MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           21 October 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999016116

	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. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Ms. Carol Jo Suiter		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 the records of her deceased spouse, a former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart and to show the battles and campaigns in which he participated and she wants all the medals that were due him.  

APPLICANT STATES:  That she wants the Purple Heart awarded to him for his 20 shock treatments and the hell he went through when he came home.  The Purple Heart he owned was one someone threw at him while he was in his hospital bed in Africa.  She provides a photocopy of the Purple Heart Medal, a newspaper article dated 27 September 1943, and his discharge certificate (reverse side is the FSM’s enlistment record) as supporting evidence.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The FSM’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from the supporting evidence provided by the applicant, the FSM’s final pay statement, and the FSM’s hospital admission cards printout.

No service or VA medical records are available.  His report of separation is not available.  

The FSM was inducted into the Army on 14 February 1941.  His enlistment record shows he arrived in Northern Ireland on 18 May 1942 and returned to the United States on 25 June 1943.  It states he was awarded no decorations or service medals and he received no wounds in service.

The record of hospital admission cards indicates the FSM was admitted in April 1943 for a diagnosis of psychoneurosis and was discharged in September 1943 for disability, not in line of duty (existed prior to service).

The FSM was honorably discharged on 7 September 1943

The newspaper article provided by the applicant states the FSM received the Purple Heart after he was hit by shrapnel and knocked out by a bomb concussion in North Africa.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  In pertinent part, it states that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound 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. 

Hospital admission cards printouts contain information obtained from the Hospital Admission Card data files created by the Office of the Surgeon General.  The file was originally compiled for statistical purposes; therefore, name identification does not exist and sampling techniques were used with the result that not all hospital admissions are included.  Veterans on the file are identified by service number and other data related to hospital admission.

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.  The available official documents show the FSM was never assigned to North Africa, never participated in a battle campaign, and was not awarded any military decorations or service medals.  The available medical evidence shows he was not wounded in action but was medically discharged for having a psychoneurosis that existed prior to his entry in the service.  

2.  The Board has considered the newspaper article provided by the applicant but cannot grant the relief requested based upon an unofficial source of information.
The Board requires official records such as the FSM’s service medical records or his VA medical records that show he was wounded in action in North Africa.  The Board also would require a copy of the FSM’s report of separation in order to correct that document.

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

__rvo___  __rjw___  __cjs___  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999016116	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	19991021	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.