PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           26 February 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001063110

	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	
	Mrs. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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, as the representative of the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), that the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states in effect, that the FSM was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge on 25 January 1944.  She believes that the FSM is due the award posthumously.  He was shot in the foot, his feet were frozen and he remained unconscious for 6 weeks.  The applicant submits a copy of a Western Union telegram notifying her of the FSM’s injuries, a partial copy of a casualty roster 
and several sworn statements from individuals who knew the FSM personally.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from reconstructed records. 

5.  The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States on 10 March 1942. 
His records also show his military occupational specialty as Tank Mechanic Minor Maintenance.  The applicant served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater from 14 June 1944 to 18 November 1945.  He was honorably discharged on 4 December 1945.

6.  The applicant’s Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge (WD AGO Form 53-55) item 33 (Decorations and Citations) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his discharge document shows the entry “Not Available”.

7.  The applicant furnished a copy of a Western Union telegram that notified her that the FSM was wounded in action on 25 January 1945 as a result of hostile forces.  The applicant also furnished a copy of a partial casualty list it states “From Kentucky Army Wounded in Europe Technician Fifth Grade W------ F.
P----, husband of Mrs. W---- P----“.

8.  Filed in the FSM’s official military record are copies of Hospitalization Reports (W. D. A. G. O. Form 234).  The W. D. A. G. O. Forms 234 notified the applicant of the FSM’s prognosis.  The FSM’s medical records are unavailable for review.

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.  The Board accepts the Western Union telegram and the Casualty Roster furnished by the applicant in addition to the evidence of record as substantiating evidence.  The evidence clearly shows that the FSM was wounded and was treated for an injury received as a result of hostile action; therefore entitling the FSM to the award of the Purple Heart.

2.  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 to show that the FSM was awarded the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jhl___  __rjw___  __rtd___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Joann H. Langston
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063110	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020226	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.