IN THE CASE OF:  	  

		BOARD DATE:  25 June 2015	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140019827 


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, in effect, the following:

* award of the Purple Heart
* correction of item 30 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation – Certificate of Service) to show "Yes" instead of "None"

2.  The applicant states:

   a.  No permanent wound was received.  He is attaching a summary of the event for explanation of wounds.  Item 30 of his WD AGO Form 53-98 states "None."  As he has learned more about the Purple Heart through contacts with the military, it has been suggested that perhaps he may qualify for the award.

   b.  He was wounded during World War II (WWII) and was offered the Purple Heart, but for whatever reason he refused it.  He wasn't seriously wounded, but he was hit from enemy artillery fire, an 88s Howitzer.  He was a member of the 111th Field Artillery Battalion, 29th Division.  He landed on Omaha Beach on    D-Day, H-hour, first wave with elements of the 116th Infantry.  During combat he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and received a battlefield commission.  

   c.  They were somewhere in Germany, he thinks in the latter part of 1944 or the early part of 1945.  He served as an artillery forward observer with the infantry and they were making a forward push.  There was nothing but farmland, no vegetation, and it was a misty, rainy day and there were maybe                   20-25 Germans dug into a long trench.  The Germans were firing at them and the infantry set-up a couple of machine guns and fired on the flanks.  Then the main body of the infantry went head first in there with rifles and bayonets attached and routed out all of these German Soldiers.  They were standing on the outside of the trench; frisking them taking their weapons; and looking for maps, papers, or anything that could be of value.  

   d.  While they were doing this, the German artillery opened up again with artillery fire and it began landing pretty close to the trench, real close, so they jumped into the trench.  Before this happened, the Germans that they had just captured had their hands on top of their heads with their fingers interlocked.  They pointed in the direction of their rear command post and told them to get out there quickly and they jumped into the trench.  They squatted down in the trench, with muddy water at the bottom, a low as they could get.  Their backs were just about level with the top of the terrain.  

   e.  One of the artillery shells hit right on the very bank that they were in and he was hit in the back.  Lieutenant Nxxxxx, the forward observer officer, stated he was hit and then he [applicant] stated he was also hit.  He just knew his entire back was gone.  He guessed shrapnel had hit him and he knew if he reached around there he was going to feel a lot of guts hanging out and blood dripping and so forth.  Word got back to their artillery outfit that they had been hit, so they sent another forward observer party up to relieve them.  Once this party arrived they returned to the artillery outfit.  

   f.  His first sergeant, by the name of Wxxxxx, who died about 3 years ago, asked if he was wounded and he answered yes, he was hit, but he was alright.  The sergeant told him to report to the medical officer, but he stated that he was alright, but the sergeant again told him to report to the medical officer, so he stated "ok."  He saw the medical officer and told him that he was hit, but he was alright.  

   g.  The medical officer asked where he was hit, so he removed his shirt and discovered he was already blue and black with bruises all over his side and back. The first sergeant then began to process the papers to get everything in working order.  The lieutenant was recommended for and received the Purple Heart.  The lieutenant was going to submit a recommendation for him [applicant] to be awarded the Purple Heart, but he told the lieutenant that he didn't want it.  He had a foolish superstition that a person who received a Purple Heart should lose a leg, an arm, or a gallon of blood and he didn't fit any of those.  Due to his condition, the medical officer ordered him to a non-combat zone for one week.

   h.  He thinks the rules states that if an individual is wounded due to enemy action in combat they deserve the Purple Heart.  He was definitely wounded and he was definitely in enemy combat.  He refused the Purple Heart.  Now 70 years later he wishes he had taken it.  If there is any way he can still receive it, he would surely appreciate it.  When he was out-processing to be discharged after returning from WWII, he was asked if he had any wounds.  He answered "no" because he had no physical wounds at that time.  He was wounded, but not permanently.

3.  The applicant provides copies of his Enlisted Record and WD AGO    Form 53-98.

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 the cases 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.

2.  The applicant's complete military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 16 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed his records were destroyed in that fire.  However, there was sufficient documentation provided by the applicant for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  The applicant provided copies of the following:

   a.  An Enlisted Record which shows he enlisted the Army of the United States on 7 December 1939.  His served as a noncommissioned officer in the rank of staff sergeant (SSG).  He was qualified in the expert marksmanship badge for the rifle (30 caliber) and pistol (45 caliber) and marksman marksmanship badge for carbine.  The record remarked that he was inducted into Federal service with the National Guard on 3 February 1941.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by General Orders (GO) Number 21, issued by Headquarters, 29 Infantry Division, on 23 January 1945.  
   b.  A WD AGO Form 53-98 which shows he arrived in England on 3 October 1942.  He received a battlefield commission on 3 March 1945 and entered active duty the same day.  He held military occupational specialty 1189 (forward observer artillery).  He departed England on 7 September 1945.  He was honorably discharged, as a second lieutenant, on 14 October 1945, for the purpose of demobilization.  His WD AGO Form 53-98 shows in:

* Item 28 (Battles and Campaigns) – Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe
* Item 29 (Decorations and Citations) – Bronze Star Medal (GO Number 21) with Bronze Arrowhead and European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal
* Item 30 (Wounds Received in Action) – None
* Item 43 (Remarks) - WWII Honorable Lapel Button

4.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Award) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of enemy 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.  By regulation, to be awarded the Purple Heart it is necessary to established that a Soldier was wounded or injured in action.  There must be evidence confirming the wound for which the award is being made was received as a direct result of, or was caused by enemy action, that the wound was treated by medical personnel, and a record of this treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  There is no available evidence of record and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence showing he was wounded or sustained injuries as a result of enemy action during WWII for award of the Purple Heart and correction of item 30 of his WD AGO Form 53-98 to show he sustained wounds.  Notwithstanding his contentions and his sincerity, there is insufficient evidence to support granting him the requested relief.

3.  In making this determination, the applicant and all others concerned should know that this nation in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by his service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.


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)                                         AR20140019827



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140019827



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