PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            6 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000046935

	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. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Member	
	Mr. Thomas Lanyi		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) for wounds he received during World War II.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in February or March of 1945 and he provides a page from his unit book which he contends confirms this award.  This extract shows that he served in France and Germany and that he earned the PH after being wounded in Germany. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost in that fire.  

5.  The available evidence includes a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge).  This document verifies that he was inducted into the Army of the United States (AUS) on 30 August 1944 and that his branch of service was Infantry.  It also confirms that he served on active duty until being honorably discharged, on 22 June 1946, in the rank of corporal (Cpl), in order to reenlist in the Regular Army. 

6.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 also indicates that the applicant arrived for duty in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 20 January 1945 and that he was still serving there on the date of his reenlistment, 22 June 1946.  In addition, it shows that he participated in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns of World War II, and that during his active duty tenure he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, the ETO Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal. 

7.  In addition, the available evidence included a WD AGO Form 53 (Honorable Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge), which documents the applicant’s honorable active duty service from 22 June 1946 through 20 June 1949.  This document contains no listed awards or decorations for this particular period of service. 

8.  Also on file is a military record finding report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dated 18 September 2000, which contains information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) for the period 1942-1945.  This report indicates that the applicant was treated as a battle casualty by medical personnel, on 13 March 1945, after having received shell fragment wounds to the buttock and hip.  

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who, while serving in any capacity with one of the Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed in action.  

10.  The regulation defines a wound as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under conditions defined by this regulation.  In order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer.  This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.  

11.  Paragraph 3-13 outlines the criteria for the award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM).  It states, in pertinent part, that the BSM is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 
6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  

12.  Paragraph 3-13d (2) states, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is authorized to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, were cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, inclusive, or whose meritorious achievement was otherwise confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  This paragraph also stipulates that for this purpose, an award of the CIB is considered as a citation in orders. 

13.  Chapter 4 prescribes the policy for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).  Paragraph 4-4, gives the specific criteria for approval of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is the immediate commander’s decision to award the AGCM based on his personal knowledge of the individual and on the individual’s official records.  It further states that the lack of official disqualifying comment by previous commanders allows that period of service to qualify for use in awarding the AGCM.  

14.  Paragraph 4-5 of the regulation defines periods of service which qualify for award of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that for the first award only, a 
1 year period served entirely during the period 7 December 1941 to 2 March 1946 is a qualifying period for award of the AGCM.  The available evidence contains no indication that the applicant had committed any infractions that would have disqualified him from receiving the AGCM or that he was ever disqualified for the award by any of his immediate commanders.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he was awarded the PH for wounds he received in the ETO during World War II and finds that  this claim has merit.  In addition, the Board finds that the applicant is eligible for both two additional awards, the BSM and AGCM, which he did not specifically request. 

2.  The regulation states, in order to support awarding a member the PH, that it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer.  This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.  The Board finds that the medical casualty record pertaining to the applicant, provided by the OTSG and contained in the NARA report, sufficiently satisfies the burden of proof mandated by this regulation.

3.  The medical evidence documented in the NARA report is consistent with the applicant’s claim that he was wounded in action.  Therefore, the Board finds it is reasonable to conclude that he was in fact wounded while engaged in an action against an enemy force, on 13 March 1945, which would entitle him to be awarded the PH.  Thus, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate to provide the applicant the PH at this time.  

4.  By regulation, the BSM is authorized for members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, have been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy during World War II and for this purpose the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.  Given the determination that the applicant is entitled to the CIB, as outlined in the preceding paragraph, the Board concludes that it would also be proper to award him the BSM based on this regulatory criteria. 

5.  The WD AGO Forms 53-55 on file verifies that the applicant completed a 
1 year period of honorable active military service, between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946, which satisfies the qualifying period of service criteria for the first award of the AGCM.  Thus, the Board finds that the applicant should have been awarded the AGCM for the period from 30 August 1944 to 29 August 1945, and that it would appropriate to correct this error at this time.  

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:

a.  by awarding the individual concerned the PH for wounds he received in action, on 13 March 1945, while serving as a Cpl, in Germany during World 
War II;

b.  by awarding the individual concerned the BSM for meritorious service for the period 20 January 1945 to 22 June 1946 based upon his exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy during World War II;

c.  by awarding the individual concerned the AGCM for his 1 year period of honorable active military service between 30 August 1944 to 29 August 1945; and 
d.  by issuing the individual concerned a correction to his separation document that includes the changes indicated in these findings. 

BOARD VOTE:  

___tl ____  ___rvo __  ___wtm _  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000046935	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/02/06	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1946/06/22	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR WD Cir 310	
DISCHARGE REASON	Immediate Reenlistment 	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.