PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            28 August 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001055274

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		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 his records be corrected to reflect his award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was awarded the Purple Heart in May 1945 while assigned to the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment; however, it was not included on his report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) at the time of separation.  In support of his application he submits a copy of his report of WD AGO Form 53-55. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center that destroyed millions of service records.  However, the WD AGO Form 53-55 provided by the applicant shows that he was inducted at Fort Douglas, Utah on 16 March 1943 and he departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 17 May 1944.  He arrived in the ETO on 31 May 1944 and participated in the Rome Arno, Southern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns.

5.  He departed the ETO on 10 December 1945 and was honorably discharged at Fort McArthur, California on 8 January 1946.  He had served 2 years and 9 months of active service and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Parachutist Badge and the Good Conduct Medal.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows no indication of any wounds received in action.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 CIB 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.

7.  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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board is unable to determine with any degree of certainty that the applicant was wounded/injured in combat or that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Accordingly, there is no basis for the Board to direct a correction of his records to indicate that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  However, while the authorization to award members the Bronze Star Medal was not enacted until after the applicant separated from the service, he nevertheless should have received the award based on his having been awarded the CIB.  Therefore, it would also be in the interest of justice to correct the administrative oversight at this time.

3.  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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during World War II.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__dh____  ___js  ___  ___rtd___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____John N. Slone______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001055274	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/08/28	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  60	107.0014/BSM	
2.  61	107.0015/PH	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.