PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            26 September 2000 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000043492

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Mr. Thomas F. Baxter		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action on two occasions and suffered combat related cold weather injuries during World War II. He contends that he was wounded in France and in Germany but his injuries were not serious enough to go back to the battalion aid station.  He states that he suffered combat related cold weather injuries during the battle of the “Bulge”.  He also contends that he served 318 days in combat, that his company had a combat medic who took care of minor wounds and that his wounds were not recorded because he never left the front line.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), a copy of WD AGO Form 100 (Army Separation Qualification Record) dated 20 October 1945 and a personal account of several combat experiences during World War II.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant was inducted on 
4 October 1943.  He served as a rifleman in the European Theater of Operations from 18 April 1944 through 4 October 1945 and was honorably discharged on 
20 October 1945.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action.  Item 
34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows “None”.

7.  There is no medical evidence of record which shows the applicant was diagnosed with frostbite during World War II.

8.  DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 8 January 1992, shows the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, determined that the applicant was entitled to the Bronze Star Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster) (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge), the Presidential Unit Emblem, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.  These awards are not shown on his discharge document. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.

10.  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 face 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he was wounded in action on two occasions and suffered combat related cold weather injuries during World War II.  However, there is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows that he was treated for wounds or frostbite as a result of hostile action during World War II.  Therefore, he is not entitled to correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart.    

2.  The applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster) (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge), the Presidential Unit Emblem, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records 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 that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (Second Oak Leaf Cluster) (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge), the Presidential Unit Emblem, 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:  

AAO____  MHM___  TFB____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Arthur A. Omartian__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000043492	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000926	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19451020	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Convenience of the Government Demobilization	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0014	
3.	107.0031	
4.	107.0066	
5.	107.0060	
6.