PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           19 December 2000   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047489

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. James P. Huber		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth L. Wright		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, award of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he sustained shrapnel in his left leg when his jeep was hit by German artillery in November 1944.  He also contends that his discharge document does not show the Bronze Star Medal.  In support of his application, he submits a medical document dated 27 July 2000; an article titled “Order of Battle U.S. Army, World War II”; a Privacy Act statement executed by the applicant on 15 November 1999; a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); an undated note from a Member of Congress; a letter, dated 11 August 1999, from a fellow soldier who attests that he was informed by a colonel that the applicant had been wounded at the time in question; and a letter, dated 31 August 2000, from a Member of Congress.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant enlisted on
19 December 1941.  He served as an administrative noncommissioned officer in the European Theater of Operations from 29 January 1944 to 16 September 1945 and was honorably discharged on 3 October 1945.  Records show the applicant was assigned to Headquarters, 4th Medical Battalion, attached to the 4th Infantry Division during World War II.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own  hand, does not show the Purple Heart or the Bronze Star Medal as authorized awards.

6.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action.  Item 
34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 states “NONE”. 

7.  The Report After/After Action Report for Headquarters, Fourth Medical Battalion, for the period 1 November 1944 to 30 November 1944, provides a breakdown of awards presented (by name) and battle casualties by unit within the battalion.  The applicant’s name does not appear in this report for an award of the Purple Heart or as a battle casualty.   

8.  The applicant provided a medical document, dated 27 July 2000, which shows the diagnosis as “Residual Foreign Body in Soft Tissue”.  There is no evidence that this injury was the result of hostile action.

9.  The applicant also provided a letter, dated 11 August 1999, from a fellow soldier attesting that he was informed by a colonel that the applicant was wounded at the time in question. 
10.  4th Infantry Division General Orders Number 73, dated 8 October 1944, show the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service from 6 June 1944 to 5 October 1944.  This award is not shown on his discharge document.  

11.  DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 2 November 1984, shows the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, determined that the applicant was eligible for the Meritorious Unit Emblem with one bronze service star, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, the World War II  Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany Clasp) and the Belgian Fourragere.  These awards are not shown on his discharge document.  

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he was wounded when his jeep was hit by enemy artillery in November 1944.  However, there is no evidence of record available to the Board which shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.

2.  The Board also noted the medical document and the statement from the fellow soldier provided in support of the applicant’s claim.  However, this documentation is not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart particularly in view of the evidence of record which shows the applicant was not wounded and did not receive the Purple Heart.   

3.  The applicant signed his discharge document attesting to the fact that he was not entitled to the Purple Heart. 

4.  The preponderance of evidence in this case shows that he was not wounded or otherwise entitled to the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  

5.  The applicant is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Unit Emblem with one bronze service star, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany Clasp) and the Belgian Fourragere.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his discharge document to show these awards.     
6.  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 that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Unit Emblem with one bronze service star, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver service star, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany Clasp) and the Belgian Fourragere.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

JPH____  RJW____  KLW_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		James P. Huber_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047489	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20001219	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19451003	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Convenience of the Government	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0014	
3.	107.0034	
4.	107.0063	
5.	107.0065	
6.	107.0060