PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:                 2 March 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:        AR1999029922

	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.  

	Ms. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Edwin S. Castle		Chairperson	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Member	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		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 correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that the aforementioned awards are not shown on his WD AGO Form 53-55.  He also states that as a Prisoner of War (POW) he was beaten at the hand of Germans and that he lost his hearing from the beating.

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he was inducted 13 March 1944.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 26 October 1944 to 1 May 1945 and was honorably discharged on 9 October 1945.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars.  His discharge document does not show the Purple Heart or the CIB as authorized awards.

6.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry “None”.  There is no record that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no indication in the available records that show he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

7.  A DA 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 5 October 1988, shows the Army Personnel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, determined the applicant was entitled to the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the CIB, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

8.  A DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) was issued on 27 March 1986 amending the applicant’s DD Form 214 to show award of the POW Medal.

9.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows he was injured or wounded due to hostile
action during World War II.  Therefore, he is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant has awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the CIB, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show these awards.

3.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing in item 33 (Decorations and Awards) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 that the individual concerned was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

ESC____  SK_____  KAN_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Edwin S. Castle_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999029922	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000302	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19451009	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61		
2.  		
3.  		
4.		
5.		
6.