PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           13 April 2000     
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999031918

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Member	
	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		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, in effect, that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart because he was a prisoner of war (POW) in Germany from 1944 to 1945 and  suffered many hardships (beatings, starvation, lack of medical care) during his captivity.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); VA documentation; a War Department letter, dated 24 January 1946 which awards the Combat Infantryman Badge; Letter Orders for the Bronze Star Medal; a 19 May 1988 Secretary of the Army letter awarding the POW Medal; an excerpt from the EX-POW Bulletin dated November 1997; photographs of the POW Medal, his identification tags, western union telegrams, POW photographs; a 2 August 1999 letter from an
EX-POW; and excerpts from the EX-POW Bulletin dated August, September, and October 1999.   

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant was inducted on
3 April 1944.  He served as a rifleman in the European Theater of Operations from 22 September 1944 until approximately 21 June 1945 and was honorably discharged on 3 December 1945.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  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.  Item 
34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows “None”.

7.  The applicant provided a copy of a War Department letter, dated 24 January 1946, which shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  This award is not shown on his discharge document.

8.  The applicant provided a copy of Letter Orders, dated 24 June 1952, which shows the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy on or about 21 November 1944 in the European Theater of Operations.  This award is not shown on his discharge document.

9.  DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 18 July 1988, shows the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, determined that the applicant was entitled to the POW Medal.  This award is not shown on his discharge document. 

10.  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.

11.  During World War II and the Korean War the Purple Heart was not awarded to soldiers who had been injured while in captivity or while being taken captive.  These injuries were considered to be the result of war crimes and not the result of a legal action of war.  War Department policy, at that time, required that wounds must have been received in action against the enemy or, in other words, incurred in actual combat.  Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962, provided more latitude with respect to award of the Purple Heart to prisoners of war, as well as the authority to award the decoration to wounded soldiers even in the absence of a formal declaration of war.  The issue as to whether this change in policy would be implemented retroactively to prisoners of war from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War was considered several times.  Initially it was decided that the change in policy would not be retroactively implemented.  It was concluded that it would be inappropriate for the Department of Defense to retroactively change the standards and, in effect, countermand the decisions of the past leadership.  However, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 1996 Congress authorized award of the Purple Heart to any former prisoner of war who was wounded before 25 April 1962 while held as a prisoner or war, or while being taken captive, in the same manner as a former prisoner of war who was wounded on or after that date.

12.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he is entitled to the Purple Heart because he was a POW in Germany from 1944 to 1945 and suffered many hardships (beatings, starvation, lack of medical care) during his captivity.  However, there is no evidence of record available to the Board which shows the applicant was wounded by hostile action, wounded while held as a POW or wounded while being taken captive.  Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  

2.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show this award.

3.  The applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy on or about 21 November 1944.  After his discharge from the Army, he became entitled to a second award of the Bronze Star Medal based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to two awards of the Bronze Star Medal (Bronze Star Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster)) and correction of his records to show the Bronze Star Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster).

4.  The applicant was awarded the POW Medal; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show this medal.
 
5.  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 that the individual concerned was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster) and the Prisoner of War Medal. 

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

BOARD VOTE:  

FE_____  CLA____  SVW_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Fred Eichorn__________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999031918	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000413	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19451203	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365 Convenience of the Government RR 1-1 Demobilization  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0111	
2.	107.0014	
3.	107.0029	
4.		
5.		
6.