PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           31 October 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002072896

	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. Curtis L. Greenway		Chairperson	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman		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, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that his discharge does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

4.  In support of his request, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, and a copy of an extract from general orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

5.  The applicant’s military records were essentially lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Only two documents, a transmittal of records letter and a damaged copy of a War Department Battle Casualty Report, survived the fire and water damage.

6.  The available records show that the applicant was inducted on 31 August 1944, was awarded the military occupational specialty of rifleman and served with the 398th Infantry Regiment in the European Theater of Operations from January to June 1945.  He was honorably separated with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge on 30 August 1945, in the rank of private first class.  The separation document does not reflect any time lost during his service.

7.  Awards reflected on his WD AGO Form 53-55, include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Expert Badge with rifle bar.  The Purple Heart is not listed as an authorized award.  However, block 34, wounds received in action, contains the entry 4 April 1945 in Germany.

8.  The extract of general orders provided by the applicant indicates that he was awarded the Purple Heart per General Orders Number 38, Headquarters 203rd General Hospital on 20 April 1945.  The orders show that the award was made for wounds received as a result of enemy action on 4 April 1945.

9.  On 21 April 1945, The Adjutant General’s Office issued a Battle Casualty Report to the applicant’s father, informing him that the applicant had been slightly wounded in Germany on 4 April 1945.

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.  Subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

12.  The awards regulation also provides for that the Good Conduct Medal may be awarded on a selective basis to soldiers who distinguish themselves from among their fellow soldiers by their exemplary conduct, efficiency and fidelity throughout a specified period of continuous enlisted active Federal military service, and, the World War II Victory Medal will be awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

13.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, shows that during the period of the applicant’s assignment to the 398th Infantry Regiment, the unit was awarded credit for the occupation of Germany.  Accordingly, members of the unit were awarded the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp to reflect this unit level credit.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record and that provided by the applicant establishes that he was wounded in action on 4 April 1945, in Germany, and is entitled to the Purple Heart for that wound.

2.  Furthermore, since his discharge was honorable and there is no record of any lost time, it is fair to conclude that his service from the date of his induction on 31 August 1944 to the date of his discharge on 30 August 1945, was such as to justify award of the Good Conduct Medal.  

3.  Additionally, based on the period of his service and the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, he is also entitled to the following awards: the Bronze Star Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

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 by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in Germany on 4 April 1945, the Good Conduct Medal for the period 31 August 1944 to 30 August 1945, the Bronze Star Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

BOARD VOTE:  

________  ________  ________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____rks__  ___dph__  ____clg__  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Curtis L. Greenway_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002072896	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20021031	
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.