PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           20 February 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002075566

	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. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Mr. Allen L. Raub		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 that the Purple Heart be added to his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge).

3.  The applicant states that he took shrapnel to the nose and leg from enemy fire while serving in Italy.  He was decorated in the field but his wife received the Purple Heart, accompanied by a letter from Colonel B___, through the mail.  Supporting evidence is as listed on the DD Form 149; however, no videotape was included with his application.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 16 October 1942 and entered active service on 30 October 1942.  After serving  1 year, 6 months, and 25 days of continental service, he arrived in Oran, North Africa on 20 April 1944.  He departed North Africa on 24 May 1944.  He arrived in Naples, Italy on 27 May 1944.

5.  The section “Battle Wounds” in the applicant’s WD AGO Form 24 (Service Record) does not indicate that he received any wounds.

6.  Partial service medical records are available.  They do not indicate that the applicant was wounded in action.  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records are not available.

7.  A review of the historical files of Company M, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division at the National Archives in College Park, MD failed to identify the applicant as being entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

8.  The applicant was separated on 4 October 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) contains the entry, “None.”

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the Purple Heart 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

10.  The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419,                4 February 1944.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for the award of the 

Bronze Star Medal to any person who distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.  It also provides for award of the Bronze Star Medal to members of the armed forces who, after         6 December 1941 and prior to 3 September 1945, have been cited in orders or in a formal certificate for meritorious or exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy.  A citation in orders for the Combat Infantryman Badge or Medical Badge awarded in the field during the period of actual combat against the armed enemy is considered as a citation for exemplary conduct in ground combat.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the American Campaign Medal for service within the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and    2 March 1946 under any one of several conditions, including within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of 1 year.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the World War II Victory Medal for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record to show the applicant was wounded in action.  His WD AGO Form 24 does not show he was wounded.  His available service medical records do not show he was wounded.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was wounded.

2.  In the absence of supporting evidence, i.e., additional service medical records; VA medical records (especially contemporaneous records); his separation physical examination; or the letter from Colonel B___ forwarding the Purple Heart to his wife, there is insufficient evidence to grant the applicant’s request to add the Purple Heart to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

3.  The applicant met the eligibility criteria for award of the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and, based on his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 be amended to add the Bronze Star Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__JHL__  __  LE   _  __ ALR  __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_ Joann H. Langston  _
		      CHAIRPERSON 

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002075566	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/02/20	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0014	
2.	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.