PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            26 October 2000   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000042924

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Melinda M. Darby		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. William D. Powers		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 the records of her spouse, a deceased former servicemember, be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate that the former servicemember entered active duty on 1 March 1943 and served overseas with the 329th Infantry Regiment between June 1944 and April 1945 where he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  According to records maintained by The Office of the Surgeon General, commonly referred to as "SGO'" files indicate the former servicemember was treated for a "battle injury" due to reduced temperatures.  The injury was recorded as a "cold injury, ground type."

4.  The former servicemember was released from active duty in 1945 based on a certificate of disability.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  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 also 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 Badge are commonly referred to as a conversion award.

7.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit (329th Infantry Regiment) was credited with participating in five designated campaigns during the former servicemember’s period of assignment.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the former servicemember was treated for a "battle injury" in December 1944 and as such is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The evidence also confirms that the he is entitled to a Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  The former servicemember is also entitled to five bronze service stars on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon denoting participation in five designated campaign periods while assigned to the 329th Infantry Regiment.

4.  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 wounds sustained in December 1944,

b.  by showing that he is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on the Combat Infantryman Badge; and

c.  by showing that he is entitled to five bronze service stars on his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon.

BOARD VOTE:  

__mmd___  __aao___  __wdp__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000042924	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001026	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Grant	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.