PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:          30 OCTOBER 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003089828

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		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 provides letters from two former comrades who attest to his being wounded.

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from the applicant and from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) shows that he was inducted into the Army on 15January 1943, and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War II from January 1943 until his return to the United States in September 1945. That form shows that he served with Cannon Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with one silver and one bronze battle star, the Bronze Service Arrowhead, the Good Conduct Medal, the Silver Star, and the Distinguished Unit Badge.  He was discharged in the rank of sergeant on          15 October 1945.  His discharge form does not show award of the Purple Heart, nor does it show that he was wounded in action.  

6.  General Orders Number 53, Headquarters, 1st Infantry Division, dated           5 March 1945, show that the applicant was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 1 September 1944.

7.  The applicant's 14 October 1945 report of physical examination shows that he sustained a left side injury in October 1944 in Germany, and that he had a 2-inch well-healed scar to his left popliteal space.

8.  The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register shows that the       16th Infantry Regiment was awarded both the French and the Belgian Fourrageres for its actions during World War II.  The 16th was an occupation force in Germany from 2 May to 4 June 1945 and from 5 July to 31 October 1945.    

9.  In a 26 September 2001 statement, the applicant's former company commander stated that the applicant was wounded in action on 23 September 1944 at Stolberg, Germany; and that under the circumstances at that time, we bandaged his wound and he continued his assignment. 

10.  In a 14 July 2000 letter to the applicant, a former comrade asked the applicant, "how did you come out on the problem.  I sent you a letter stating that I remembered you getting hit with a piece of shrapnel in the upper lip or jaw and you supporting a bandage for some time.  Bennett the jeep driver was there at that time,…"  The writer continued with personal remarks to the applicant.
11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.  The Army of Occupation medal is awarded for service for 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty while assigned to the Army of Occupation of Germany between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.  Soldiers who served in the European Theater during the occupation of Europe will wear the clasp inscribed "Germany."  

13.  The above mentioned regulation also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after        6 December 1941 has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.  The award of a Combat Infantryman Badge is considered as a citation in orders. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no medical evidence to indicate that the applicant was wounded in World War II, despite the report that he sustained an injury to his left side in October 1944.  His former company commander stated that he was wounded, however, in September 1944, but does not disclose the nature of his wound.  A former comrade, however, stated that he was wounded in the upper lip or jaw, a marked location from a left side injury.

2.  Nonetheless, the remarks made by his former comrades ring true, both indicating that his wound had been bandaged.  The mention made in the 14 July 2000 letter to him concerning his wound is almost an aside, that is he comments on the applicant's wound as a matter of fact, and not as an overt attempt to impress; however, stating that he had previously sent a letter stating that he remembered that the applicant had been wounded.    

3.  In spite of the lack of medical evidence, the benefit of the doubt should be to the applicant, that he was wounded in action in September 1944, and is therefore entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant is entitled to award of the French Fourragere and the Belgian Fourragere.  He is entitled to award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp.

5.  By virtue of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal.
6.  The applicant is entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal.

7.  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 applicant was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in action in Germany in September 1944, that he was awarded the French Fourragere, the Belgian Fourragere, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp, the Bronze Star Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__CLG__  __EWL __  __LCB __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Curtis L. Greenway______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003089828	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20031030	
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.