IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 14 January 2016 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20150006023 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart for an injury he sustained on 23 September 1944. 2. The applicant states he was injured on 23 September 1944 during a glider landing in Holland. He was treated for the injury when the glider crash-landed. He was treated and written up for the Purple Heart by the doctor between 17 and 30 November 1944 while living in a French Army cantonment near Sissone, France but it was not put on his discharge papers. He was injured a second time on 2 February 1945 and received the Purple Heart. The second Purple Heart is already listed on his discharge papers. This Board has twice denied his request. 3. The applicant provides: * Congressional correspondence * Internet printouts, search of historical newspapers * List of individuals interred at a cemetery * List of names in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment * Newspaper Article about denial of his Purple Heart * Honorable Discharge Certificate * WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge) * 325th Glider Infantry Regiment Operational Summary * Previous Records of Proceedings CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20090020705, on 1 June 2009 and Docket Number AR20100019994, on 16 February 2011. 2. The applicant does not meet the two-tiered criteria of a request for reconsideration. a. His request was previously reconsidered, his current request is older than 1 year from the date of his last decision, and he was previously informed he was ineligible for another reconsideration. b. He now seeks Congressional help and provides a declassified Operational Summary of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. This Operational Summary constitutes new evidence and as a one-time exception, his request will be reconsidered a second time. 3. His military records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. 4. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 11 December 1942 and entered active duty on 18 December 1942. This form also shows at the time of his separation, he held military occupational specialty 055 (Clerk, general) and he was assigned to Company B, 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. 5. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he: * departed the continental United States (CONUS) on 29 April 1943 and arrived in the North Atlantic Theater of Operations (NATO) on 10 May 1943 * departed NATO on 18 November 1943 and arrived in the European theater of operations (ETO) on 9 December 1943 * departed the ETO on 6 September 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 14 September 1945 * completed 4 months and 17 days of CONUS service and 2 years, 9 months, and 9 days of foreign service 6. He was honorably separated on 19 September 1945. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows in: * Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date), the Combat Infantry Badge * Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns), he participated in the Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Normandy, Rhineland, Central Europe, and Ardennes campaigns * Item 33 (Decorations and Citations), he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 6 bronze service stars and an Arrowhead, Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Unit Badge * Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "Germany, 2 February 1945" 7. General Orders Number 5 issued by Headquarters, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment awarded him the Purple Heart. 8. On 10 June 2010 (ABCMR Docket Number AR20090020705) the Board denied his petition for a second award of the Purple Heart on the basis of insufficient evidence to show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or that he was treated for an injury caused by hostile action. 9. On 17 August 2010, the Army Decorations Board verified his eligibility for several other awards but not the Purple Heart. As a result, on 18 October 2010, he was issued a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that added the: * Bronze Star Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp * French Fourragere * Belgian Fourragere * Netherland Orange Lanyard 10. On 16 February 2011 (ABCMR 20100019994) the Board again denied his petition for a second award of the Purple Heart on the basis of no evidence to support an injury as a result of hostile action of medical treatment records. The Board, however, granted him relief with respect to additional awards. As a result, on 27 July 2011, he was issued a second DD Form 215 that added the: * Bronze Star Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp * French Fourragere * Belgian Fourragere * Netherland Orange Lanyard 11. On 22 February 2011, the Board notified him that the decision was final and since his request had been reconsidered, he was no longer eligible for further reconsideration. 12. He provides a declassified Operational Summary Report of the 325th Glider Infantry as it relates to its role during World War II. The portion that pertains to his case reads: More than 200 American gliders towed by C-47s of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing ran the gauntlet of ack-ack along the airborne corridor in Holland on 23 September [1944] to provide needed relief to the 82nd Airborne Division. More than 50 other gliders had landed short of the Drop Zone, some shot down by the heavy antiaircraft fire, others having simply cut loose by mistake. In 3 hours after landing, the bulk of the regiment had assembled and received a mission from the division commander. Most of those who had landed short arrived at the assembly area in a few hours, some by jeep, some hitchhiking with British lorries bringing up supplies and a few unfortunates marched. 13. Previously, in ABCMR Docket Number AR201090020705, he submitted a self-authored statement which states that he was on a combat mission when the glider landed in a plowed field and the runners under the glider got caught under the plowed up dirt resulting in him being thrown against the crash bar and injuring himself. He also states that on 2 February 1945 he was walking through the woods and fell into a deep hole the Germans made and reinjured the wounds he received when the glider crashed. He continues to state that although the doctor recommended Purple Hearts for both injuries, Lieutenant Colonel S--n concluded that the glider incident was not the result of enemy action and denied the award. 14. The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, NY on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War. It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932. It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action. Effective 19 May 1998, award of the Purple Heart is limited to members of the Armed Forces of the United States. 15. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for award. a. The new operational summary shows more than 200 American gliders provided needed relief to the 82nd Airborne Division along the airborne corridor in Holland on 23 September [1944]. More than 50 other gliders had landed short of the Drop Zone, some shot down by the heavy antiaircraft fire, others having simply cut loose by mistake. b. It is unclear from this operational summary if the applicant was shot down or was mistakenly cut loose. There isn't any mention of the applicant being one of those shot down by the enemy or that he was injured as a direct result of enemy action. There is no indication anywhere in his records or in the documents he provides that the injury he describes was caused by enemy action. Likewise, there are no medical records to corroborate such injury. c. The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. d. Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, the applicant does not meet the criteria for award of the Purple Heart. e. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by him in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___x____ ___x____ ___x____ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20090020705, on 1 June 2010 and Docket Number AR20100019994, on 16 February 2011. _______ _ x _______ ___ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150006023 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20150006023 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1