MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            28 July 1999      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999018785

	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. Kenneth Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.    

APPLICANT STATES:  In a 21 September 1998 letter he stated that a .30 caliber armor piercing shell entered his right hip and exited his rear while his battery was participating in live fire [exercises] in Hyder, Arizona in 1943 or 1944.  He states that they were loading a .30 caliber machine gun into the back of a truck when it accidentally fired.  He was sent to a field hospital and placed on convalescent leave for six weeks, then returned to duty.  In a 6 April 1998 letter to the President, he conveyed the same aforementioned information, and closed by saying that, “a bullet is a bullet whether in the United States, overseas, wherever. I believe that I should be awarded the Purple Heart.”      
  
In a 24 November 1998 letter to a member of congress (MC) he states that he knows that wounds in the United States are not considered as in combat even through they are identical, no matter the pain and suffering he has endured over the last 50 years.  The effect of that gun shot wound over the years has caused him pain and suffering and there were many times that he experienced pain from the circulation in that area.

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

The applicant entered on active duty on 28 February 1942.  He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, and was awarded the American Service Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and Philippines Liberation Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.  He has also been awarded the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows that he was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant on     13 December 1945 at Fort Dix, New Jersey.  That form does not show award of the Purple Heart, nor does it show that he was wounded in action.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed, or who has died after being wounded in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound for which the award is 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.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are injury 

caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile; injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; and injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire.  Examples of injuries or wounds which clearly do not qualify for award of the Purple Heart include battle fatigue; post traumatic stress disorder; disease not directly caused by enemy agents; and accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action.

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 applicant was not wounded while in action against an enemy of the United States.  This, the applicant freely admits.  The Purple Heart is awarded only to those members of the Armed Forces, who have been wounded while participating in action against an enemy of the United States.  It was clearly established to recognize those military members who were injured or killed while participating in combat operations against an armed enemy.

2.  To award the Purple Heart to the applicant for an accidental gun shot wound while participating in a training exercise in Arizona would demean the meaning of the award.  To do so, for an accidental gun shot wound in this country, one could also aver that a soldier should be awarded the Purple Heart for an accidental knife wounding, or for an injury suffered in a jeep accident when traveling from one location to another, or for a burn injury caused by the explosion of a gas heated stove in an Army mess hall.  The list could go on and on.

3.  The applicant’s service to his country during World War II is noteworthy, and the Board empathizes with the applicant regarding the pain and suffering he has endured as the result of his wound.  

4.  Nonetheless, a bullet is not a bullet, regarding entitlement to award of the Purple Heart.  And the applicant is not entitled to that award. 

5.  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

__fne___  ___lem__  ___mvt_  DENY APPLICATION

						Loren G. Harrell
						Director

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999018785	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19990728	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1. 107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.