PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            4 February 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-08646
                                              AR1998007861

	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	
	Mr. W. E. Schnupp.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		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 his military records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he did not receive the Purple Heart Medal.  He was wounded in hand-to-hand combat during the Battle of the Bulge then captured by the Germans so his official record are incomplete concerning his medical treatment.

4.  In support of his request, he has provided copies of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, his Honorable Discharge Certificate, his Certificate of Disability for Discharge, his VA rating examination and a copy of his clinical record and medical history while he was a POW.

5.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  Information herein was provided by the applicant and records obtained from the VA.

6.  The record shows that he was inducted on 15 May 1942, received the military occupational specialty of truck driver and served in the European Theater of Operations from 7 October 1943 to 29 April 1945.  He was honorably discharged with a Certificate of Disability on 21 July 1945 in the grade of Technician 5th Grade.  The only awards reflected on his WD AGO Form 53-55 are the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and Three Overseas Service Bars.

7.  On 19 December 1944 the applicant was apparently struck on the left ear by a German guard which resulted in significant injury to his head and ear.  Copies of a German Clinical Record and Medical History, prepared while he was a POW, confirm that he suffered from skull and ear injuries, among other ailments, which were treated by German medical personnel.  The period of his incarceration is not reflected in the available records but based upon information obtained from the applicant during his VA examination appears to have been from                   19 December 1944 to 7 April 1945.

8.  Upon his release from captivity he was evacuated to Winter General Hospital, Topeka, Kansas where he received treatment until his discharge on 21 July 1945.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

10.  The same regulation provides that the POW Medal is authorized for any person who, while serving in any capacity with the US Armed Forces, was taken prisoner and held captive after 5 April 1917.  The World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946 and the  American Campaign Medal is awarded for service within the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While there are no official Army records documenting the applicant’s injury and captivity, the medical records prepared by German authorities during his captivity, and the Army treatment records showing that he was treated for the same injuries following his release from captivity certainly appear to provide unequivocal proof of his POW status and his injury.

2.  The Board accepts the documentation furnished by the applicant as prima-fascia evidence for awarding him both the Purple Heart and the POW Medal.  Further, by virtue of his period of service, he is also entitled the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’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:

a.  awarding to the individual concerned the Purple Heart for injuries sustained on 19 December 1944 in Belgium and the POW Medal for his incarceration by the Germans; and,

	b.  awarding him the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal for service during World War II.

BOARD VOTE:  

JHL_____  _AAO___  _VBC___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC98-08646A/AR1998003581	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	9199/02	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19450721	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.