PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  11 April 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2001062239

	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. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		Member	
	Mr. Elzey J. Arledge		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. 

3.  The applicant states that he was injured by shrapnel to the head during the Battle of the Bulge and was never awarded the Purple Heart.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) and a copy of his Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Rating Decision, dated 27 July 2001.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show he was inducted on 31 March 1944,
as a clerk typist (405).  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 22 October 1944 to 5 July 1945, and continued to serve until he was honorably discharged on 26 April 1946.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the 
Good Conduct Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the 
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the American Theater Ribbon, the World War II Victory Medal, and the 
Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received In Action) of the applicant’s 
WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry “NONE.”  There is no record that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no indication that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

7.  A copy of his DVA Rating Decision, dated 27 July 2001, shows that he was granted a 10 percent service-connected disability for a scar, residuals of a shell fragment wound, right scalp with retained foreign body.  There is no indication in the available records to show that his service-connected disability for a scar, residuals of a shell fragment wound was the result of hostile action.

8.  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 the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

9.  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 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 Board notes the DVA Rating Decision, dated 27 July 2001, provided by the applicant which shows that he was granted a 10 percent service-connected disability for a scar, residuals of a shell fragment wound, right scalp with retained foreign body.  However, his DVA Rating Decision failed to show that his injuries were the result of hostile action.

2.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows he was injured or wounded due to hostile action during World War II.  

3.  The evidence of record shows the applicant is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  

4.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case for the individual concerned be corrected by showing that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge

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

BOARD VOTE:  

_mp___  __rd___  __ea____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Margaret K. Patterson__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062239	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020411	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19460426	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365 	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.