PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:          16 September 2003   
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003088533

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Karen A. Heinz		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action during a bombing raid on 16 December 1944 in Holland.  He contends that he was hit in his left leg, left great toe and left hand by anti-personnel bombs.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a copy of his Transcript of Military Record; four eyewitness statements; and one medical record, dated 30 August 1950. 

4.  The applicant’s military records have been lost or destroyed.  This case is being considered using reconstructed records.  The applicant's reconstructed records consist primarily of the WD AGO Form 53-55, a DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) from the U.S. Marine Corps, and limited medical records.

5.  The applicant's reconstructed records show the applicant was inducted on 
1 June 1943.  He served as a clerk typist assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 335th Ordnance Battalion in the European Theater of Operations from 18 October 1944 through 13 August 1945 and was honorably discharged on 9 December 1945.  The applicant subsequently served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

6.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars as authorized awards.  

7.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None."

8.  There is no evidence in the available records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.

9.  Item 11 (List all significant diseases, wounds and injuries) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated 8 December 1945, shows the applicant sustained a back injury at Camp Forrest in Tennessee in January 1944.   

10.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided four eyewitness statements, dated January 1951, from soldiers at the time in question.  These soldiers attest that the applicant was wounded by anti-personnel bomb fragments on 
16 December 1944 in Holland.   

11.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register), dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, occupation credit during World War II.  This document shows the applicant's unit received occupation credit for Germany for the period 20 May to 
5 July 1945.

12.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of thirty consecutive days at a normal post of duty in a qualifying location.  Personnel at a qualifying location as an inspector, courier, escort, temporary or detached duty are precluded from eligibility.  For award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, qualifying service must have occurred between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955 and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal must have been awarded prior to 9 May 1945.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the eyewitness statements provided in support of the applicant’s claim for award of the Purple Heart.  However, in the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II, the Board determined that these statements were not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the Board determined that there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  The applicant's unit received occupation credit for Germany.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

3.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the applicant was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

2.  That so much of the application as pertains to award of the Purple Heart be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

FNE____  MHM___  KAH_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Fred N. Eichorn
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088533	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030916	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0060	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.