RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  10 February 2004
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003088646

	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. Stephanie Thompkins		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Linda M. Barker		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded on 25 July 1944 in France.  He was burned very badly on his left lower leg.  He also states that he was hospitalized in South England for 3 months after the incident.

3.  The applicant provides letters from his platoon leader and his first sergeant in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), which occurred on 21 September 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 18 March 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 show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 17 July 1942 and entered on active duty on 31 July 1942.

4.  The applicant's records show he served in Europe from 11 May 1943 to 4 September 1945.  He served continuously until his honorable separation on 21 September 1945.  

5.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's discharge document shows he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon with 4 bronze service stars and the Good Conduct Ribbon.

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the discharge document contains the entry "None."  The applicant authenticated his separation document with his signature in Item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated), which indicates he verified the information contained in his separation document was correct at the time it was prepared and issued.  

7.  In a letter dated 12 December 2002, an official with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) verified that the applicant was entitled to the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars and a bronze arrowhead device, the World War II Victory Medal and the Honorable Service Lapel Button World War II.  The NPRC official also advised the applicant that no records had been found to show that he was authorized the Purple Heart.  The NPRC official concluded that if the applicant felt that an error or injustice existed in his military records, then he could apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.

8.  The applicant submitted a statement, dated 13 March 2003, prepared by an individual identified as the applicant's platoon leader.  The platoon leader states that during the invasion of Normandy on or about 7 June 1944, he found out that the applicant had been burned badly from a booby trapped German blow torch that blew up.  The platoon leader also stated that he heard the applicant was flown to a hospital in England.  

9.  The applicant submitted a second statement, dated 11 February 2003, prepared by an individual who writes that he was the first sergeant of the applicant's unit.  The first sergeant stated that to the best of his memory he did not take over the applicant's unit until 5 to 6 weeks after the invasion of Normandy.  The individual also stated that the applicant's account of the burns is correct to his knowledge, but he did know the applicant's injury was from a booby trap.

10.  In the processing of this case, the unit historical files of the applicant’s unit that are maintained at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland, were reviewed to determine if the applicant’s contentions could be supported by the unit records.  The unit historical files for the 926th Signal Battalion contained no confirmation that the applicant was wounded in action while serving in Europe or was entitled to the Purple Heart.

11.  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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for the “arrowhead” to be worn on the appropriate service medal to denote participation in a combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, combat glider landing, or amphibious assault landing while assigned or attached as a member of an organized force carrying out an assigned tactical mission.  The regulation specifies that individual assault credit is tied directly to the combat assault credit decision for the unit to which the soldier is assigned.  The regulation requires that the unit must be credited with a combat assault in order 

for the soldiers to receive credit for a combat assault and the soldier must physically exit the aircraft or the watercraft as appropriate.  The regulation also specifies that the arrowhead is authorized for wear on the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

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.

14.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

15.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards and citations received by unit serving in the invasion of Normandy.  This document shows that, at the time of the applicant’s assignment with the 926th Signal Battalion, it was cited for assault credit for Normandy 6-7 June 1944, by War Department General Order Number 116, dated 1946.  The witness statements indicate the applicant participated in that assault.

16.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) also shows the unit, to which the applicant was reassigned, the 982th Signal Service Company, was cited for award of the Army of Occupational Medal with Germany Clasp for service from 2 May to 14 August 1945.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a soldier was wounded or injured in action.  

2.  Available service records give no indication that the applicant ever sustained or was treated for a wound he received in Europe as a result of enemy action or that he was ever eligible for or awarded the Purple Heart.  

3.  Further, the unit historical files of the applicant’s unit that are maintained at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland make no reference to his ever being wounded or injured in action while serving in Europe. 

4.  Careful consideration was given to the information provided in the third party statements provided by the applicant.  However, given the lack of any corroborating evidence of record from other independent sources, these statements alone are not sufficient to meet the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support the award of the Purple Heart.

5.  Based on the foregoing, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 21 September 1945, the date of his separation from active duty.  However, the ABCMR was not established until 2 January 1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  However, the applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

7.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative error, which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore, administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__js____  ___lb____  __rd___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented and the merits of this case are insufficient to warrant the relief requested, and therefore, it would not be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year statute of limitations prescribed by law.  

2.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to show entitlement to the arrowhead device to be worn on the applicant's European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp and the World War II Victory Medal. 

		__John N. Slone____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088646	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040210	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.