PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:        25 November 1998      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11937

	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. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James E. Vick		Chairperson	
	Mr. John N. Slone		Member	
	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including  advisory opinion, 
	if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests that the records of her spouse, a deceased former servicemember, be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart.  She states he suffered from severe frostbite during World War II and submits extracts from his service medical records to support her request.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate the former servicemember entered active duty on 7 September 1943 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations in August 1944.

4.  In January 1945 he was treated for frostbite at the unit’s aid station.  He was then subsequently hospitalized for convalescence in Belgium through March 1945.

5.  He returned to the United States in February 1946 and was released from active duty on 23 February 1946 as a result of demobilization.  His separation document does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

6.  The former servicemember died in August 1995.

7.  While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  Until 1951 Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a “wound” is 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.  An “element” pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the former servicemember was treated for frostbite in January 1945 and required convalescence through March 1945.

2.  The length of his hospitalization attests to the severity of the frostbite and as such he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart based on regulatory guidance in effect at the time.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the former servicemember’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for frostbite sustained in January 1945 during World War II.

BOARD VOTE:  

___JEV_  __JNS__  __RVO__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON