PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           15 March 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000046350

	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. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas E. O'Shaughnessy		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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 and that his separation document be corrected to show his first enlistment.

3.  The applicant states that his discharge paper is incorrect in that it does not show the Purple Heart and a period of prior service from 10 September 1944 to 26 December 1945.  In support of his request, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), a copy of a Certificate of Service, dated 25 March 1985 showing that he performed active service from 8 September 1944 to 26 December 1945, a copy of his Honorable Discharge Certificate, and a 23rd General Hospital General Order Number 97 awarding him the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information herein is derived from documents submitted by the applicant and from alternate official sources.

5.  The record shows that he enlisted on 8 September 1944 and was honorably discharged on 26 December 1945.  He reenlisted on 27 December 1945 and served until he was honorably discharged on 28 December 1948 at the rank of corporal.

6.  His award included the Bronze Star Medal.  The record does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

7.  Block 34 (wounds received in action) of the WD AGO Form 53 contains the entry “None”.

8.  Block 19 (prior service) of the WD AGO Form 53 contains the entry “1 YR 3 mos, 18 days US Army”.

9.  The Certificate of Military Service reflects that the applicant had prior service from 8 September 1944 to 26 December 1945 and was honorably discharged to re-enlist in the Regular Army.

10.  Information obtained from Hospital Admission Cards maintained by the Office of The Surgeon General for the years 1942 – 1945 shows that the applicant was admitted to a military hospital in the European Theater of Operations on 8 March 1945 as a battle casualty with a diagnosis of laceration to the eye.

11.  General Order Number 97, awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received on 8 March 1945, provided by the applicant, was also obtained from the Department of the Army Military Awards Branch.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, provides that the World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant is entitled to the Purple Heart by virtue of the wounds he suffered in Germany on 8 March 1945, as authenticated by General Orders Number 97.

2.  Additionally, considering his period of active duty service, he is also entitled to the World War II Victory Medal, which is currently not shown on his WD AGO Form 53.

3.  The applicant’s prior service of 1 year, 3 months and 18 days from 8 September 1944 to 26 December 1945 is already indicated on both his separation WD AGO Form 53 and the Certificate of Military Service issued to him on 25 March 1985.  Therefore, no further action is necessary on this issue.

4.  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 wounded on 8 March 1945 in the ETO and was awarded the Purple Heart for that wound, and that he was also awarded the World War II Victory Medal.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__emw__  ___teo__  ___rtd_ __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Ernest M. Willcher________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000046350	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010315	
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.