PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            1 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047119

	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. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Lutz		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 in action during World War II.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in action in Germany during World War II and should have received the PH.  In support of his application he provides the enclosed separation document, Bronze Star Medal (BSM) order extract, and newspaper articles attesting to the fact he was wounded in action. 

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 7 June 1943 and served on active duty in the Infantry Branch, as a Rifleman, until being honorably discharged in the rank of sergeant (SGT) on 16 November 1945.

6.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 also indicates that the applicant arrived for duty in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 10 October 1944 and served there until his departure for the United States on 8 September 1945.  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 BSM, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and American Service Medal.  

7.  Also on file is a military record finding report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dated 19 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 in Germany, on 13 March 1945, after having received shell fragment wounds to the leg.  

8.  The applicant provided a copy of a citation contained in the General Order (GO) 106, dated 13 April 1945, issued by Headquarters, 103rd Infantry Division, which awarded him the BSM for his heroic achievement in action.  He earned this award for continuously exposing himself to an enemy sniper and mortar fire while leading his squad in a successful attack on pillbox and a series of trenches.  In addition, the citation confirms that as a result of this action he received shrapnel wounds to the chest and leg.  

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 contains guidance on awarding the BSM and states that the BSM is awarded to members who served in any capacity in the AUS after 
6 December 1941 and distinguished themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  Paragraph 3-13 d (2) states, in pertinent part, that members who had been 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 are eligible to receive the BSM and that for this purpose, an award of the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.  

12.  Chapter 8, Section-II (Combat and Special Skill Badges) contains guidance on the award of combat badges.  Paragraph 8-6 contains the policy and procedure pertaining to the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  Paragraph 8-6c contains the specific eligibility criteria for earning the CIB.  The basic qualifications for earning the CIB are that a member be an infantryman, assigned to an infantry unit, and that he be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy.  It also allows, in pertinent part, that the infantry specialty does not necessarily have to be the soldier's primary specialty, as long as the soldier has been properly trained in infantry tactics, possesses the appropriate skill code, and is serving in that specialty when engaged in active ground combat as described above.  

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 to receive the CIB and the BSM 1st Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC).   

2.  The regulation states, 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.  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 as evidenced by the BSM order citation.  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 20 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.  The evidence also clearly shows that the applicant met the criteria necessary to earn the CIB.  He was an infantryman, assigned to an infantry unit, and he was personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy, as evidenced by his BSM order.  Therefore, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to award him the CIB at this time.

5.  Based upon the established entitlement to the CIB, the Board further concludes that the applicant is authorized to receive the 1st OLC to his BSM for his exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy for his service in the ETO during World War II, between 10 October 1944 and 8 September 1945.

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 by:

a.  awarding the individual concerned the PH for wounds he received in action, on 20 March 1945, while serving as a SGT, in Germany during World 
War II; 

b.  awarding him the CIB based on his combat service as an Infantryman in an Infantry unit in the ETO during World War II, between 10 October 1944 and 8 September 1945; and 

c.  awarding him the BSM 1st OLC for his exemplary combat service in the ETO during World War II, between 10 October 1944 and 8 September 1945

BOARD VOTE:  

___ls____  ___ja ___  __bjl____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Luther L. Santiful____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047119	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/02/01	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1945/11/16	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-369	
DISCHARGE REASON	Convenience of the Government	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.  157	107.0111	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.