PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           19 November 1998                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-06901

	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. Lee Cates		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas A. Pagan		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis 		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 records be corrected to show entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart based on the injuries he suffered in combat during the Leyte, Phillipine Island campaign in October 1944.  He contends that his confinement in various military hospitals during 1944 and 1945 serves as verification of his qualification for award of the Purple Heart.  In support of his application, he provides copies of his discharge, extracts of the award regulation and morning reports.

4.  The applicant’s reconstructed military records show that he was inducted on 17 February 1943 and entered active duty on 24 February 1943.  Initially, he was trained as an infantryman; however, after 3 months he was assigned to the Army Special Training Program for engineer training an subsequent qualification in military occupational specialty 761 (Intelligence Mapping Topography).  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations during the period 28 July 1944 to 29 November 1945.

5. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) shows he was honorably separated on 17 December 1945.

6.  There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There is no medical evidence the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action.

7.  Morning report entries substantiate that his duty status was changed from duty to sick on 2 November 1944.  Morning report entries of various hospitals continue to show him as sick and having an unidentified disease.  

8.  General Order Number 26, Headquarters, 383rd Infantry Regiment, dated       13 December 1945, announced the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) to the applicant, effective 5 November 1944.

9.  The Board notes that the applicant is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) (based on award of the CIB), the CIB, and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, which are not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge). 

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the BSM is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The BSM is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose such achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the CIB or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the BSM is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that he 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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to certain units of the Armed Forces of the Untied States in recognition of participation in the war against the Japanese Empire during the periods 7 December 1941 and 10 May 1942, inclusive, and 17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945, inclusive.  Not more than one Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation will be worn by an individual and no oak leaf cluster or other appurtenance is authorized.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) indicates that the 383rd Infantry Regiment was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  Evidence of record shows the applicant to have been sick and hospitalized with an unidentified disease.  There is no evidence that he was wounded in action.  Therefore, he is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant is entitled to award of the CIB, the BSM (based on award of the CIB) and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing entitlement to award of the CIB, the BSM (based on award of the CIB) and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

FNE____  TAP_____  BJE_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON