RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         2 March 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050010042


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jerome L. Pionk               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine M. Taylor             |     |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, award of the Purple Heart (PH) and
Bronze Star Medal (BSM).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he would like his separation
document (WD AGO Form 53-55) corrected to show he earned the PH and BSM.
He claims that the medical technician assigned to his unit, who was
responsible to submit the request for his PH was killed before he could
complete the request.  He states that he believes he is entitled to the
award and respectfully requests it be added to his record and separation
document at this time.

3.  The applicant provides a WD AGO Form 53-55, Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Rating Decision Letter, and Authorization for Issuance of
Awards (DA Form 1577) in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 27 February 1945, the date of his separation.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 1 July 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 limitations 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.  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 the
applicant’s 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.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of the
applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 and the other documents he submitted.

4.  The applicant’s separation document shows he enlisted in the Army and
entered active duty on 19 September 1940.  He served in military
occupational specialty 610 (Anti-Tank Crewman), and he held the rank of
staff sergeant (SSG) on the date of his separation, 27 February 1946.  It
also shows he served in the European Theater of Operations from 15 December
1943 through 24 September 1945, and that he participated in the Normandy,
Northern France, and Rhineland campaigns.

5.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55
shows he earned the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) and Combat Infantryman
Badge (CIB).  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he earned the
following awards during his active duty tenure:  American Defense Medal;
American Theater Ribbon; European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Campaign
Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM); and World War II Victory Medal.

6.   Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant's separation
document contains the entry "None", and the applicant authenticated this
document with his signature in Item 56 (Signature of Person Being
Separated).

7.  The applicant provides a VA Letter, dated 27 June 2005, which granted
him service connection for a shrapnel wound to the left wrist.  The reasons
for the rating decision states that the applicant's service medical records
show he received a shrapnel wound to the left wrist on 18 September 1944,
and that private medical documents indicate that he retained metallic
bodies in his left wrist.  The specific service medical records referred to
in this letter are not identified or provided.

8.  The applicant also provides a DA Form 1577, dated 3 September 1999.
This documents indicates he was issued the following awards:  BSM; AGCM;
American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; EAME Campaign
Medal with 3 bronze service stars; World War II Victory Medal; CIB; EIB;
Marksman Qualification Badge with Machine Gun Bar; and Honorable Service
Lapel Button.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the
regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent
part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that a member was
wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.  The wound or injury for
which the PH is being awarded must have required treatment by a medical
officer and this treatment must be supported by medical treatment records
that were made a matter of official record.

10.  Paragraph 3-13 of the awards regulation outlines the criteria for
award of the BSM.  Paragraph 3-13d (2) states, in effect, that the BSM is
authorized to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6
December 1941, were cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary
conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and
2 September 1945.  This paragraph also stipulates that for this purpose, an
award of the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.

11.  Paragraph 5-11 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the EAME
Campaign Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that a bronze service star
is authorized with this award for each campaign a member is credited with
participating in.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim of entitlement to the PH and the supporting
evidence he provided were carefully considered.  However, by regulation, in
order to support award of the PH, there must be evidence a member was
wounded/injured in action, was treated for the wound/injury by military
medical personnel, and a record of this medical treatment must have been
made a matter of official record.

2.  The veracity of the applicant’s claim that he was wounded in action
during World War II and the information contained in the VA Rating Decision
he provided is not in question.  However, his separation document contains
the entry “None” in the wounds received in action block, and the PH is not
included in the list of earned awards.

3.  The applicant authenticated his WD AGO Form 53-55 on the date of his
separation.  In effect, this was his verification that the information on
the separation document, to include the Items 33 and 34 entries, was
correct at the time the separation document was prepared and issued.

4.  Absent evidence (medical treatment records, eye-witness statements,
etc) to corroborate that he received the shrapnel wound in question as a
result of enemy action, or that he was ever treated for a combat related
wound/injury by military medical personnel, the regulatory burden of proof
necessary to support award of the PH has not been satisfied in this case.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice related to award of the PH now under consideration on 27 February
1945, the date of his separation.  Therefore, based on the date the Board
was established, 2 January 1947, the time for him to file a request for
correction of
any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  However, he failed to
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 failure to file.

6.  The evidence confirms the applicant earned the CIB during his World War
II service.  As a result, he is entitled to the BSM for his exemplary
conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy in the ETO from 15 December
1943 through 24 September 1945.  It also confirms that based on his World
War II campaign participation, he is also entitled to 3 bronze service
stars with his EAME Campaign Medal.

7.  The omission of the awards identified in the preceding paragraph is an
administrative matter that does not require Board action.  Therefore, this
administrative correction 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.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___WDP_  __JLP___  __PMT__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice related to award of the
Purple Heart.  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 to show his entitlement to the Bronze Star Medal and 3 bronze
service stars with his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; and
by providing him a correction to his separation document that includes
these changes.






                            _____William D. Powers_____
                                  CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050010042                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/03/02                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1946/02/27                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY with Adm Note                      |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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