ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS BOARD DATE: 28 May 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20170014213 APPLICANT REQUESTS: on behalf of her deceased grandfather, a former service member (FSM), award of the Purple Heart. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record), dated 22 July 2017 * Self-authored letter, dated 22 July 2017 * Honorable Discharge Certificate of the United States Army, dated 2 June 1919 * Department of Vital Records, , Birth Certificate, dated * Death Record, of * Obituary, dated 3 June 2016 * National Personnel Records Center letter, dated 19 May 2017 * Army Review Boards Agency letter, dated 15 November 2018 * Self-authored letter, dated 26 November 2018 FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the three year time frame provided in Title 10, United States Code (USC), section 1552(b); however, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states: a. Her grandfather was wounded in action during World War I. b. A certified copy of his enlistment record from the U.S. Army states he was in the Meuse-Argonne Battle and he received one wound. c. The presentation of the Purple Heart will honor all past and present veterans who were wounded. 3. The FSM's complete military records are not available 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. However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case. These records consist of files provided from a partial reconstructed record by the National Archives and Records Administration and/or National Personnel Records Center. 4. The FSM's records contain sufficient evidence to support an award not shown on his Certificate of Honorable Discharge. His Certificate of Honorable Discharge will be administratively corrected to show award of the World War I Victory Medal with "France" service clasp and "Meuse-Argonne" battle clasp. 5. The Board will consider the applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart on behalf of her late grandfather and award of the World War I Victory Button. 6. On 26 February 1918, the FSM entered active military service at Carrol, Iowa. 7. The applicant provided copies of: a. the FSM's Certificate of Honorable Discharge and enlistment record, dated 2 June 1919, that shows his: (1) enlistment or induction date as: 26 February 1918. (2) battles, engagements, skirmishes, and expeditions as: Meuse-Argonne, Verdun Sector, Allied Expeditionary Forces. (3) decorations, medals, battle citations, as: "None." (4) unit assignment as: Company F, 129th Infantry Regiment. (5) wounds received in service as: "one." (6) physical condition when discharged as: "good." b. , Birth Certificate, dated , which shows the applicant is the daughter of B____ J. K____. c. , Certificate of Death, filed on, that shows the FSM died on. d. Obituary, printed on June, which shows B____ J. K____ was the son of the FSM, she is the daughter of B____ J. K____, and the FSM's granddaughter. 8. The FSM's available records are void of orders awarding him the Purple Heart. BOARD DISCUSSION: The Board considered the applicant’s request with all supporting documents, evidence in the service record and applicable policies and guidance and found that relief was warranted. The applicant’s honorable discharge/enlistment document indicates he was wounded while serving in the Meuse Argonne Offensive, Verdun Section of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. According to the applicant’s discharge/enlistment document, he received the equivalent of the Purple Heart, The World War I Victory Button, which is awarded to service members wounded in action. The Board agreed that the nature of World War I trench warfare called for combatants to remain in their trenches to hold territory and that medics were located in the trenches with the fighting soldiers. Notwithstanding the published guidance requiring the medical treatment to have been made a matter of official record, the information provided as supporting evidence, when viewed in its totality, is sufficient to reasonably conclude the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action and received medical treatment for those wounds between 26 September 1918 and 11 November 1918. The Board therefore found sufficient evidence that the applicant met the regulatory requirements for a Purple Heart and is authorized the medal. 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 awarding and adding the Purple Heart. 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. ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE(S): A review of the FSM's records shows he was awarded or authorized the World War I Victory Medal with "France" service clasp and "Meuse-Argonne" battle clasp. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within three years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice. This provision of law also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the three-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. Army Regulation 600-45 (Personnel Decorations), in effect at the time, provided guidance for awarding decorations for extraordinary, unusual, or outstanding acts or services. It stated: a. Awards of decorations and authority for award (order number, date, and headquarters) will be noted in the historical records of organizations, and in the service record of enlisted men, and for all others in appropriate files and efficiency records. b. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who are wounded in actions against an enemy of the United States, or as a direct result of an act of such enemy, provided such wound necessitates treatment by a medical officer. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained as the result of a hostile act of the enemy or while in actions in the face of the enemy. c. Those individuals who, as members of the Army of the United States, prior to 7 December 1941, were awarded a meritorious services citations certificate in World War I, or were authorized to wear a wound chevron, or received wounds in actions which would have entitled them to wear a wound chevron under regulations existing at that time, may make application to the Adjutant General, Washington, D.C., for award of the Purple Heart in lieu of the meritorious services citation certificate or wound chevron. 3. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards. a. 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 treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. (1) Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: (a) Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action. (b) Injury caused by enemy-placed trap or mine. (c) Injury caused by enemy-released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent. (d) Injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire. (e) Concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy-generated explosions. (f) Mild traumatic brain injury or concussion severe enough to cause either loss of consciousness or restriction from full duty due to persistent signs, symptoms, or clinical finding, or impaired brain function for a period greater than 48 hours from the time of the concussive incident. (2) Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: (a) Frostbite (excluding severe frostbite requiring hospitalization from 7 December 1941 to 22 August 1951). (b) Trench foot or immersion foot. (c) Heat stroke. (d) Food poisoning not caused by enemy agents. (e) Chemical, biological, or nuclear agents not released by the enemy. (f) Battle fatigue. (g) Disease not directly caused by enemy agents. (h) Accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action. (i) Self-inflicted wounds, except when in the heat of battle and not involving gross negligence. (j) Post traumatic stress disorders. (k) Airborne (for example, parachute/jump) injuries not caused by enemy action. (l) Hearing loss and tinnitus (for example: ringing in the ears). (m) Mild traumatic brain injury or concussions that do not either result in loss of consciousness or restriction from full duty for a period greater than 48 hours due to persistent signs, symptoms, or physical finding of impaired brain function. (n) Abrasions and lacerations (unless of a severity to be incapacitating). (o) Bruises (unless caused by direct impact of the enemy weapon and severe enough to require treatment by a medical officer) (p) Soft tissue injuries (for example, ligament, tendon or muscle strains, sprains, and so forth). (q) First degree burns. b. The World War I Victory Medal was established by War Department General Order 48, dated 1919. The medal is awarded for service between 6 April 1917 and 11 November 1918. (1) Battle clasps, service clasps, and service stars are authorized appurtenances to be worn on the World War I Victory Medal. (2) All clasps, except the Army Good Conduct Medal clasp, are worn only on the suspension ribbon of the medal. (3) The World War I Victory Medal battle clasp is a bronze bar 1/8-inch by 1 1/2 inches with the name of the campaign or the words "Defensive Sector," and with a star at each end of the inscription. (4) The World War I Victory Medal service clasp is a bronze bar 1/8-inch by 1 1/2 inches inscribed with the name of the country in which the service was performed. c. The World War I Victory Button is awarded to service members wounded in action, the lapel button is silver and, for all others, the lapel button is bronze. Eligibility requirements are the same for the World War I Victory Medal. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20170014213 4 1