BOARD DATE: 15 November 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004536 BOARD VOTE: _________ _______ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ____x____ ____x____ ____x____ DENY APPLICATION 2 Enclosures 1. Board Determination/Recommendation 2. Evidence and Consideration BOARD DATE: 15 November 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004536 BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. 2. The Board determined that an administrative error in the records of the individual concerned should be corrected. Therefore, the Board requests the applicant's records be corrected by: a. awarding him the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement during the period 23 August 1944 to 5 December 1944 (Standard Name Line: Technician Five, Company C, 46th Armored Infantry Battalion); and b. issuing a DD Form 215 to correct item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 by adding the: * Bronze Star Medal * World War II Victory Medal ______________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: 15 November 2017 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20160004536 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 request for award of the Purple Heart. 2. The applicant states the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) findings in the previous consideration of his case state there is no documentation that shows the wound was due to "hostile action" and there is not official record showing medical treatment. He states the application he submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 1945 shows "back injury by shell explosion hit by rocks, December 1944, Germany" and the medical record he provides shows the treatment he received. 3. He also states the Purple Heart includes the criteria "injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action." It is not intended that such a strict interpretation of the requirement preclude the award being made to deserving personnel. He adds that the loss of medical records in a fire should not prevent him from receiving the award. 4. The applicant provides copies of his: * VA Form 526 (Veteran's Application for Pension or Compensation for Disability Resulting from Active Military or Naval Service) * VA Form 2507 (Routine Request for Physical Examination) * VA Form 564-A (Rating Sheet) 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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20140013031 on 12 March 2015. 2. The applicant's military service records are not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, the documents provided by the applicant along with the documents previously considered, and the documents in the reconstructed record are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. 3. The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 1 July 1942, he entered active service on 15 July 1942, and he was honorably discharged on 18 October 1945. He completed 2 years, 1 month, and 18 days of continental service; 1 year and 2 months of foreign service; and he was credited with 3 years, 3 months, and 18 days of total service. It also shows in: * item 3 (Grade): Technician Five (T/5) * item 4 (Arm or Service): Infantry * item 6 (Organization): Company C, 46th Armored Infantry Battalion (AIB) * item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty and Number) Truck Driver Heavy * item 31 (Military Qualification and Date): Combat Infantryman Badge, Headquarters, 46th AIB, General Order # 10, dated 5 December 1944 * item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) – * Northern France * Ardennes * Rhineland * Central Europe * item 33 (Decorations and Citations) and continued in item 56 (Remarks) – * European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Service Stars * Army Good Conduct Medal * item 34 (Wounds Received in Action): "None" * item 36 (Service Outside Continental U.S. (CONUS) and Return) – * CONUS – departed 11 August 1944 * European Theater of Operations (ETO) – * arrived 23 August 1944 * departed 1 October 1945 * CONUS – arrived 10 October 1945 * item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated): contains the applicant's signature 4. There are no orders or other evidence in the applicant's available reconstructed record that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart. 5. A review of the Hospital Admission Cards database, Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army (1942-1945 and 1950-1954) for the Year 1944 failed to reveal the applicant's name as a casualty. 6. In support of his application the applicant provides the following documents. a. Veteran's Application for Pension or Compensation for Disability Resulting from Active Military or Naval Service, prepared by the applicant on or about 8 November 1945. It shows he entered in: * item 3 (Nature of disease or injury on account of which claim is made and date each began): "Back injury by shell explosion hit by rocks, December 1944, Germany" * item 4 (Medical treatment in the service with date and place of disabilities) – * Hospitals: Battalion Medical Station, Company C, 46th AIB * Other: January 1945, Germany b. VA Request for Physical Examination, dated 14 January 1946, pertaining to the applicant. It shows the VA requested a "surgical examination for service connected spondylolisthesis, 3rd degree between 5th lumbar and lumbar vertebrae aggravated by injury, analogous to traumatic arthritis." c. VA Rating Sheet, dated 14 January 1946, that shows the VA granted the applicant 20 percent disability rating, effective 19 October 1945, for spondylolisthesis, 3rd degree between 5th lumbar and 1st sacral vertebrae with the definite separation of 5th lumbar vertebrae aggravated by injury, analogous to traumatic arthritis." This document indicates the applicant’s condition was "Aggravated by service in World War II" and also shows the entry, "No combat disability." REFERENCES: 1. The Office of the Surgeon General files (commonly referred to as the SGO files), a health record research project, involved transposing hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean Conflict onto magnetic tape. In 1988, the National Research Council made these tape files available to the NPRC. It was widely believed that these tapes would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973. The best available estimation of the completeness of this project is that it captured at least 95 percent of all combat casualty hospital admissions. 2. Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), which governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. In order to support awarding a member the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that the wound for which the award is being made required treatment by medical personnel and the medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action must have been made a matter of official record. 3. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning military awards and decorations. a. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded for heroism and for meritorious achievement or service in military operations against an armed enemy. It shows, in pertinent part, 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 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. Therefore, the Bronze Star Medal is to be awarded to individuals who were authorized either badge for service during World War II. b. The World War II Victory Medal is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive. DISCUSSION: 1. The applicant's request for reconsideration for award of the Purple Heart based on additional evidence he provides from the VA was carefully considered. 2. The records the applicant provides in support of his request are based on information he provided in his claim to VA for a pension. He indicated that he sustained a "back injury by shell explosion hit by rocks" in December 1944. a. The sincerity of the applicant's comments regarding an injury he sustained in Germany in December 1944 is not in dispute. However, an explosion does not suggest enemy action; accidental and demolition explosions also occur. b. The VA determined his back condition was aggravated by military service and that it was not a combat disability. 3. The evidence of record shows that in order to qualify for award of the Purple Heart there must be evidence the individual received medical treatment for a wound or injury sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. a. Records show the applicant served in the ETO from 23 August 1944 to 1 October 1945 and he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge. b. There is no contemporaneous record of medical treatment. c. The "SGO Files" fail to show the applicant sustained a battle injury during the period of service under review. d. His WD AGO 53-55 does not show he was wounded or injured in action as a result of a hostile act by the enemy. It is noted that the applicant placed his signature on this form when he was discharged. e. There are no orders or any other evidence that shows he was awarded the Purple Heart. 4. The evidence of record shows the applicant's service qualified him for award of the Bronze Star Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings AR20150000953 Enclosure 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004536 2 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20160004536 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Enclosure 2