PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:      14 October 1998         
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-10857

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley			Analyst	

 The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone			Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher			Member	
	Mr. Robert W. Garrett			Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	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 award of the Purple Heart.  He notes he sustained frozen feet during World War II but was never awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  Although the applicant’s military personnel records were apparently lost or destroyed as a result of the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center information reconstructed from alternative sources indicates the applicant entered active duty on 5 April 1943.

4.    He was arrived in the European Theater of Operations in September 1944 where he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  In March 1946 the applicant returned to the United States and on 29 March 1946 was released from active duty as a result of demobilization.  Shortly after his release from active duty he was awarded a 10 percent disability compensation for frozen feet incurred during World War II.

5.  While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  Until 1951 Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a “wound” is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the fact of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element” pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal 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 Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  Awards of the Bronze Star Medal based on the Combat Infantryman or Combat Medical Badge is commonly referred to as a conversion award.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the applicant sustained frozen feet during World War II and his receipt of disability pay for the injury is an indication of the severity.  As such it would be appropriate, based on regulatory provisions in existence at the time, to award the applicant the Purple Heart.

2.  The evidence also confirms the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II and as such is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.

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:

	a.  by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries sustained during World War II; and

	b.  by awarding him the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:  

_JNS___  __EMW_  __RWG___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON