DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS 

 
Application for the Correction of 
the Coast Guard Record of: 
 
                                                                                BCMR Docket No. 2005-005 
 
 
   

 

 
 

FINAL DECISION 

 
Author:  Hale, D. 
 
 
This is a proceeding under the provisions of section 1552 of title 10 and section 
425 of title 14 of the United States Code.  It was docketed on October 18, 2004, upon the 
BCMR’s receipt of the applicant’s request for correction. 
 
 
members who were designated to serve as the Board in this case. 
 

This  final  decision,  dated  June  30,  2005,  is  signed  by  the  three  duly  appointed 

APPLICANT’S REQUEST AND ALLEGATIONS 

 

The applicant asked the Board to correct his military record to show that he was 
awarded a Purple Heart for an injury to his right knee during his enlistment from June 
26, 1941, to June 27, 1946.  He alleged that he injured his right knee in 1944, when he 
jumped  from  his  landing  craft  into  the  water  during  an  amphibious  assault  in  the 
invasion and occupation of the Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific.  He further alleged 
that several of his shipmates had to pull him out of the water and onto the beach, where 
he remained until the gunfire had ceased.  He did not provide a reason why he waited 
nearly 60 years to seek this correction to his military record. 
 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICANT’S RECORDS 

 

The  applicant  enlisted  in  the  Coast  Guard  on  June  21,  1941.    After  completing 
training, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Arthur Middleton.  The applicant’s military record 
contains  a  detailed  recording  of  his  meritorious  conduct  while  assigned  to  the  U.S.S. 
Arthur Middleton.  The Commanding Officer (CO) of the Middleton noted with detail all 

of the medals and awards the applicant had received.  The CO did not mention that the 
applicant  had  ever  been  injured  in  battle  or  that  he  was  entitled  to  the  Purple  Heart.  
The  CO  also  noted  the  various  battle  campaigns  in  which  the  applicant  had 
participated,  including  the  landing  operations  for  the  invasion  and  occupation  of  the 
Eniwetok Atoll in February 1944.    

On  March  8,  1944,  he  was  sent  to  the  naval  hospital  at  Pearl  Harbor  where  he 
underwent  an  operation  to  repair  an  internal  derangement  of  his  right  knee.    He 
voluntarily  extended  his  enlistment  on  June  26,  1944,  and  served  in  a  variety  of 
assignments until his honorable discharge on June 27, 1946.  

 
The applicant’s military record contains the following medical records: 
 

•  a Special Temporary Enlistment Contract dated June 26, 1941, on which it was noted 
that the applicant had a 2-inch scar on the right side of his right knee and a 3-inch 
scar on the right side of his left knee; 

 
•  a Report and Certificate dated June 26, 1941, signed by a physician attesting to the 

applicant’s fitness for enlistment; 

 
•  a Medical History dated March 8, 1944, indicating that the applicant had injured his 
right  knee  in  1940  (prior  to  enlistment)  and  underwent  a  surgical  operation  on 
March 24, 1944, to repair the knee; 

 
•  a  Final  Medical  Certificate  dated  March  20,  1944,  stating  that  the  applicant  was 
diagnosed  and  with  an  internal  derangement  of  the  right  knee,  and  was  being 
admitted to the hospital for inpatient care; 

 
•  a  Final  Medical  Certificate  dated  May  2,  1944,  stating  that  the  applicant  had  been 
diagnosed and treated for an internal derangement of the right knee, a dislocation of 
the left knee, and was discharged from outpatient treatment and was fit for duty; 

 
•  a  Termination  of  Health  Service  form  dated  June  26,  1946,  on  which  the  applicant 
indicated  that  during  his  enlistment  he  had  undergone  an  operation  of  his  right 
knee. 

 

On June 27, 1946, the applicant was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard.  
At the time of his discharge, it was noted that he had earned and was entitled to wear 
an American Defense Ribbon, American Area Campaign Ribbon, World War II Victory 
Ribbon,  Asiatic-Pacific  Area  Campaign  Medal,  Navy  and  Marine  Corps  Medal  for 
heroism, and the Philippine Liberation Area Campaign Ribbon.  There is nothing in the 
records indicating that the applicant was injured as a result of enemy action. 
  

APPLICABLE LAW 

 
 
During World War II, the Coast Guard was a part of the Navy.  SECNAVINST 
1650.1G states that during World War II, the Purple Heart was awarded to members of 
the  Armed  Forces  who  were  wounded  or  killed  in  action  against  an  enemy  of  the 
United States.  The instruction states that “[d]uring World War I, and World War II, and 
Korea [sic], an individual must have been wounded as a direct result of enemy action.  
During  subsequent  conflicts  (Vietnam  and  Operation  Desert  Storm),  the  individual 
must have been wounded as a result of enemy action (direct or indirect).” 

 

VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On  February  25,  2005,  the  Judge  Advocate  General  (JAG)  of  the  Coast  Guard 
 
submitted  an  advisory  opinion  in  which  he  adopted  the  findings  of  the  Coast  Guard 
Personnel Command (CGPC) in a memorandum on the case and recommended that the 
Board deny the applicant’s request.   
 

The  JAG  stated  that  there  is  “insufficient  evidence  available  in  the  material 
provided  by  the  applicant  and  in  his  service  record  to  overcome  the  presumption  of 
regularity afforded the government” and that the evidence did not support awarding 
the applicant a Purple Heart.  CGPC noted that the applicant’s injury to his right knee 
was  originally  sustained  prior  to  his  enlistment  in  the  Coast  Guard,  and  while  this 
original injury may have been aggravated during his enlistment, there is no evidence to 
directly link the medical treatment he received in March of 1944 to his participation in 
the  invasion  of  Eniwetok  Atoll.    CGPC  also  noted  that  there  is  no  mention  in  the 
applicant’s medical record of any injury sustained during military operations in 1944.   
 

APPLICANT’S RESPONSE TO THE VIEWS OF THE COAST GUARD 

 
On March 1, 2005, the Chair sent a copy of the views of the Coast Guard to the 

applicant and invited him to respond within 30 days.  No response was received. 
 

 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 

 
 
The  Board  makes  the  following  findings  and  conclusions  on  the  basis  of  the 
applicant's military record and submissions, the Coast Guard's submissions, and appli-
cable law: 
 

The  Board  has  jurisdiction  concerning  this  matter  pursuant  to  10  U.S.C. 

1. 
§ 1552.   
 

2. 

An application to the Board must be filed within three years of the day the 
applicant discovers the alleged error in his record. 10 U.S.C. § 1552(b).  The applicant 
was discharged in 1946 and knew or should have known that he had not received the 
Purple  Heart  at  that  time.    Therefore,  the  Board  finds  that  the  application  was  filed 
more than 55 years after the statute of limitations expired and is untimely. 

 
3. 

Under 10 U.S.C. § 1552(b), the Board may waive the three-year statute of 
limitations if it is in the interest of justice to do so.  To determine whether it is in the 
interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations, the Board should consider the rea-
sons for the delay and conduct a cursory review of the merits of the case.  Dickson v. 

Sec’y of Defense, 68 F.3d 1396 (D.D.C. 1995); Allen v. Card, 799 F. Supp. 158, 164 (D.D.C. 
1992). 

 
4. 

 The applicant provided no explanation for his failure to request the cor-

rection of the alleged error in his record at an earlier date.   

 
5. 

7. 

 
The Board notes that there is insufficient evidence in the record to support 
the  applicant’s  claim  that  he  was  wounded  as  a  direct  result  of  enemy  action.    The 
record indicates that the applicant injured his knees in 1940, prior to his enlistment in 
the Coast Guard in 1941, and it was noted upon his enlistment that both knees bore long 
scars.  The applicant alleged that he injured his right knee again when he jumped out of 
his landing craft during an amphibious assault in the South Pacific in 1944.  The record 
does show that the applicant sought treatment for his right knee on March 8, 1944, and 
eventually underwent an operation to repair his right knee and also sought treatment 
for his left knee, but the applicant’s medical records do not mention that any of his knee 
injuries were sustained as the direct result of enemy action.  His record indicates that 
his ship’s command carefully recorded the applicant’s meritorious conduct but made no 
mention of any injury incurred during the invasion of Eniwetok Atoll.  Accordingly, the 
Board finds insufficient evidence that the applicant met the criterion for a Purple Heart 
during  World  War  II  under  SECNAVINST  1650.1G.  to  overcome  the  presumption  of 
regularity afforded the Coast Guard.  
 
 
The  applicant  has  not  submitted  evidence  to  support  his  claim  that  his 
knee was injured during the invasion of the Eniwetok Atoll.  If he should submit such 
evidence,  such  as  supporting  statements  from  crewmates  who  knew  when  he  was 
injured, or other contemporaneous documents, the Board will reconsider his case. 
 
 
Accordingly,  in  light  of  the  lack  of  evidence  supporting  the  applicant’s 
allegation, and his failure to explain his great delay in filing his application, the Board 
finds no reason to waive the statute of limitations.  The applicant’s request should be 
denied. 
 

6. 

[ORDER AND SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE]

 

ORDER 

 

The  application  of  __________,  USCG,  for  correction  of  his  military  record  is 

 
 

denied. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 Bruce D. Burkley 

 

 

 
 Raghav Kotval 

 

 

 
 Kevin M. Walker