PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 January 1999                                       
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998012701

	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. Robert J. McGowan .		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas N. Kuhn 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison 		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson 		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, in effect, that all of his overseas service, military schooling, and awards and decorations be included on his retirement DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge.  Further, he requests the Purple Heart because he lost his right index finger during an enemy strafing attack in Germany in April 1945.

3.  The applicant states that none of his overseas service, schooling, and medals is on his DD Form 214, dated 31 May 1964.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 16 September 1940.  After his initial entry training, he was sent to Trinidad, British West Indies, where he served from 7 December 1941 to 20 April 1944.  He then returned to the Continental United States for a short period before serving in the European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater of Operations from 24 January 1945 to 23 November 1945.  He was separated on 28 November 1945, but reenlisted on 24 May 1948 for 3 years.  Thereafter, he remained on continuous active duty until his retirement in the rank of master sergeant with an honorable discharge on 31 May 1964.  He had 20 years and 26 days of active creditable service.

5.  The applicant was trained as a teletype equipment mechanic and served in the signal field throughout his service, retiring as an area communication system chief.  In addition to his Caribbean and European service during World War II, he also served in Korea (during the Korean Conflict), Japan, France, and Germany. He earned four Good Conduct Medals, an American Defense Service Medal, an EAME Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars, a World War II Victory Medal, an Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and Germany Clasp, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, a United Nations Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, and a Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar.  The only service school with which he was credited was the Teletype Equipment Mechanic Course from June 1948 to January 1949.

6.  Insofar as the Purple Heart, the record indicates that the Adjutant General Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army, on 17 October 1946, denied the applicant’s request for the medal.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

7.  Army Regulation 635-5, Personnel Separations (Separation Documents) establishes the policies and procedures for completion DD Form 214.  It states that all of a soldier’s awards and decorations will be listed on his DD Form 214, but only those formal training courses completed during the period covered by the DD Form 214.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  During a 20-year military career, the applicant earned four Good Conduct Medals, an American Defense Service Medal, an EAME Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars, a World War II Victory Medal, an Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and Germany Clasp, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, a United Nations Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, and a Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar.  The only service school with which he was credited was the Teletype Equipment Mechanic Course

2.  Army Regulation 635-5 requires a listing of all awards and decorations earned over a service member’s entire career, not just the period for which the DD Form 214 was issued.  The same regulation stipulates that only formal in-service educational courses taken during the period covered by the DD Form 214 will be entered.  The applicant’s DD Form 214, issued upon his retirement on 31 May 1964, does not reflect any awards and decorations and is, therefore, in error.

3.  Since the applicant’s DD Form 214, dated 31 May 1964, must be corrected to reflect all awards and decorations earned, addition of the Teletype Equipment Mechanic Course, June 1948 to January 1949, while not required, would serve the applicant’s needs without any additional workload.

4.  The applicant’s file does not contain any information that would qualify him for award of a Purple Heart.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by issuing to the individual concerned a DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, showing:

	a.  That he was awarded four Good Conduct Medals, an American Defense Service Medal, an EAME Campaign Medal with 2 bronze service stars, a World War II Victory Medal, an Army of Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp and Germany Clasp, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, a United Nations Service Medal with 1 bronze service star, and a Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar; and

	b.  That he completed the Teletype Equipment Mechanic Course from June 1948 to January 1949.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied 

BOARD VOTE:  

___TNK _  ___WTM_  __MVT__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC98-10390/AR1998012701	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990113	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Schneiderl	
ISSUES         1.	100.0000	
2.	107.0000	
3.	107.0015	
4.		
5.		
6.