PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            6 July 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000043039

	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:

	Mr. Calvin M. Fowler		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher		Member	
	Mr. John P. Infante		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 Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he sustained injuries in combat during World War II (WWII) in which he hit an empty gas can handle while jumping into a fox hole rear end first.  He further states that the injuries resulted in his being hospitalized and that he should not be denied the award of the Purple Heart simply because someone failed to document the reasons for his injuries in the medical logs. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri that destroyed millions of service records.  However, reconstructed records contain a duly constituted report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) which shows that he was inducted on 16 April 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts.

5.  He entered active duty on 23 April 1943 and departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 9 October 1943.  He served in the Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe Campaigns.

6.  He returned to the United States on 15 July 1945 and was discharged in the rank of technical sergeant (T/Sgt) on 25 October 1945 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  He had served 2 years, 6 months and 2 days of total active service and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the European African Middle-Eastern Theater Ribbon with four bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Badge.  His report of separation indicates that he received no wounds in action and the form is signed by the applicant.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound/injury was a result of hostile action, that the wound/injury must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

8.  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 achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the CIB 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.
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record fails to show that the applicant was wounded/injured as a result of enemy action; therefore, there is no basis for the Board to award him the Purple Heart.

2.  However, although the authorization to award members the Bronze Star Medal was not enacted until after the applicant separated from the service, he nevertheless should have received the award based on his having been awarded the CIB.  Therefore, it would also be in the interest of justice to correct the administrative oversight at this time.

3.  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 awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during World War II.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__ew____  __jpi____  __cmf___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Calvin M. Fowler_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000043039	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/07/06	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  60	107.0014/BSM	
2.  61	107.0015/PH	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.