PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            13 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048359

	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:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Mr. Harry B. Oberg		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 received in action during World War II.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received a PH in France on 
10 September 1945 and it was to be entered on the next days morning report but never was.  He claims to still have the PH Medal he received that day from his company commander.  

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 records do include a War Department (WD) Adjutant General Office (AGO) Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge), which was issued to the applicant on the date of his separation.  This document verifies that he entered active duty on 19 September 1940 and confirms that he served on active duty until being honorably discharged on 
22 September 1945.

6.  The separation document also shows that he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 28 August 1944 to 6 September 1945.  Block 34 (Wounds Received in Action) contains a “None” entry, which would indicate he was not wounded in action during the period of service covered by the document. 

7.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 also confirms that during his service he participated in the Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe campaigns of World War II and that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), American Theater Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, and the American Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star.  The separation document lists no other awards or decorations and specifically does not list the PH as an earned award. 

8.  The applicant has previously applied to the Board in 1998 requesting he be awarded the PH.  At that time, given the lack of service records, a search was made of the morning reports for the applicant’s unit for the period 1 November 1944 through 28 February 1945 and of his unit’s sick records for a similar period. Neither of these searches produced any indication that the applicant was ever wounded in action or that he was awarded the PH.  

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.  It also specifically states that 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 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. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding the contention of the applicant, after carefully examining the available evidence of record and the independent evidence submitted by the applicant, the Board finds an insufficient evidentiary basis on which to support awarding the PH.  

2.  While the Board wishes to commend the applicant on his exemplary service during World War II, it is compelled to deny the requested relief.  The available evidence contains no information to support his claim of entitlement to the PH and there are no medical records available that verify that he was treated for a wound by a medical officer or that this treatment was made a matter of official record. 
3.  Further, the available evidence suggests the applicant never raised the PH issue while he was still on active duty or at the time of his separation, when he was issued and signed a WD AGO Form 53-55 that did not list the PH as an earned award and contained a “None” entry in block 34, which indicated that he had not been wounded in action during his tenure on active duty. 

4.  During its review of this case, the Board did find the applicant is entitled to the BSM, an award he did not specifically request.  His entitlement to the BSM is based on his having been awarded the CIB during his World War II service.  

5.  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 that for this purpose the CIB is considered as a citation in orders.  Therefore, the Board concludes that it would be proper to award the applicant the BSM at this time.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the BSM for meritorious service for the period 28 August 1944 to 6 September 1945 based on his exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy during World War II.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__hbo___  ___slp __  __jh ____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____June Hajjar_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048359	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2001/02/13	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1945/09/22	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	RR 1-1 	
DISCHARGE REASON	Demobilization 	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.  60	107.0014	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.