PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            11 July 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000036526

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Mr. John Saputo		Member	
	Mr. Roger Able		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during World War II.

3.  The applicant states that she believes that she should get the Purple Heart.  The applicant states she was told “that friendly fire didn’t matter”.  In support of her application she submitted a letter of explanation and a copy of a 17 August 1945 Veterans Administration (VA) letter awarding her a disability pension. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that she entered active duty in the Women’s Army Corps on 29 November 1943.  She served as a clerk in the Pacific Theater of Operations from 14 December 1944 to 1 April 1945.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 10 August 1945 with a certificate of disability.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of her WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry “None”.

6.  In her letter of explanation, the applicant contends that she was stationed at Hollandia, New Guinea, when she was shot.  She states that she was returned to a general hospital in the United States from which she was discharged with a certificate of disability.  The applicant provided no information on the specifics of the cause of her wound and there is no information in the records available to the Board regarding the circumstances of her being shot.

7.  The VA letter provided by the applicant states that the applicant was awarded a disability pension for “Residuals of gunshot wounds to the right arm and skin disability of the face, scalp and feet.”  The VA rating decision does not provide any information on the circumstances of the gunshot wounds.

8.  The Board notes that the applicant is entitled to the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal which are not shown on her WD AGO Form 53-55.

9.  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.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Purple Heart to individuals wounded or killed as a result of “friendly fire” in the “heat of battle” as long as the “friendly” projectile or agent was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the American Campaign Medal.  This campaign medal is awarded for qualifying service in the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Qualifying service includes permanent assignment outside the continental United States, duty as a crewmember aboard a vessel sailing ocean waters for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or duty outside the continental United States as a passenger or in a temporary duty status for 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days, or active combat against the enemy and was awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by a corps commander or higher, or service within the continental United States for an aggregate period of one year.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the World War II Victory Medal.  It is awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records which show that she was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in her records that she was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.

2.  The applicant is correct that the Purple Heart may now be awarded for wounds sustained as a result of “friendly fire”; however, there must be proof that the wound was sustained in the “heat of battle” and the “friendly” projectile or agent was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops.

3.  Based on the foregoing, the applicant is not eligible for award of the Purple Heart because there is no evidence of record which shows that she was wounded as a result of hostile action or that her wounds met the requirements for award of the Purple Heart based on “friendly fire”.

4.  Based on the applicant’s service, she is entitled to award of the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.  Therefore, the applicant is also entitled to correction of her records to show these service medals.

5.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing the individual concerned was awarded the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

___RJW_  __JS____  ___RA___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		RAYMOND J. WAGNER
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000036526	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19450810	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-361	
DISCHARGE REASON	DISABILITY 	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR SCHNEIDER	
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.