MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            12 October 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000037410

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr.  W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John D. Miller		Chairperson	
	Mr. John E. Denning		Member	
	Mr. 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:  In effect, that his military record be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES: In effect, that he suffered shrapnel wounds to the jaw and a loss of hearing as a result of enemy action during World War II.

In support of his request, he has provided a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).

COUNSEL CONTENDS: Counsel concurs in the applicant's presentation and requests that all reasonable doubt be resolved in the applicant's favor.

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

He was inducted on 8 October 1942 and served as an anti-tank gun crewman in the Pacific Theater of Operations from July 1944 to January 1946.  He was honorably discharged at demobilization on 13 January 1946 in the grade of private first class.

His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze battle stars and one bronze arrow head, the World War II Victory Medal, the Bronze Star, the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button and the Marksman Badge with rifle bar.

The WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award; nor, does block 34 (wounds received in action) contain an entry to show that he was wounded in battle.

Daily Sick Reports for his unit were obtained from the NPRC covering the period 15 January 1945 to 26 July 1945.  These reports show that the applicant received medical treatment on seven occasions during that period but do not specify the purpose of the treatment.

Rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) show that the DVA 

has established his hearing loss and scars to the left side of the face as service connected.

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

The same regulation provides that subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the CIB for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

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 has provided no evidence and the available records contain no evidence showing that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  The Daily Sick Reports from his unit are inconclusive as to the reason(s) for his treatment.

2.  While his record contains documents to indicate that the DVA has determined that his hearing loss and scars on the jaw are service connected injuries there are no records of treatment from the Army to substantiate that finding.  The DVA determination does not establish that his injuries were a direct result of hostile action, a necessary prerequisite for the Purple Heart.  Without such a finding there are no grounds for this Board to award the Purple Heart.

3.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.  However, since he was awarded the CIB during his service, he is entitled to the Bronze Star Medal in recognition of that award (since he was awarded an original Bronze Star Medal in 1945, he should now be awarded the first oak leaf cluster to the award).

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

NOTE:  The Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St. Louis, Missouri 
will be instructed to issue the applicant the Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster and the necessary correction to his WD AGO Form 53-55 reflecting this award.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__jdm___  ___jed___  ___cjs  __  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037410	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001012	
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.