PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           19 June 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002081962

	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. William D. Powers		Member	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		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.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded on or about 1 May 1943 during the battle of hill 609 in North Africa.  He states that his wounds were attended to at an aid station, he was then was transported to an evacuation hospital, and ultimately he was placed on a British hospital ship.  In support of his application, the applicant submitted a letter of support from his wife, dated 10 November 2001; a self-authored history of his service during World War II; two letters from former soldiers who served with him in Battery F of the 36th Field Artillery, dated 20 October 1993 and 29 September 1993.

4.  The applicant's records have been lost or destroyed.  This case is being considered based on reconstructed records which consist primarily of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge).

5.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted on 21 June 1941.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from 17 August 1942 to 16 March 1944 and was honorably separated from active duty on 18 October 1945.

6.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows Participation in the Tunisia Campaign.

7.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show award of the Purple Heart.  

8.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None."

9.  The applicant provided a chronology of his service which included a detailed description of the events regarding the occupation of firing positions at hill 609, wounds sustained to his thumb and leg, and evacuation for medical treatment.

10.  The first statement provided by the applicant was authored by a first lieutenant at the time in question who was the Executive Officer of F Battery of the 36th Field Artillery.  He described the 36th Field Artillery's occupation of firing positions at hill 609 near Mateur, Tunisia, on 30 April 1943.  This officer recalled that, on the morning F battery moved to the vicinity of hill 609, the applicant and a sergeant were wounded and two other soldiers were killed.  This statement very closely matches the facts provided by the applicant.

11.  The second statement is authored by a fellow soldier who served in a different battery of the 36th Field Artillery.  He states essentially that he believes the applicant left the unit in North Africa after he was wounded.
12.  A staff member of the Army Review Boards Agency conducted a review of unit records maintained at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.  Review of these records did not reveal any General Orders authorizing the applicant an award of the Purple Heart.  However, unit records did contain a Record of Events for the 1st Battalion 36th Field Artillery for the period 22 December 1942 to 13 April 1943.  This document shows the F Battery sustained two killed and fifteen wounded on 30 April 1943 near Mateur and confirms the facts in the statements provided by the applicant and the former F Battery Executive Officer.

13.  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.

14.  Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 12-235 (Discharge Procedures and Preparation of Separation Forms) established the policies and procedures for completion and distribution of the WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) during World War II.  The regulation states, in pertinent part, that Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) WD AGO Form 53-55 will contain the type of wound, the date of wounding and place where the wounding occurred. 

15.  The Board also noted that the applicant was eligible for award of a bronze service star recognizing participation in the Tunisia Campaign and the World War II Victory Medal.  Neither of these items are shown on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation or item 32 of the WD AGO Form 53-55.  The regulation also states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal which in this case is the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal listed on the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

17.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart and reviewed all the evidence and statements provided by the applicant in support of his request as well as the information retrieved from the National Archives.

2.  There are no orders which awarded the applicant the Purple Heart.  There also are no service medical records which show that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action on or about 1 May 1943.

3.  The Board reviewed the statements submitted by the applicant and found the statement from the F Battery Executive Officer provided evidence that the applicant was wounded on the morning of 30 April 1943 near hill 609.  The Record of Events for the 1st Battalion 36th Field Artillery discovered at the National Archives confirms information provided in the statement by the F Battery Executive Officer regarding two soldiers killed and fifteen wounded soldiers on 30 April 1943 near Mateur, Tunisia, in North Africa.

4.  After careful review of all the evidence, the Board determined that the statement by the F Battery Executive Officer combined with the Record of Events for the 1st Battalion 36th Field Artillery is sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart to the applicant for shell fragment wounds sustained on 30 April 1943 near Mateur, Tunisia, in North Africa.

5.  Based on all of the foregoing, the Board further determined that the applicant should be awarded the Purple Heart and item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 corrected to show this award.  Further, item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) should be corrected to show the entry, "Shell Fragment Wound, 30 April 1943, North Africa."

6.  Records show the applicant participated in the Tunisia Campaign.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of one bronze service star to be worn on his European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal and correction of his records to show this award.

7.  Based on the applicant's service during World War II, he is entitled to award of the World War II Victory Medal and correction of his records to show this award.  

8.  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:

a.  by showing the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in North Africa on 30 April 1943;
b.  by correcting item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 to show the entry "Shell Fragment Wound, 30 April 1943, North Africa";

c.  by showing award of the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with one bronze service star; and 

d.  by showing award of the World War II Victory Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__JNS___  __WDP__  __LEM__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____Mr. John N. Slone_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081962	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030619	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.0000.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.