MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           29 July 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1998013785

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Charles H. Loundermon		Chairperson	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Member	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That he be awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.

APPLICANT STATES:  He believes his service-connected disability should have been recognized much sooner.  He includes as supporting documentation ten letters he wrote while he was overseas; three of them are dated December 1944 or later.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center Fire in 1973.  The information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant was inducted and entered active duty on 13 November 1943.  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 14 May 1944 where he served as a member of 105mm howitzer crew and apparently also worked with the 155mm howitzer.  He departed the Theater on 19 January 1946 and separated on 6 February 1946.

The letters provided dated December 1944 or later do not mention any injuries received.

The applicant provided supporting statements in support of a VA claim filed in 1986.  One statement declares “…I can truly say _____served under very high noise level and also severe concussion from every round we fired.”  Another declared “…during a support mission of the Battle of the Bulge _____ was injured when a truck he was directing caused him to receive a head injury.”

A VA Compensation and Pension Exam Report dated 29 November 1996 contains the following comment “…patient states that during the Battle of the Bulge his head was hit by the bed of a truck and had about moderate injury…”

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that 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.  The key issue is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not the sole justification for award.  An example of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart is a concussion injury caused as a result of enemy-generated explosions.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:
1.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

2.  The regulation requires that, for award of the Purple Heart, an injury be caused as a result of enemy action.  The supporting statements the applicant provided to the VA, plus his own statement to the VA, indicates his hearing loss was caused by operating the Army’s own weapons and that his head injury was caused by a truck he was directing.  The Board regrets his service to the nation caused any disabilities but the circumstances of his injuries do not meet the criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__chl___  __slp___  __clg___  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1998013785	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19990729	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.