PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            6 March 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002074103

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Ms. Linda D. Simmons		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones		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, the son of a deceased former service member (FSM) who served in World War I, requests that his father be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during World War I.  

3.  The applicant states in a letter of explanation that the FSM was wounded on 1 November 1918 as a result of hostile action during his unit's movement into the Meuse-Argonne sector.  The applicant also stated the FSM was shot in the chest, evacuated to a field hospital, and ultimately returned to the United States where he was hospitalized and then discharged. 

4.  In support of his request, the applicant submitted a two-page letter of explanation, dated 7 May 2002; a copy of the FSM's "Honorable Discharge from The United States Army," dated 26 April 1919; a copy of the FSM's "Enlistment Record" stamped "APR 26 19" [26 April 1919]; and a copy of the FSM's Death Certificate, dated 8 February 1995. 

5.  The FSM's military records consist only of his Honorable Discharge and Enlistment Record.  These records show that he entered active duty in the Army on 29 April 1918.  He served as a member of Company K, 354th Infantry during World War I and participated in the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector battles.  Records also show that the FSM achieved the rank of "Corporal." 

6.  Date stamps on the FSM's Honorable Discharge and Enlistment Record indicate that he was discharged from the Army at Camp Pike, Arkansas, on 26 April 1919.

7.  Records show that the National Personnel Records Center prepared a DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards) on 22 April 2002.  This form authorized the applicant to receive the FSM's World War I Victory Button (Bronze) and the World War I Victory Medal with Battle Clasps for St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Defensive Sector.  This document does not show that wound chevrons or the Purple Heart were issued to the FSM.

8.  The FSM's Enlistment Record shows the entry "Gun Shot-Upr L Chest" [upper left chest] under "Wounds Received in Service."  However, the FSM's Enlistment Record does not show the date of this wounding.

9.  The FSM's Enlistment Record also shows that he was issued the Silver World War I Victory Button.

10.  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.
11.  Paragraph 2-8d of Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) governs award of the Purple Heart authorized for wounds sustained during World War I.  In pertinent part this paragraph authorizes award of the Purple Heart to any member of the Army, who during World War I, was awarded a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate signed by the Commander-in-Chief, American Expeditionary Forces, or who was authorized to wear wound chevrons.

12.  Paragraph 6-15a of Army Regulation 600-8-22 governs award of the World War I Victory Button.  This paragraph states, in pertinent part, that the Silver World War I Victory Button is issued to persons wounded in action during World War I and the Bronze World War I Victory Button is awarded to all others.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the applicant's request for posthumous award of the Purple Heart to his father.

2.  The FSM's Enlistment Record shows that he sustained wounds during his service in World War I.  The applicant stated in his letter of explanation that the FSM was wounded on 1 November 1918; however, the exact date of this wounding is not documented in the available military records.  

3.  Although there is no indication that the FSM was awarded wound chevrons, award of the Silver World War I Victory Button indicates that he was wounded in action during World War I.  

4.  Based on the foregoing, the Board determined that there is sufficient evidence to show that the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War I.  As a result, the Board determined that the FSM is entitled to a posthumous award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during World War I. 

5.  The Board also noted that the DA Form 1577 issued by the National Personnel Records Center on 22 April 2002 incorrectly authorizes issuance of a Bronze World War I Victory Button.  

6.  The FSM's Enlistment Record clearly shows entitlement to the Silver World War I Victory Button.  Therefore, the FSM is entitled to issuance of a Silver World War I Victory Button instead of the Bronze World War I Victory Button.

7.  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 the FSM was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during World War I.

2.  That the applicant, as the next of kin of the FSM, be issued the posthumous award of the Purple Heart and the Silver World War I Victory Button to which the FSM is entitled.

BOARD VOTE:  

__FCJ___  __LDS__  __WTM__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Mr. Walter T. Morrison___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002074103	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030306	
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	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0000.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.