PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           1 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048289

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that, as a result of his prisoner of war (POW) experience, he is now 100 percent disabled.  He states that his ailment is Beri-Beri caused by the lack of Vitamin B for 15 months.  He contends that this ailment has caused an enlarged heart and numbness in both feet.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he was inducted on 9 June 1943. He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 4 December 1943 through 25 April 1945.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 3 November 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  His discharge document shows the entry “None” in item 34 (Wounds Received In Action).

6.  There is no evidence in the limited records available to the Board which shows that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action at any point during World War II.  

7.  A DD Form 2510 (Prisoner of War (POW) Medal Application/Information) prepared by the applicant on 12 April 1988 states that he was a prisoner of Germany from 22 January 1944 to 13 April 1945.  Department of the Army records confirm that he was a prisoner of war of Germany from 22 January 1944 to 13 April 1945.  His WD AGO 53-55 does not show the POW Medal as an authorized award.

8.  The Board noted that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, but there is no indication that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

9.  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.

10.  During World War II and the Korean War the Purple Heart was not awarded to soldiers who had been injured while in captivity or while being taken captive.  These injuries were considered to be the result of war crimes and not the result of a legal action of war.  War Department policy, at that time, required that wounds must have been received in action against the enemy or, in other words, incurred in actual combat.  Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962, provided more latitude with respect to award of the Purple Heart to prisoners of war, as well as the authority to award the decoration to wounded soldiers even in the absence of a formal declaration of war.  The issue as to whether this change in policy would be implemented retroactively to prisoners of war from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War was considered several times.  Initially it was decided that the change in policy would not be retroactively implemented.  It was concluded that it would be inappropriate for the Department of Defense to retroactively change the standards and, in effect, countermand the decisions of the past leadership.  However, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 1996, Congress authorized award of the Purple Heart to any former prisoner of war who was wounded before 25 April 1962 while held as a prisoner of war, or while being taken captive, in the same manner as a former prisoner of war who was wounded on or after that date.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the POW Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  This provision did not go into effect until 10 September 1947 when Change 12 to Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations) was published.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board reviewed the applicant’s claim to award of the Purple Heart.  While the Board is empathetic to the applicant’s current medical condition, diseases and illnesses are not bases for award of the Purple Heart.  In the absence of any evidence that the applicant sustained wounds as a result of hostile action, that those wounds were treated by competent medical authority and that the medical treatment was made a matter of record, there is no basis for award of the Purple Heart to the applicant.

2.  Evidence of record shows that the applicant was a POW from 22 January 1944 to 13 April 1945.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show entitlement to the POW Medal.

3.  The applicant’s WD AGO 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Therefore, he is also entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and correction of his records to show this decoration.

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 POW Medal and the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__LLS__  __JEA___  ___BJL__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		  __Mr. Luther L. Santiful__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048289	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015.0000	
2.	107.0029.0000	
3.	107.0014.0000	
4.		
5.		
6.