PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:                16 December 1999
	DOCKET NUMBER:        AR1999028895

	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. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred K. McCoy		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Stanley Kelly		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 his WD AGO 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action on 26 February 1945 in Germany near the Siegfried line.  He also states that his discharge does not show that he was wounded in action.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his Veterans Administration Form 357 (Statement of Claim) and a copy of his AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record).

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he entered active duty on
18 May 1943 as a machine gunner (604).  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 22 October 1944 to 29 May 1945
and was honorably discharged on 1 September 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry “None”.  There is no record that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no indication that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

6.  A copy of his VA Form 357, item 12 (cause of injury for disability) shows the entry “Wd (wound), lac (laceration), antero-lateral aspect mid-forearm lt, Paralysis of nerve, left radial, partial, secondary to #1” which occurred on 26 February 1945.

7.  On 19 August 1991, the applicant submitted a letter to the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St Louis, Missouri requesting replacement of lost medals/decorations earned during World War II.  However, the Purple Heart was not one of them. 

8.  A DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 11 September 1991 shows the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, determined the applicant was entitled to the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the CIB, the Presidential Unit Emblem, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.  There is no indication that the applicant was entitled to the Purple Heart.

9.  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.
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding the fact that he received a laceration wound to his mid-forearm on 26 February 1945 while serving in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations during World War II.  There is no evidence to show that his wound was the result of hostile action.  Therefore, he is not
entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Evidence of records shows that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the CIB, the Presidential Emblem, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.  Therefore, his records should be corrected to show these awards.

3.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing in item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Presidential Emblem, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

FKM_____  RVO____  SK_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Fred K. McCoy_________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999028895	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	199916	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19450901	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-361	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61		
2.  60		
3.  		
4.  102		
5.		
6.