RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         28 February 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050011815


      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. Hubert O. Fry                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Carol A. Kornhoff             |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. John M. Moeller               |     |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).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, the PH should be added to his
separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55).

3.  The applicant provides an Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) Hospital
Admission Record for 1944 in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 19 October 1945.  The application submitted in this case
is dated
3 August 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 an OTSG Hospital Admission Record for
1944.

4.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 confirms he was inducted into the
Army and entered active duty on 23 May 1942.  He served in the European
Theater of Operations (ETO) from 7 January 1944 through 28 September 1945,
and he participated in the Rome-Arno, Northern Appennines and Po Valley
campaigns.

5.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55
shows he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, and Item 33 (Decorations and
Citations) the earned the following awards during his tenure on active
duty:  Bronze Star Medal; Army Good Conduct Medal; and European-African-
Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars.  Item 34 (Wounds
Received in Action) contains the entry “Italy”.

6.  On 19 October 1945, the applicant was honorably separated after
completing a total of 3 years, 4 months, and 27 days of active military
service.

7.  An OTSG Hospital Admission Record for 1944 confirms the applicant was
admitted to a military medical treatment facility in the ETO in September
1944, and that he was treated for penetrating fragment wounds to his thigh.
 The hospital record further shows that the causative agent for the wound
was a
hand grenade, and that the applicant was categorized a battle casualty.

8.  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, this treatment must be supported by medical treatment records that
were made a matter of official record.

9.  Paragraph 5-11 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the World
War II Victory Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that it was awarded to
members for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both
dates inclusive.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s claim of entitlement to the PH was carefully considered
and found to have merit.  By regulation, in order to support award of the
PH, there must be evidence showing the wound for which the award is being
made was received as a direct result of, or caused by enemy action, there
must be evidence showing the wound required treatment by military medical
personnel, and a record of this treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

2.  The evidence in this case includes an OTSG Hospital Admission Record
for 1944 that confirms the applicant was treated for combat related
fragment wounds to the thigh that were caused by a hand grenade.  This
hospital treatment record verifies that the applicant was categorized as a
battle casualty.  Further, Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the
entry “Italy”, which indicates he was wounded in action in Italy.  As a
result, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the PH
has been satisfied in this case.

3.  The evidence also shows that based on his qualifying World War II
service, he is also entitled to the World War II Victory Medal.  Therefore,
it would also be appropriate to add this award to his record at this time.


BOARD VOTE:

___HOF _  __CAK__  ___JMM_  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a
result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart, for
being wounded in action in Italy in September 1944; by showing he is
entitled to the World War II Victory Medal; and by providing him a
correction to his separation document that includes these changes.




                            ____Hubert O. Fry________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050011815                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/02/28                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1945/10/19                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Demobilization                          |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schneider                           |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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