PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            22 May 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003083472

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Member	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		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 his records be corrected to reflect his two awards of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds received during World War II (WWII) in November and December 1944.  He goes on to state that at the time he was discharged from the hospital at Camp Pickett, Virginia, his records were incomplete.  In support of his application he submits his separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55).

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.  However, information obtained from his WD AGO Form 53-55 and information from hospital admission records created by the Department of the Army, Office of the Surgeon General, show that he was inducted on 14 August 1943 and entered active duty on 4 September 1943.  He completed his training as an infantryman and was transferred to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 12 May 1944.  He was assigned to    E Company, 2d Infantry Regiment for duty as a rifleman.

5.  In November 1944, he was treated at the unit aid station for lacerations to his cheek caused by artillery shell fragments and was reported as a battle casualty.

6.  In December 1944, he was seriously wounded in the abdominal area as a result of fragments from artillery shells.  He was hospitalized and eventually returned to the United States on 24 February 1945 and was admitted to the hospital at Camp Pickett, where he remained until he was honorably discharged with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge on 9 July 1945.  He had served 1 year, 10 months and 26 days of total active service and was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal.

7.  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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

8.  Army Regulation 672-5-1, in effect at the time, established the criteria for award of the CIB.  It states, in pertinent part, that to be eligible for the CIB, an individual must be an infantryman with an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) and must perform duty as an infantryman, as a member of an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size, during any period in which that unit was engaged in ground combat.  Battle participation credit alone is not sufficient.

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 (BSM) 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 (CIB) or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the BSM is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.

10.  That regulations also states, in pertinent part, that the World War II (WW II) Victory Medal was established by the act of Congress 6 July 1945 (59 Stat 461). It was awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

11.  Additionally, the American Campaign Medal was awarded for service in the American Theater during the period of 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  It was awarded to military personnel permanently assigned outside of the Continental limits of the United States or to personnel who engaged in active combat against the enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or a certificate by a commanding general of a corps or higher unit, or an independent force which denotes that the soldier actually participated in combat.

12.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) was published to assist commanders and personnel officers in determining or establishing the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during WWII.  Table 1 (Army Units in Numerical Order) of the pamphlet indicates that subsequent to the applicant’s departure from the ETO, his unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (now known as the Presidential Unit Citation) and the French Croix de Guerre. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the Board does not have the benefit of reviewing the applicant's records, there is sufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded/injured in combat; therefore, it is reasonable to presume that he was awarded two Purple Hearts as he contends and that he departed the ETO before they caught up with his records.  Accordingly, it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records to reflect those awards. 

2.  Additionally, he served as an infantryman in combat during WWII and is entitled to be awarded the CIB.  In association with his award of the CIB, he is entitled to be awarded the BSM.

3.  The applicant is also entitled to awards of the WWII Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the PUC and the French Croix de Guerre.

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 he was awarded two awards of the Purple Heart and by awarding him the CIB, BSM, WWII Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the PUC and the French Croix de Guerre. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__sk____  ___gw___  __rvo ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003083472	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2003/05/22	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/ph	
2.  77	107.0031/puc	
3.  109	107.0063/acm	
4.  112	107.0066/wwii v/mdl	
5.  60	107.0014/bsm	
6.  157	107.0111/cib