PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            2 October 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001057721

	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. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds incurred in action on 15 January 1945.

3.  The applicant states that he is entitled to the Purple Heart because he was wounded in action during the Battle of the Bulge and that his Enlisted Record and Report of Separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) shows that he was wounded.  In support of his application he submits a copy of Form 52b-Medical Department, United States Army, and a copy of a Supplemental Record dated 16 January 1945.

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  He was inducted into the Army on 23 March 1943 and he successfully completed his training as a rifleman.  On 21 October 1944, he was transferred to the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.

6.  His awards include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Badge             (M-1 Rifle).

7.  The copy of Form 52b-Medical Department, United States Army dated 15 January 1945, and a copy of a Supplemental Record dated 16 January 1945 shows that the applicant was in Belgium on 15 January 1945, when he was evacuated from the front lines to the hospital for frost or cold injuries to both of his feet.

8.  The applicant returned to the Continental United States on 15 August 1945 and he was honorably discharged for the Convenience of the Government on 6 December 1945.  Item number 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the WD AGO Form 53-55 that he was furnished at the time of his discharge shows that he was wounded on 15 January 1945 while he was in Germany.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that:  (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

10.  Award of the Purple Heart (PH) for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited; however, until 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, defined a “wound” as an injury to any part of the body from an 

outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action against an armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element” was further defined as weather and the award of the Purple Heart to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was authorized.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was evacuated on 15 January 1945 and hospitalized for frost injuries to both of his feet.  Although under today’s standards, he would not qualify for award of the Purple Heart, in accordance with regulations then in effect, he did meet the criteria for award of the Purple Heart.  

2.  Additionally, he is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  He should have been awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal and his WD AGO Form 53-55 should be amended to reflect those awards.

4.  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 injuries sustained in combat on 15 January 1945 while serving in the pay grade of E-3.

b.  by awarding him the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during World War II based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

BOARD VOTE:  

__rtd ___  ___mkp__  ___kak __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Margaret K. Patterson___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001057721	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/10/02	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  60	107.0014	
3.  61	107.0015	
4.		
5.		
6.