ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  26 September 2019

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20170005252


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  in effect, correction of the records of his late father’s, a former service member (FSM), to show award of the Purple Heart with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC).

APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: 

* DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record)
* DA Form 1569 (Transcript of Military Records)
* FSM’s Honorable Discharge Certificate and Death Certificate
* DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards)

FACTS:

1.  The applicant states:

	a.  His father’s records should be corrected to show he was wounded in action three times and awarded the Purple Heart with 2nd OLC.  The DA Form 1577, he received from the Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN), shows his father only received one award of the Purple Heart.

	b.  His father told him that he was wounded around Mortain, France, during the Counter Attack; wounded again in/around Normandy during the Battle of the Bulge; and wounded a third time in Germany.  He thinks the last incident was during the Attack of the Ruhr.  His father showed him the building that was the aid station around Mortain when they retraced his route during the war when he [applicant] was stationed in Germany in 1978.  He recently located a copy of the DA Form 1569 to verify his father’s story of three wounds and to correct the official record.

2.  The FSM’s military personnel records were lost or destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records available to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records were provided in part by the applicant and some were obtained from a reconstructed record, which are sufficient for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

3.  Review of the FSM’s available service record shows:

	a.  He was inducted into the Army of the United States on 5 April 1943 and entered into active service on 12 April 1943.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge) shows in:

* Item 30 (Military Occupational Specialty) – Heavy Machine Gunner, 605
* Item 31 (Military Qualification and Date) – he was awarded the:

* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Bade with Machine Gun and Pistol Bars
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar

* Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) – he served in the Ardennes, Central Europe, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland
* Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) – the:

* American Service Ribbon
* European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal
* Good Conduct Medal
* Purple Heart, by General Order Number 81, issued by Headquarters, 30th Infantry Division, on 18 October 1944

* Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) – Germany, 18 October 1944

	b.  He was honorably discharged on 23 October 1945, by reason of demobilization.  His WD AGO 53-55 also shows he completed 1 year, 3 months, and 26 days of continental service and 1 year, 2 months, and 16 days of foreign service.

	c.  An Office of the Surgeon General Files shows the FSM was wounded in August 1944, from an artillery shell to his back.

   d.  A DA Form 1959, issued on 2 March 1971, pertaining to the FSM’s period of service indicated in Item 20 (Remarks) of the form the following awards:

* Lapel Button
* American Service Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal
* Good Conduct Medal
* Purple Heart with 2nd Bronze OLC
* World War II Victory Medal

   e.  The FSM died on 4 October 1991.


	f.  On 12 June 1992, in response to the FSM’s request for issuance of all of his awards, ARPERCEN provided him with a DA Form 1577 showing authorization and issuance of the following awards:

* Bronze Star Medal
* Purple Heart
* Good Conduct Medal
* American Campaign Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Honorable Service Lapel Button
* Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar
* Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Machine Gun, Pistol, and Rifle Bars

4.  By regulations (AR 600-45 and 600-8-22), the Purple Heart 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 medical treatment
* the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record

BOARD DISCUSSION:

After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found relief was warranted.  Board members noted that separation document clearly show he was wounded in Germany in December 1944.  The OTSG document also shows he sustained a combat injury in August 1944.  The Transcript of Military Record reflects the PH with 2nd OLC (indicating 3 awards).  Board members took into consideration the testimony between the FSM and his son, and together with the available service record found sufficient evidence to support this request.  




BOARD VOTE:

Mbr 1	Mbr 2	Mbr 3

X	X	X	GRANT FULL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

:	:	:	GRANT FORMAL HEARING

:	:	:	DENY APPLICATION


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 deleting from his WD AGO Form 53-55 the Purple Heart and adding the Purple Heart (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster). 

	 
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.

REFERENCES:

1.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-45 (Decorations), in effect at the time, governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951.  The regulation stated the Purple Heart was awarded citizens of the United States serving with the Army, who are wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a direct result of an act of such enemy, provided such wound necessitated treatment by a medical officer.  A “wound” was 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.


2.  AR 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  The Purple Heart 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 medical treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant or from the same missile, force, explosion, or agent.  

NOTHING FOLLOWS

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20170005252


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