BOARD DATE: 23 May 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000789 BOARD VOTE: ____x_____ __x____ ____x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 23 May 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000789 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding the former service member a Purple Heart for wounds he incurred in April 1945. b. amending his WD AGO Form 53-55 by adding to – * item 33, Purple Heart * item 34, April 1945 ______________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. BOARD DATE: 23 May 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160000789 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, the daughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests that her father be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) for injuries sustained in battle. 2. The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM received gunpowder burns to his face while in combat action during World War II (WWII). 3. The applicant provides: * WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) * pages from a book * Medical Examiner’s – Coroner’s Certificate of Death for the FSM, dated 21 November 2003 * Information from Hospital Admission Cards Created by the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), Department of the Army CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing. 2. The FSM's military records are not available to the ABCMR for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered based on the documents provided by the applicant and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 3. The FSM’s medical records are not available for review. 4. The FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 27 February 1943, and entered active duty on 6 March 1943. He served in the European Theater of Operations from 17 February 1945 to 28 July 1945, and he was honorably discharged on 7 December 1945. 5. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None" indicating that he was not wounded in action. 6. The applicant provides a passage from a book, untitled and undated. The passage states, in pertinent part: a. “While Lewis dumped the bag that held the empty .30 caliber shell casings, he looked over and saw that the tank on the right was on fire, as was the one on the left. Both tanks had been hit by 88-mm fire, the one on the right knocked out first.” b. “It was platoon leader Lieutenant Robert J. Schumacher’s tank, and bow- gunner Private First Class Antonio “Nick” Rizzitano was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for covering the evacuation of the rest of the crew – loader Clifford Shady, gunner Emil J. Barta, and driver [FSM]. Those men were able to get out, and most were huddled behind the tank when it was hit by a second round and began to burn fiercely.” c. “When the other three tanks of the platoon regrouped and successfully resumed the attack, other tankers got to their wounded comrades. The four survivors of Schumacher’s tank were evacuated to safety by medics…” 7. The applicant provides a document from the OTSG, which lists the FSM’s service number and shows he was a battle casualty admitted to an aid station in April 1945. The document further shows: * Diagnosis – Burn (except sunburn or friction burn) * Location – Face, generally * Causative Agent – Gunpowder (Powder burns) * Circumstances – All battle casualties, and all battle injuries not intentionally inflicted by self or another person REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation 672-5-1 (Decorations and Awards), in effect at the time,, provided that the PH was awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was wounded in action against an armed enemy of the United States or as a direct result of an act of such enemy provided the wound necessitated treatment by a medical officer. For the purpose of considering an award of this decoration, a "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. 2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), currently in effect, states the PH is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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: 1. The applicant requests that the FSM be awarded the PH for wounds he received during WWII. 2. There is no evidence showing the FSM was awarded the PH. In addition, item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not reflect that he was wounded in action. 3. Data compiled by OTSG from hospital admission cards shows the FSM was wounded in April 1945 (gunpowder burn to his face) in battle. The data shows the FSM was treated by a medical provider at an aid station. The available records do not describe the extent or the severity of his burns. The excerpt of a book provided by the applicant indicates the applicant's facial burns may have been the result of German artillery shells hitting his tank. 4. By regulation, in order to be awarded the PH, it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded as a result of hostile action and that the wound required treatment by medical personnel. The treatment must have been made a matter of official record. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160000789 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160000789 4 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2