2.  The applicant requests that his report of separation be corrected to reflect award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) with oak leaf cluster and his prisoner of war (POW) status.  He believes he may also be entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  

3.  The applicant’s military records show he was inducted into the Army on         9 April 1941.  He arrived in the European theater on 8 January 1944, where he served as a field wire chief.

4.  He was honorably separated on 20 June 1945.  Evidence from his separation physical shows he received a shrapnel wound to the right thigh in 1944.

5.  General Orders 71 dated 25 May 1945 awarded the BSM to the applicant for the period 17 January - 8 May 1945.  General Orders 66 dated 19 December 1945 awarded the BSM to the applicant for heroic achievement on 5 May 1945.

6.  He claims that on 5 May 1945 he and a group of seven others were captured by SS troops, who were going to shoot them.  Other Germans intervened, took them to the local hotel and held them there until the next evening, when they escaped.  There is no evidence that the applicant was ever reported as a POW, and the Army apparently never knew it since he was awarded his first BSM through the period 8 May 1945. 

7.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  That regulation also provides for the award of the POW Medal to soldiers who were taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.  It will only be awarded when the individual’s POW status has been officially confirmed and recognized as such by the Department of the Army.  All requests for the POW Medal will be initiated by eligible former POWs, using a personal letter or DD Form 2510 (Prisoner of War Medal Application/Information, available at military installations, VA regional offices or local veterans organizations).  Applications should be forwarded to the Commander, AR-PERSCOM, ATTN:  ARPC-PSV-V, 9700 Page Ave, St Louis, MO  63132-5200.  The following should be submitted with the application to assist in validating the award:  unit journals, diaries, sworn eyewitness statements or affidavits, photos news clippings and other evidence in support of the request.
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant has supplied evidence to show he was awarded two BSMs, including one for heroism.

2.  There is evidence to show the applicant was wounded.  Although circumstances are not given and there is no record of medical treatment, from the evidence available it is reasonable to presume he was wounded in action against the enemy and that treatment was given.

3.  There is no evidence in the records to show the applicant was ever reported as a POW.  He may submit an application to the address shown above in order to have his claim validated.

4.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device and with 1st oak leaf cluster.

2.  That the applicant’s report of separation, block 34, be corrected to show “shrapnel wound right inner thigh, 1944, France.”

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

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION

                                                                         
    CHAIRPERSON