a briefcase of documents when German planes strafed the road.  He was fortunate to incur only facial wounds.  He was patched up by a medic who was too busy to do any paperwork.

       (3)  When he rejoined Division Headquarters, his wounds started to bleed again.  He re-patched the wounds.  Finally, he realized self-treatment did not work.  On 8 August 1944, he went to the field hospital in Vannes.  The doctor who examined him told him to keep the wounds clean, it would stop bleeding.  However, the following day, it started to bleed again and he returned to the hospital.  This time the doctor took more time, cleaned the wound, and bandaged it.  He did not receive any paperwork.  He later found out the field hospital did not keep records on the walking wounded until September 1944.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while 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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's contention that he received facial wounds when German planes strafed the road near his position on 1 August 1944 has been carefully re-examined.  The statements and associated documents provided by the applicant were mindfully reconsidered; however, the evidence provided remains wholly insufficient to support award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant provides a message in an attempt to corroborate his claim that German planes strafed the area where he was located which resulted in the applicant receiving facial wounds.  He further provides a diary entry from the same day noting an aerial attack; however, there is no mention by the applicant in his diary of being wounded on this or any other day.  A subsequent diary entry on 9 August 1945 states, "Again trouble with Lewine.  Again in hospital with G-1."  This statement is insufficient as corroborating evidence of the applicant being wounded because it does not identify the reason why he was at the hospital.  It can easily be presumed he was at the hospital for an issue with another Soldier, i.e., Lewine.

3.  The Board begins its consideration of each case with a presumption of regularity; that is, what Army records reflect is correct and the burden of proving otherwise rests with the applicant.  

4.  The applicant contends he sustained a combat injury that occurred over       60 years ago and due to the "fog of war" and poor record keeping the "sworn statement of an old Soldier should be given the respect and credibility that it deserves."  In this case, item 34 of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he received no wounds in action.  

5.  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.  

6.  Regrettably, notwithstanding his sincerity there is no evidence in his available record or the documents he provides that show he 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.  The statements provided by the applicant simply do not satisfy the criteria for award of the Purple Heart. 

7.  In light of the foregoing, there remains an insufficient evidentiary basis for awarding him the Purple Heart.








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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080001503, dated 22 April 2008.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation during WWII.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his 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)                                         AR20140015584



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140015584



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