PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           2 November 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000044472

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member	
	Mr. William D. Barr		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 Purple Heart be added to his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action in July 1945 and was awarded the Purple Heart but it was never listed on his discharge papers as he was discharged on temporary records.  He provides a letter from the unit chaplain to his wife and a copy of a news release as supporting evidence.  

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  The information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant was inducted and entered active service on 30 May 1944.  He arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 11 March 1945.  A             4 August 1945 letter from a chaplain with the 128th Infantry to the applicant’s wife informed her that the applicant had received a minor shrapnel wound on the back of the hand and was awarded the Purple Heart.  The applicant departed the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 21 December 1945 and was demobilized on 15 January 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  An Authorization for Issuance of Awards, DA Form 1577, dated 7 June 1984 shows that the applicant was authorized issuance of the BSM based upon his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  It states that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.  It also provides for the award of the BSM to members of the armed forces who, after 6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board accepts those documents provided by the applicant as sufficient evidence to show he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.  He is also entitled to the Bronze Star Medal as a result of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended:

     a.  to show he was awarded the BSM as a result of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart; and

     b.  to show he was wounded in action with a shrapnel wound to the hand in July 1945.

BOARD VOTE:  

__tsk___  __fne___  __wdb___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Fred N. Eichorn
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000044472	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20001102	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.