PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           11 December 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001063519

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		Member	
	Mr. Thomas E. O’Shaughnessy, 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 the Purple Heart be added to his Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant states, in a 1985 letter to the U. S. Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN), that he was injured by shrapnel when his unit was breeching the Siegfried Line in January 1945.  An ugly scab developed and his sergeant told him to go back to the battalion aid station and get it taken care of.

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

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Army on 10 August 1942.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 4 December 1944.  A morning report entry for 5 February 1945 shows he was lightly wounded in action in Luxembourg, not hospitalized.  He was an infantryman and had   been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  He departed the theater on      15 December 1945 and separated on 30 December 1945.

6.  On 12 July 1985, ARPERCEN authorized issuance to the applicant, in addition to the awards shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55, of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp and the Bronze Star Medal (based upon award of the Combat Infantryman Badge).  On 10 October 1985, ARPERCEN authorized issuance of the Purple Heart to the applicant.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  It states that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is sufficient evidence of record to show that the applicant met the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart in addition to the Bronze Star Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to add the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__kak___  __reb___  __teo___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Karol A. Kennedy
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063519	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011211	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	110.04	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.