PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           27 November 2001  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001060551

	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. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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, in effect, correction of his discharge document to show award of the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant states that he received shrapnel wounds to his legs and hands when he landed on “D-Day” in Normandy and also during the “Battle of the Bulge”.  He contends that he wrapped his wounds with whatever he had and kept on going.  He states that he spent no time in the hospital, that his lieutenant was killed in action and that there was no one to document his injuries.  He also contends that upon his discharge he did not feel like standing in all those lines answering questions, he just wanted out as soon as possible.  In support of his application, he submits a letter of explanation; a Privacy Act Statement for a Member of Congress, dated 2 May 2001; a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); a Radiology Diagnostic Report, dated 29 April 1998; a letter from the Review Boards Agency, dated 24 July 2001, to a Member of Congress; and a letter, dated 12 July 2001, from a Member of Congress.      

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted on 2 June 1943.  He served as a truck driver in the European Theater of Operations from 
10 November 1943 through 4 October 1945 and was honorably discharged on 
19 October 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.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry “NONE”.

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 24 (Service Record) does not show entitlement to the Purple Heart.  

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 Radiology Diagnostic Report conducted on 29 April 1998 which shows a metallic foreign body in his right tibia.  However, there is no evidence that this injury was the result of hostile action.

9.  The applicant’s records show that he received the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge during his service during World War II.  However, the Board noted that the applicant is also entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal (based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge) and 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.  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.

12.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Bronze Star Medal.
 
CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he received shrapnel wounds to his legs and hands when he landed on “D-Day” in Normandy and also during the “Battle of the Bulge”.  However, there is no evidence of record available to the Board which shows the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.  

2.  The applicant signed his WD AGO Form 53-55 attesting to the fact that he was not wounded in action or entitled to award of the Purple Heart.   

3.  The preponderance of evidence in this case shows the applicant was not wounded or otherwise entitled to award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart. 

4.  The applicant received award of the Bronze Star Medal prior to his separation from active duty on 19 October 1945.  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 and correction of his records to show the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster.
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 Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

AAO___  LE________  JTM___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Arthur A. Omartian____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001060551	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011127	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0014	
2.	107.0000	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.