MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:  30 December 1998                            
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11784AR1998012542

	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	
	Mr. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. George D. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		Member	
	Mr. Van B. Cunningham		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 his service records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That during the Battle of the Bulge, he was wounded while transporting ammunition to firing batteries near the French town of St. Vith, and spent 21 days in the 16th General Hospital in Liege, Belgium.

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

The applicant was born on 3 August 1918 and was inducted into the Army of the United States on 4 November 1943.  Reporting for induction on 26 November 1943 at Fort Crook, Nebraska, he completed all required military training and was assigned to the 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, with duty as a quartermaster.

The applicant departed for Europe on 2 July 1944 and arrived in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 14 July 1944.  He served as a supply sergeant and held the rank of staff sergeant.  He participated in four campaigns; Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.  He departed Europe on 24 June 1945 and returned to the United States on 3 July 1945.  He was honorably discharged at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, on 5 November 1945.  He had a total of 1 year, 11 months, and 9 days of creditable active Federal service, of which 11 months and 7 days was Continental service and 1 year and 2 days was Foreign service.

Army medical records show only one hospitalization for the applicant’s service number; however, it appears that these records are incorrect.  Although the service number is correct, the entry indicates that the applicant was admitted to the hospital in the ETO in May 1944 with a diagnosis of hysteria and mental deficiency.  He spent 112 days in the hospital before returning to duty.  This entry is obviously incorrect for several reasons.  The applicant did not arrive in the ETO until 14 July 1944; the applicant was older by 2 years than the individual admitted to the hospital; the applicant was a high school graduate and a staff sergeant, and obviously not mentally deficient as the diagnosis indicates.

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, and advisory opinion(s), 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.  Unfortunately, the applicant’s service records no longer exist.  Although an attempt was made to substantiate his claim of being wounded in action, the medical record obtained from The Surgeon General does not appear to be a record pertaining to the applicant and, even if it were, it does not support treatment for a wound received as a result of hostile action.

3.  In view of the foregoing and in the absence of evidence supporting the applicant’s claim, 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

INDEX

CASE ID	AC98-11784/AR1998012542	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19981230	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.