APPLICANT REQUESTS:  That he be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he received rifle butt blows to his back while he was a prisoner of war (POW) in Germany during World War II.  He submits a letter from a fellow POW who attests that he saw a guard kick the applicant in the back.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records show:

The applicant was inducted into the Army on 6 June 1941.  He was captured by the Germans on 7 August 1944.  In a debriefing statement made after liberation, the applicant stated that upon capture he was hit on the back with a rifle butt.  Also, while working on a railroad, he was beaten one time for eating some food he found on a railroad car.  He was liberated on 29 April 1945.   

The VA has apparently given him a disability rating for a service connection back injury.

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.)

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy, criteria and administrative instructions concerning individual military decorations.  In pertinent part, it states that a wound for which the award of the Purple Heart was made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

No separation physical or medical records are available and there is no evidence that the applicant was treated by American medical personnel for his injuries subsequent to his liberation..

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.  While the injuries incurred by the applicant while he was a POW are unfortunate, there is no evidence that his injuries required medical treatment after his liberation and such evidence is not supplied by the applicant.

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

                       DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director