PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           12 December 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002077363

	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. W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher		Member	
	Mr. Bernard P. Ingold		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 for a wound sustained in Europe in 1945.

3.  Through a Member of Congress the applicant submits a copy of the report of his discharge physical examination (WD AGO Form 38).  That form shows, in Item 11 (significant diseases, wounds and injuries), "1.  WIA wounded thumb left hand, April 1945, hospital 8 weeks."

4.  In a previous undated letter the applicant related that his effectiveness as an infantryman was limited by shoulder surgery and he had been attached to the 104th Infantry Regiment's Service Company for casualty collection duties in concert with the graves registration unit.  He drove and maintained a truck with a trailer.  Although the unit was frequently a favorite target for the enemy, the minefields were even more worrisome.  One day, they were so hemmed-in by a mine field that they had to uncouple the trailer to get turned around and while doing so they started drawing enemy mortar fire.  When a round landed nearby, the driver popped the clutch and the truck lurched so violently that it crushed the applicant's hand between the hitch and the trailer.  

5.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.  His earlier request was administratively closed because of insufficient records.

6.  He was inducted on 6 March 1941 and trained as an infantryman.  He departed the United States on 27 August 1944 and reached the European Theater of Operations on 7 September 1944 and debarked to return to the United States on 4 October 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) credits him with campaign credit for Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe.  It also indicates that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and this fact is confirmed by his final payment disbursing worksheet that shows he was authorized Combat Infantry Pay.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service as a member of Service Company, 104th Infantry Regiment for the period 7 October 1944 to 8 May 1945 by Headquarters, 26th Infantry Division General Orders Number 162, dated 23 July 1945.  His other authorized awards are the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

7.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  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 such 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.

9.  That regulation also provides that the American Campaign Medal is awarded for qualifying service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying service includes permanent assignment outside the continental United States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a corps commander or higher, or service within the continental United States for an aggregate period of 1 year.

10.  Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register) shows that the Service Company, 104th Infantry Division was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for the period 1 December 1944 to 3 January 1945.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that the Army of Occupation Medal is awarded for service of 30 consecutive days at a normal post of duty while assigned to a qualifying location.  Personnel at a qualifying location as an inspector, courier, escort, temporary or detached duty are precluded from eligibility.  For Germany, the service must have been between 9 May 1945 and 5 May 1955.  Army Pamphlet 672-1 shows that the 104th Infantry regiment was occupation credit for the period 2 May to 29 September 1945.

12.  Additionally, the regulation provides that the World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was wounded in action in April 1945.  Both the combat circumstances of that injury and the fact that he was hospitalized are a matter of official record.  He is entitled to award of the Purple Heart. 
2.  The applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and is entitled to a second award of the Bronze Star Medal.

3.  By virtue of his service in the United States between 6 March 1941 and 27 August 1944, the applicant is entitled to an award of the American Campaign Medal.

4.  His regiment was authorized occupation credit for Germany and he should be awarded the Army Of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp.

5.  His company was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.

6.  All of the above awards should be listed on his separation document.

7.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would correct errors and rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned:

a.  was awarded the Purple heart for a wound sustained in action in April 1945; and 

b.  was authorized the Bronze Star Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster, the American Campaign Medal, Army Of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, and the Meritorious Unit Citation, in addition to the awards currently listed on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RWA__  __KYF__  __BPI ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_       Roger W. Able___________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002077363	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2002.12.12	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.