RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        16 February 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050008129


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Luis Almodova                 |     |Senior Analyst       |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Janet Strafer                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Naomi Henderson               |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in Panama and
hospitalized at Fort Clayton, Panama, sometime in 1943 or 1944.  He
believes he should be awarded the Purple Heart.  He continues with the
completion of his application to the Board by adding that he received the
Purple Heart for the injury he received but he just discovered it is not
listed on his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation –
Honorable Discharge.

3.  The applicant submitted a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 and a copy of a
GSA Form 6954, Certification of Military Service, in support of his
request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged injustice, which
occurred on 18 October 1945.  The application submitted in this case is
dated 17 May 2005, but the application was received for processing on 3
June 2005.

2.  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 allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  It is believed the applicant's military records were lost or destroyed
in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein
was obtained from reconstructed personnel records and information obtained
from alternate sources.

4.  The applicant’s reconstructed military records show he enlisted in the
Puerto Rico Army National Guard on 15 September 1940.  He was inducted into
the Army of the United States on 15 October 1940, and entered service in
Caguas, Puerto Rico, on the same date.  The applicant was awarded and
served in the military occupational specialty (MOS), 610 (Anti-tank
Noncommissioned Officer).

5.  The applicant was honorably separated from active duty, on 18 October
1945, under the provisions of Army Regulation (AR) 615-365, for the
convenience of the Government at demobilization.  He was separated in the
rank of Technical Sergeant.  On the date he was separated, he had completed
5 years and 4 days active military service.  Of this service, 16 days were
spent in the United States.  The remainder of the applicant's time in
service was spent in the American Theater of Operations (ATO) and from 7
May 1945 through 19 September 1945 he served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
of Operations (APTO).

6.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55, shows he was awarded:  the American Defense Service Ribbon, with Metal
Clasp; the American Theater Ribbon; the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon,
with one bronze service star; the Good Conduct Ribbon; and seven overseas
service bars.  The Purple Heart is not shown on the applicant's WD AGO Form
53-55.

7.  The applicant served in the ATO from the date of his induction until 6
May 1945.  The applicant served in the APTO from 7 May 1945 through 19
September 1945.

8.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action), of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-
55, shows the entry, "None."

9.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO
Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the
periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In
1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the
information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various
veterans' service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes
would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of
1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all
hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean War.  A
search of these files shows that the applicant was hospitalized in a
station hospital in June 1944 and treated for Gynecomastia.  This condition
was not attributed to hostile action and was not identified as a result of
battle.  The applicant was hospitalized for 14 days and was returned to
duty at the end of his treatment.

10.  AR 600-8-22 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:  a.) the wound was
the result of hostile action, b.) the wound must have required treatment,
and c.) the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official
record.  This regulation also provides that there is no statute of
limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

11.  AR 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II
Victory Medal.  It is awarded to Soldiers who served on active duty service
between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence, and the applicant provided none, to show he
received a wound as a result of hostile action.

2.  The evidence shows the applicant was hospitalized in June 1944;
however, according to the available "SGO Files Report," he was hospitalized
to receive treatment for a medical condition, and not a wound.

3.  The evidence shows the medical treatment the applicant received was
made a matter of official record; however, it does not qualify him for
award of the Purple Heart.

4.  It was noted in the application submitted to the Board by the applicant
that he initially believed he should have been awarded the Purple Heart,
but in a statement that followed, he stated he had been awarded the Purple
Heart.  No evidence was found that he was awarded the Purple Heart and the
available evidence does not support award of the Purple Heart to the
applicant.  The applicant is therefore not entitled to award of the Purple
Heart and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

5.  The applicant served on active duty during the qualifying period for
award of the World War II Victory Medal.  He is therefore entitled to this
award and to have it added to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

6.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant’s records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 18 October 1945, the date of his
separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until
2 January 1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request
for correction of any
error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  However, the applicant did
not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a
compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest
of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_JS_____  _WDP___  __NH___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.

3.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual
concerned by awarding him the World War II Victory Medal and adding this
award to his WD AGO Form 53-55.




                                  ___William D. Powers_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050008129                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060216                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY with NOTE                          |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.   61                 |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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