PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            13 June 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000035716

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Elizabeth Buchanon		Chairperson	
	Mr. John H. Kern		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 he be awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states that he was told that he would receive the Silver Star for an act of duty performed and that he should have received the PH based on the 9 months he was hospitalized for wounds received in Germany during WWII on 13 September 1944.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri which destroyed millions of service records.  However, the limited reconstructed records that are available contain a report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) which shows that he was inducted in Randolph, North Carolina on 29 September 1943 and entered active duty at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on 20 October 1943.

5.  He departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 23 March 1944 and served there as a rifleman until he was returned to the United States on 27 December 1944.

6.  On 20 November 1945 he was honorably discharged at Camp Roberts, California and was issued a Certificate of Disability.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was wounded in Germany in September 1944, that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the European African Middle-Eastern Theater (EAMET) Service Ribbon with three bronze battle stars, the American Theater Ribbon, and the Good Conduct Medal. 

7.  On 19 November 1999 the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis issued an Authorization for Issuance of Awards (DA Form 1577) authorizing the issuance of the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the EAMET Service Ribbon with three bronze service stars, the World War II (WWII) Victory Medal, the CIB, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII.

8.  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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

9.  That regulation also provides, in effect, that the Silver Star is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Army, is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force.  The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for the Distinguished Service Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is sufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded on 13 September 1944 while serving as an infantryman with company I, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division during WWII and that his wound was made a matter of record at the time of his separation.

2. The Board finds it reasonable to presume that as result of an administrative oversight, he was not awarded the Purple Heart that he was entitled to receive.  Therefore, it would be in the interest of justice to correct this error at this time.

3.  There is no indication in the available records to show that the applicant was ever recommended for or awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action against the enemy during WWII.  Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary there is no basis to award him the Silver Star at this time.

4.  The Board also notes that his records have not been corrected to reflect all of the awards that he has been issued.  Accordingly, it would be appropriate to do so at this time.

5.  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 that the individual concerned was wounded in action against the enemy during WWII on 13 September 1944 while serving as a private with Company I, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, that he was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds; and that his records have been corrected to reflect all of the awards he was issued.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___be___  ___eb___  __jhk____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Elizabeth Buchanon____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000035716	
SUFFIX		
RECON	\	
DATE BOARDED	2000/06/13	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  53	107.0007	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.