PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:           18 August 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998012171

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Edward Williamson		Member	
	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was injured/wounded while serving in combat during World War II and was never awarded the Purple Heart.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his award of disability compensation or pension and a copy of his separation qualification record. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  However, the documents provided by the applicant show that he entered the service on 4 December 1942, attained the rank of T/5, and performed the duties of an assistant medium tank driver in combat.  He was discharged on 16 November 1945.

5.  Information obtained from casualty and hospital records indicate that the applicant was injured/wounded in combat in July 1944 when as a result of enemy artillery fire he sustained a compound fracture of the lower femur.  He was hospitalized for 152 days and was released in December 1944.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound or injury sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the Board cannot determine with any degree of certainty the exact date of his wound/injury, there is sufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded/injured in July 1944 while serving as an assistant tank driver in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) and that he was treated by medical personnel.

2.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that as result of an administrative oversight, he was not awarded the Purple Heart that he was entitled to receive.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to correct this error at this time by awarding him the Purple Heart and establishing the date of his wound as 15 July 1944.

3.  Inasmuch as there are no records for the Board to correct, it would also be appropriate to establish a new record for him and to prepare a certificate to be placed in the record indicating his award of the Purple Heart. 

4.  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.  by showing that the individual concerned, while serving in the rank of T/5, was wounded in action against the enemy in the ETO on 15 July 1944 and that he was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds; and 

	b.  by preparing a certificate for placement in his records showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action against the enemy on 15 July 1944. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___sw___  __elw___  ___rvo __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999012171	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	1999/08/18	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61 	107.0015/PH	
2.  189	110.000	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.