PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           17 April 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000050038

	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. W. E. Schnupp 		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John H. Kern		Chairperson	
	MS. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer 		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 items 33 and 34 (decorations and citations and wounds received in action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Report of Separation, be corrected to show that he received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action.

3.  The applicant states in effect, that he was wounded during World War II but his Report of Separation does not reflect that fact or that he received the Purple Heart.

4.  In support of his request, he submits a copy of his Report of Separation and a copy of a letter to him from The Office of the Adjutant General of the Army dated 17 December 1945 informing him that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 6 April 1945.

5.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information herein was derived from document submitted by the applicant and from other sources.

6.  The applicant’s Report of Separation shows that he was inducted on 22 January 1943, received training as a light truck driver and served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from January 1945 to May 1945.  He was honorably discharged for disability on 16 October 1945 in the grade of private first class.

7.  His awards include the Good Conduct Medal, the ETO Ribbon with 2 Bronze Stars (it is assumed that this is the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Battle Stars) and the Drivers Award.  Neither the Purple Heart nor data concerning his being wounded in action are shown on the separation document.

8.  The letter from The Office of the Adjutant General of the Army dated 17 December 1945 provided by the applicant shows that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 6 April 1945.

9.  Information obtained from hospital admission cards created by The Office of the Surgeon General for the year 1945, shows that the applicant was admitted to a medical treatment facility in Europe on 6 April 1945 as a battle casualty with compound fractures of the metatarsal bones resulting from a land mine explosion while in a vehicle.

10.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  The awards regulation also authorized the American Campaign Medal to be awarded for service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946; and, the World War II Victory Medal for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record clearly establishes that the applicant was wounded on 6 April 1945 as a result of hostile action.  Accordingly, he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and to have it recorded in item 33 of his Separation Document, and to have the date of his wounding recorded in item 34 of the Separation Document.

2.  Furthermore, considering the period of his service in the ETO, he is entitled to the American Campaign Medal.  And, for service with the US Military during World War II, he is authorized the World War II Victory Medal.

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 by:

	a.  issuing a correction to the Separation Document of the individual concerned showing in item 33 that he was awarded the Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal; and

	b.  showing in item 34 the date, 6 April 1945, that he was wounded in 
action.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jhk __  ____mvt_  ____mhm  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________John H. Kern____________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000050038	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/04/17	
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		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.