BOARD DATE: 24 September 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150000094
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 a Purple Heart (PH) Medal due to wounds he received in World War II (WWII).
2. The applicant states:
a. He was in the Ardennes Campaign (Battle of the Bulge) when he received
a wound to his hand and stomach. His stomach wound was bandaged and he continued to fight. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal.
b. In 1947, he underwent surgery at Faxton Hospital, Utica NY where
shrapnel and 18 inches of his intestines were removed.
3. The applicant provides:
* WD AGO 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge)
* A Commendation letter dated 1 April 1945
* Bronze Star Medal (BSM) Certificate
* Honorable Discharge (HD) Certificate
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 applicants records are not available for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO, in 1973. It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents the applicant provides.
3. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he enlisted in the Army of the United States on 3 September 1942 and held military occupational specialty (MOS) 745 (Rifleman).
4. On 6 March 1946, he was honorably discharged. Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the PH, and item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) contains the entry "NONE."
5. The available records are void of documentation showing he was awarded the PH.
6. The applicant provides copies of his BSM and HD Certificate; however, he does not provide any supporting documentation, including medical records, showing he was wounded as a result of enemy action.
7. 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.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
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 PH.
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) AR20130017382
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150000094
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