PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           20 December 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064311

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern		Member	
	Mr. Lester Echols		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 records to show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action in Austria while with Company K, 261st Infantry Regiment of the 65th Infantry Division.  In support of his application, he submitted a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), a copy of a 28 October 1998 Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) decision on the applicant’s compensation claim, a copy of a 21 October 1998 DVA rating decision, a copy of a 12 November 1998 notice of disability compensation award, and a copy of a 28 December 1998 notice of benefits increase.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or 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 on 14 September 1944.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 6 March 1945 through 17 July 1946.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 1 August 1946.

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55, which is authenticated in his own hand, does not show award of the Purple Heart in item 33 (Decorations and Citations).  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry “NONE”.  There are no orders in the records available to the Board which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in the available records that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.

6.  The applicant provided a 21 October 1998 DVA rating decision which shows that he received service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, for a scar as the residuals of a shrapnel wound to the left ear, for a scar as the residuals of a shrapnel wound to the left leg, and evaluation of a scar as the residuals of a shrapnel wound to the left hip group.  This rating decision also makes reference to two statements, dated in February 1998, submitted by fellow soldiers who contend that the applicant was wounded and a statement from the applicant’s wife that the applicant’s left ear and left side “was bandaged when he came to visit her shortly after his injuries.”

7.  The Board noted that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, but that his discharge document does not show award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.  A DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 3 February 2001, in the applicant’s records shows that he has already been issued the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. 

8.  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.

9.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.  There are no orders which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant authenticated his discharge document at the time of his separation thereby attesting to the facts that he was not awarded the Purple Heart and was not wounded as a result of hostile action.

3.  The Board noted the October 1998 DVA rating decision which awarded the applicant service connection for shrapnel wounds to the left ear and left hip area. However, the Board also noted that the DVA relied primarily on statements made in 1998 by two fellow soldiers and the applicant’s wife in determining the applicant was wounded.

4.  In view of the applicant's own signature authenticating that he received no wounds in action and in view of the absence of any military order or military medical record showing the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action, the Board found insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.  Therefore, there is no basis to correct the applicant’s records to show award of the Purple Heart. 

5.  Evidence of record shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II; therefore, he is entitled to award of the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and correction of his records to show this decoration. 

6.  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 the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal based on award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___JNS__  ___LE___  __JBR__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____Mr. John N. Slone___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064311	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20011220	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.