2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for injuries received while a prisoner of war (POW) of the Japanese during World War II.

3.  The applicant’s military records show he initially served with the Philippine Scouts prior to enlisting in and later retiring from the U.S. Army.  He was captured by the Japanese on 9 April 1942 during the Battle of Bataan.  (He has been awarded the POW Medal.)

4.  The applicant provides a statement from a fellow Scout that, during the March, a Japanese soldier struck the applicant in the jaw with his rifle butt when he slipped away to obtain a drink of water.  This statement matches a notation on the physical examination section of his 12 June 1945 enlistment record:  “States he had molar tooth (L L 12) knocked out by Japs 12 April 1942.”
The applicant also is receiving VA compensation in part for service-connected arthritis of the jaw.

5.  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.

6.  The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 authorized the award of the Purple Heart to persons wounded while held as POWs before       25 April 1962.  The provision extends the current criteria for the Purple Heart to former POWs that were held prior to 25 April 1962 and suffered wounds or injuries at the hands of their captors.  (Previously, only those who became POWs after 25 April 1962 and were wounded while prisoners of foreign forces could be awarded the medal.)

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant meets the criteria for award of the Purple Heart to persons wounded while held as POWs 

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

                       GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

                       GRANT FORMAL HEARING

                       DENY APPLICATION

                                                                         
    CHAIRPERSON