BOARD DATE: 16 June 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140019346
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 two awards of the Purple Heart.
2. He states he was wounded more than once in combat, but the award of the Purple Heart was never received. He adds he was in the 143rd Regiment, 36th Texas Infantry Division during his service in Italy. He asks that a review of his unit and medical records be conducted to verify his eligibility for the Purple Heart.
3. He provides his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge).
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 applicant's military records are not available to the ABCMR for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered based on the documents provided by the applicant and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
3. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 24 March 1943 and he entered active duty on 31 March 1943. He served in the European theater of operations from 2 September 1943 to 20 November 1945 and he was honorably discharged on 7 December 1945.
4. Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the award of the Purple Heart. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) shows "None."
5. The SGO (Surgeon General Office) files, provided by NARA, show the applicant was admitted to the hospital on two occasions while in Italy. He was admitted in the month shown and diagnosed with the following: December 1943, ulcerative stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth and lips) and deviation of the nasal septum and January 1944, deviation of the nasal septum.
6. There is no evidence in the available records which shows he sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained 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 a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
8. Army Regulation 15-185 (Army Board for Correction of Military Records) prescribes the policies and procedures for correction of military records by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). Paragraph 2-9 contains guidance on the burden of proof. It states, in pertinent part, that the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity, which is that what the Army did was correct. The ABCMR is not an investigative body and decides cases based on the evidence that is presented in the military records provided and the independent evidence submitted with the application. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. Paragraph 2-11 contains guidance on ABCMR hearings and it states that applicants do not have a right to a hearing before the ABCMR.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Although the SGO files show the applicant was admitted to the hospital on two separate occasions, there are no medical records available which show he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his service in World War II. Regrettably, in the absence of medical records supporting his contention, there is insufficient evidence to correct his records to show two awards of the Purple Heart in this case.
2. His request for the ABCMR to review his unit's and medical records is noted; however, the ABCMR is not an investigative body and the burden of proof remains with the applicant. That said, this does not preclude the applicant's ability to conduct a review of his unit's records maintained by NARA.
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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
_______ _ 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) AR20140019346
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