PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            20 March 2001     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048342

	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. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. William D. Powers		Member	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		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 the records of his father, a deceased former servicemember, be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate the former servicemember entered active duty on 22 September 1943 and arrived overseas in April 1944.  A 
19 January 1945 Western Union Telegram and an entry in item 34 (wounds received in action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) confirm the former servicemember was wounded in action in December 1944 in Belgium.  While the telegram indicates he was wounded on 27 December his WD AGO Form 53-55 indicates the wound occurred on 23 December.  There is, however, no indication he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  The former servicemember returned to the United States in December 1945 after being awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  He was honorably discharged on 10 December 1945 as a result of demobilization.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

6.  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 such 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.  Awards of the Bronze Star Medal under these circumstances are commonly referred to as conversion awards.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the former servicemember was wounded as a result of hostile action and as such is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.  Because the telegram was issued within days after the servicemember was wounded the Board concludes that the date of injury contained in the telegram is probably more accurate than the date on his WD AGO Form 53-55 issued months after the injury.  His records should be corrected accordingly.

2.  The evidence also confirms the former servicemember was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge and as such is entitled to a Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award.

3.  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 Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action on 27 December 1944;

b.  by correcting the date in item 34 (wounds received in action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the date of injury as 27 vice 23 December; and

c.  by awarding him the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:  

__fne___  ___wdp__  ___rjw__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048342	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010320	
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.