PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           21 OCTOBER 2003                    
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003091312

	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. Melvin H. Meyer		Chairperson	
	Mr. William D. Powers		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones II		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 the separation center was probably busy and the request for the decoration was probably lost.

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 20 June 1941.  He served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II, arriving in the ETO in June 1944 and departing for the United States in November 1945.  He was wounded in action on 10 September 1944.  He was discharged at Fort Sam Houston, Texas on 7 December 1945.  The applicant was awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.  He was not awarded the Purple Heart.

6.  On 7 October 1944 The Adjutant General informed the applicant's wife that the applicant had been returned to duty; and therefore, it was not expected that additional information would be received regarding his condition.

7.  On 6 December 1944 a Member of Congress expressed his sympathy to the applicant's wife upon learning that the applicant had been wounded in action.

8.  On 6 December 1945, the Fort Sam Houston Separation Center prepared a request for award of the Purple Heart.  That request indicates that the applicant was a member of Company A, 40th Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored Division, and that he was wounded on 10 September 1944 at Silvange, France.

9.  The Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Register shows that the       40th Tank Battalion was awarded the Belgian Fourragere for its actions from     16 December 1944 to 31 December 1944, and from 20 January 1945 to            29 January 1945.  That register also shows that the 40th served as an occupation force in Germany from 2 May 1945 to 5 July 1945. 

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 5-10 states in pertinent part that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service for 30 consecutive days while assigned to the Army of Occupation of Germany.  Soldiers who served in the ETO during the occupation of Europe will wear the clasp inscribed "Germany."

11.  That regulation also states in pertinent part that the American Defense Service Medal is awarded for service between 8 September 1939 and                 7 December 1941 under orders to active duty for a period of 12 months or longer.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was wounded in action during World War II.  He is entitled to award of the Purple Heart. 

2.  It is presumed that the applicant returned to the 40th Tank Battalion after recovering from his wound, and that he served with that organization through the end of the war.  The Board believes it so.  Consequently, the applicant is entitled to award of the Belgian Fourragere.

3.  The applicant is also entitled to award of the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp, and the American Defense Service Medal. 

4.  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 awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 10 September 1944, and by awarding him the Belgian Fourragere, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany clasp, and the American Defense Service Medal. 

BOARD VOTE:  

__MMH__  __WDP _  __FCJ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Melvin H. Meyer _____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091312	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20031021	
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.