PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           16 October 2003    
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003086481

	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 L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry		Member	
	Mrs. Mae M. Bullock		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 deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.  He also requests to know if his father was promoted while he was in the service.

3.  The applicant states that his father did not receive a Purple Heart when he was severely wounded in action on 21 September 1918 while with Company G, 6th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force.

4.  The FSM's military records are not available.  Information contained herein was obtained from a DD Form 303A (Certificate in Lieu of Lost or Destroyed Discharge) and a War Department letter dated 30 December 1918.

5.  The FSM entered the Army on an unknown date.  The War Department notified his next of kin by letter that he had been severely wounded on               21 September 1918.

6.  The historical files of Company G, 6th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces were reviewed at the National Archives in College Park, MD.  Those records confirmed the FSM was wounded on 21 September 1918.  They failed to show that he had been promoted.

7.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, NY on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U. S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained a wound as a result of hostile action.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record confirms that the FSM was severely wounded on      21 September 1918.  The Board concludes his wound was the result of hostile action.  In view of the fact the Purple Heart was not reestablished until 1932, it appears the FSM was not awarded the Purple Heart due to an administrative oversight.

2.  A review of the historical files of Company G, 6th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force failed to show that the FSM had been promoted.

3.  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 FSM was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of enemy action on 21 September 1918.

BOARD VOTE:  

__aao___  __hof___  __mmb___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Arthur A. Omartian__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003086481	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20031016	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Schneider	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.