RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           18 November 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003089969

	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. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he spent four months in a hospital in Italy and deserves the Purple Heart.  He also contends that he is old man, that he cannot remember very much, and that he is a Bronze Star Medal recipient for heroic achievement.

3.  The applicant provides an undated letter from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an injustice which occurred on 
8 November 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 17 April 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 was inducted on 2 October 1942.  He served as an administrative noncommissioned officer in the European Theater of Operations from 9 January 1944 through 22 October 1945.  On 8 November 1945, the applicant was honorably discharged in the rank of sergeant.  

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars as authorized awards.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he received the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II. 

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

7.  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.

8.  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.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that the Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy.  The Bronze Star Medal is authorized for each individual who was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945 or whose achievement or service, during that period, was confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947.  An award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge is considered to be a citation in orders.  This means, in effect, that the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II.  This provision did not go into effect until 10 September 1947 when Change 12 to Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations) was published.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides, in pertinent part, that a bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Bronze Star Medal.

11.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant has provided no evidence which shows that he spent four months in a hospital in Italy for injuries sustained as the result of hostile action during World War II.  There is no evidence of record which shows that he was injured or treated for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action during World War II.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 8 November 1945; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 2 January 1950   (3 years after the Board was established on 2 January 1947).  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 failure to file in this case.

3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative errors which do not require action by the Board.  Therefore, administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished by the Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) Support Division, 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

JNS___  MDM____  BJE_____  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 errors in the records of the individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the ARBA Support Division-St. Louis administratively correct the WD AGO Form 
53-55 of the individual concerned to show the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster and the World War II Victory Medal.

		___John N. Slone_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003089969	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20031118	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.