RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 January 2004                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090964

	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:

	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	
	Mr. Patrick H. McGann		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, three awards of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster). 

2.  The applicant states that he joined up with the Merrill's Marauders (5307th Composite Unit Provisional which was redesignated as the 475th Infantry Regiment) in June 1944.  He contends that he took some shrapnel in his right leg in August 1944 and that an aidman fixed up his leg.  He goes on to state that while on patrol in December 1944 he was attacked by the Japanese and knifed in the arm and struck over the head by a rifle.  He contends that he was wounded a third time when an artillery shell hit a tree and shrapnel went into his hands.    

3.  The applicant provides current medical documentation from physicians describing his medical conditions; a letter of support, dated 2 July 2001; a letter of explanation, dated 1 May 2003; a letter, dated 21 April 2003, from a Member of Congress; a letter, dated 9 April 2003, from the U.S. Armed Services Center for Unit Records Research; orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart, dated 31 January 1945; and a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of errors which occurred on 
25 December 1945.  The application submitted in this case is dated 23 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 19 February 1943.  He served as a rifleman in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 25 May 1944 through 
19 November 1945 and was honorably discharged on 25 December 1945. 
5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal, the Distinguished Unit Citation, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal as authorized awards.  

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.  The applicant provided a copy of 475th Infantry General Orders Number 
16, dated 31 January 1945, which lists the individuals assigned to that unit that were awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge effective 17 January 1945.  However, the applicant is not shown as being wounded in action or receiving the Purple Heart. 

9.  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.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

10.  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.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, sets forth the requirements for award of the Ranger Tab.  The Ranger Tab is awarded for successful completion of a Ranger Course conducted by the U.S. Army Infantry School or the Ranger Training Command or award of the Combat Infantryman Badge while serving in World War II as a member of a Ranger Battalion (1st to 6th inclusive) or in the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill’s Marauders).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows that he was wounded three times as a result of hostile action during World War II.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence on which to base any award of the Purple Heart in this case.

2.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the error or injustice now under consideration on 25 December 1945; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 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.  He received the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II while serving as a member of the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill's Marauders) (which was redesignated as the 475th Infantry Regiment) which entitles him to the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) and the Ranger Tab.  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

LEM___  RWA_____  PHM_____  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 CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned 
to show that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) and the Ranger Tab. 

		_Lana E. McGlynn______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090964	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040113	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	 	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.