ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  5 November 2019

	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20190001536


APPLICANT REQUESTS:  on behalf of her father, 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 20 November 
2018
*	Veterans Administration (now Department of Veterans Affairs (VA))  
Form 10-P-10 (Application for Hospital Treatment or Domiciling Care), dated 
16 October 1964
*	Standard Form 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records), dated 27 November 
2001
*	National Archives and Records Administration Form 13075 (Questionnaire about 
Military Service), dated 7 January 2002 
*	National Personnel Records Center letter, dated 25 February 2002
*	Congressional correspondence
*	Certified Mail Receipt, dated 21 November 2018
*	U.S. Army Human Resources Command letter, dated 14 February 2019

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 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.  The case is being considered using the 
documents provided by the applicant and the reconstructed records from the National 
Personnel Records Center.

3.  The applicant states:

	a.  In May 1918, the FSM trained at Fort McClellan, AL, and he was assigned to 
Company M, 115th Infantry Regiment.

	b.  The FSM should have a Purple Heart from action in France in World War I.

	c.  The FSM was receiving a 10 percent disability pension for a gunshot wound of 
the right shoulder.

	d.  The FSM's records were destroyed in the 1973 fire in St. Louis, MO, and all that 
is left is treatment records.  This information is attached to service from 30 April 1918 to 
2 June 1919 with the 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division (Blue Gray).

	e.  The FSM was discharged from Camp Upton, NY.

4.  A review of the FSM's service record provided by the National Personnel Records 
Center shows:

	a.  The FSM entered active duty on 30 April 1918.

	b.  On 22 May 1918, the FSM was assigned to Company M, 115th Infantry 
Regiment, Camp McClellan; Anniston, AL.

	c.  He departed the United States on 15 June 1918 and he arrived overseas on 
27 June 1918.

	d.  His battle participation was listed as Alsace Sector for the period 27 July to 
21 September 1918.  Remarks show additional battles for the period 25 July to 
23 September 1918 were Defense of Center Sector:  Haute Alsace on 8 October 1918; 
Battle of Malbrouck Hill on 10 October 1918; and Battle of Melville Farm on 11 October 
1918. 

	e.  A "gunshot wound right shoulder, slight, in action and line of duty 11 October 
1918" is listed as wounds or other injuries the FSM received in action.

	f.  His Field Medical Card shows he was treated at Base Hospital 13 (Limoges, 
France) for a gunshot wound of the shoulder that occurred on 10 October 1918.

	g.  The FSM was operating a machine gun during an advance on the Verdum Front 
when he was injured.

	h.  The FSM's medical information shows he was hospitalized a total of 54 days at 
Camp Hospital Center, Limoges, France as follows:

*	October 1918 – 22 days
*	November 1918 – 30 days
*	December 1918 – 2 days

	i.  On 3 December 1918, the FSM was returned to duty.

	j.  A Report of Board of Review shows his gunshot wound of the right shoulder was 
determined to be in the line of duty.

	k.  On 11 May 1919, he sailed from St. Nazaire, France, for the United States.

	l.  The FSM received foreign service pay from 15 June 1918 to 24 May 1919.

5.  On 2 June 1919, the FSM was honorably discharged.

6.  On 21 February 2002, officials at the National Personnel Center issued the applicant 
a National Archives and Records Administration Form 13038 to show the FMS's military 
service in lieu of a discharge certificate.

7.  On 20 November 2018, the applicant authorized and requested the assistance of her 
State Senator.

8.  On February 2019, the Chief, Awards and Decorations Branch, U.S. Army Human 
Resources Command, provided a response to the applicant's State Senator in which he 
stated:

	a.  The Purple Heart was not originally awarded in World War I.  Soldiers who 
received a wound in action with the enemy, or as a result of an act of the enemy were 
authorized to war Wound Chevrons.  These patches, which were worn on the lower half 
of the right sleeve of all uniform coats, were only authorized for wounds which 
necessitated treatment by a medical officer.

	b.  The Purple Heart, as revived in 1932, is awarded in the name of the President of 
the United States to any member of the Armed Forces who has been wounded or killed 
as a result of enemy action after April 5, 1917.  The 1932 War Department General 
Order which announced the Purple Heart also authorized award of the Purple Heart 
retroactively to Soldiers who served during World War I.  World War I veterans could 
apply for award of the Purple Heart if they were authorized to wear a Wound Chevron, 
or had been awarded a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate signed by the 
Commander in Chief, American Expeditionary Forces.

	c.  The applicant was urged to contact the National Archives for historical unit 
records and she was provided this agency's contact information.

9.  The FSM's available records are void of his discharge certificate to show awards he 
may have received and his records are void of any evidence he was authorized a 
wound chevron (issued to Soldiers for wear on the uniform to indicate wounded in 
action).  


BOARD DISCUSSION:

The Board agreed that the available service records clearly show the FSM incurred a 
gunshot wound to the right shoulder on or about 10 October 1918 that required 
treatment by a medical officer and he would have been authorized retroactive award of 
the Purple Heart based on meeting the criteria to wear a Wound Chevron.


BOARD VOTE:

Mbr 1	Mbr 2	Mbr 3

:XXX	:XXX	:XXX	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 him the Purple 
Heart for wounds incurred as a result of hostile action on 10 October 1918. 

	  
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.  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 600-95 (Authority for Wearing and Supply of Wound and War 
Service Chevrons), in effect at the time, prescribed policy on the issuance and supply of 
wound chevrons.  A chevrons was authorized for a wound in action with an enemy of 
the United States or as a result of an act of such enemy which shall have necessitated 
treatment by a medical officer.  Instructions stated one wound chevron was authorized 
for each wound, except that only one such chevron was authorized for two or more such 
wounds received at the same instant.  A wound chevron was not authorized in any case 
were medical treatment was not given.

	a.  When such a person was treated for a wound without being admitted to the 
hospital, the commanding officer of the hospital or the treating medical officer would 
furnish the commanding officer of the wounded person with a certificate describing 
briefly the nature of the wound and certify the necessity of the treatment.

	b.  Commanding officers of regiments, separate battalions, and similar units 
determined which individuals of their respective commands had been honorably 
wounded in action or as the result of an act of the enemy, and were consequently 
entitled to wear the wound chevron.  Wound chevrons were issued as Gold (for each  
6-months' service) or Sky-blue (for less than 6-months' service).

	c.  General orders would be published to authorize all such persons to wear the 
wound chevron.  The orders would show the name, grade and organization of each 
person authorized to wear the chevron and the date and place of action with the enemy.  
Two copies of the orders would be furnished to The Adjutant General of the Army and 
an extra copy was to be filed at the headquarters of the expeditionary force, if any.

3.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and 
administrative instructions concerning individual and unit military awards.  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.  The Purple Heart is 
awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed 
Forces of the United States under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army who, 
after 5 April 1917, had been wounded, killed, or who has died or may hereafter die of 
wounds received, under any of the following circumstances:

	a.  In any action against an enemy of the United States.

	b.  In any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the 
Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged.

	c.  While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an 
opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

	d.  As a result of an act of any such enemy of opposing Armed Forces.

	e.  As a result of an act of any hostile foreign force.

//NOTHING FOLLOWS//



ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)	 AR20190001536
	
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