PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:          

	BOARD DATE:                28 November 2000               
	DOCKET NUMBER:       AR2000046076

	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. Beverly A. Young		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. John H. Kern		Member	
	Mr. Wilfred A. Hale, Jr.		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, in effect, that item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he received a grenade fragment injury to his left hand.  While he was in the hospital, he states that, a general officer sent a colonel to speak with him after the incident.  He contends that he was injured in May 1945 in Germany while his division was involved in a fire fight with some of the Germans that were trapped behind the lines.  He states that he remembers a loud explosion and feeling pain in his left hand.  Also, he states that the doctor at the hospital that treated him showed him the entry and exit of the metal.  Further, he states that he is service connected for the scar and the medical evidence is available from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he entered active duty on 27 December 1943.  He served as a light truck driver in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 9 November 1944 through 20 April 1946.  The applicant was separated from active duty on 4 May 1946 with an Honorable Discharge Certificate.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand at the time of his separation from the service, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his discharge document shows the entry “None”.  

6.  There is no evidence available to the Board that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  Records show that the applicant sustained a gunshot wound to his left hand on 1 July 1945.  The applicant’s records contain a sworn statement, dated 8 July 1945, which attests to the fact that he shot himself in the left hand while handling his .32 caliber pistol. 

7.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various veterans service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  Searches of these files fail to show that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.

8.  The Board noted that the applicant is eligible for award of the World War II Victory Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal with two bronze service stars which are not shown on his discharge document.

9.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the applicant received credit for participation in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns).

10.  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 the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 authorizes a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation, or in item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  The regulation also states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate campaign or service medal including the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he received a grenade fragment injury to his left hand in May 1945 in Germany; however, evidence of record shows that the applicant sustained a gunshot wound to his left hand on 1 July 1945 as a result of handling his own pistol.  Therefore, the applicant was not wounded as a result of hostile action and he is not entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant served during the period of qualifying service for award of the World War II Victory Medal; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the World War II Victory Medal.

3.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant received credit for participation in two campaigns while assigned in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show two bronze service stars to be affixed to his European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal.

4.  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 the individual concerned was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with two bronze service stars.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

MKP____  JHK_____  WAH____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Margaret K. Patterson_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000046076	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001128    	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT IN PART	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.