RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            22 JANUARY 2004                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003087422

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests that his records be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he sustained a shrapnel injury to his left eye when an enemy shell hit his tank.  He states he was hospitalized as a result of his injury.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his Department of Veterans Affairs disability entitlement notification indicating entitlement to a disability rating effective 
10 November 1999 for a “scar of retina of left eye.”  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on 
2 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 24 February 2003.  

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 30 October 1942 and served in the European Theater of Operations.

5.  According to a “Battalion History for March 1945” from the 23rd Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, the applicant was reported as having been wounded in action on 25 March 1945.  The report was obtained by a member of the Board’s staff from the repository at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.  There is, however, no evidence he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant’s separation document indicated that he returned to the United States in August 1945 and was honorably discharged on 2 December 1945.

7.  There were no medical records available to the Board and no other evidence confirming that the applicant was wounded in action, beyond the unit historical report.

8.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes that the applicant’s unit was granted occupation credit for Germany while the applicant was member of the organization and as such the applicant would be entitled to the Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although there is no medical evidence confirming that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action, the Board is satisfied that the information contained in the March 1945 battalion history coupled with the information that the Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized the applicant’s retina scar as being service connected, is sufficient to conclude that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II and as such, is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The evidence also shows that the applicant is entitled to an award of the Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp.

BOARD VOTE:

__JHL  __  __AAO __  __RJW _  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

a.  showing that he is entitled to the Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp; and

b.  awarding him the Purple Heart.

		___Joann H. Langston____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003087422	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20040122	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.