MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            5 October 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2000037502

	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:

	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		Chairperson	
	Mr. Jaime Perez		Member	
	Mr. Elzey J. Arledge, Jr.		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart or at least have his wound reflected on his discharge.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was shot through the right leg at the ankle but item 34 (wounds received in action) of his discharge papers says “none”.

In support of his request, he has submitted a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) and a copy of his request to the Illinois Veterans’ Commission with an accompanying letter from them to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, on his behalf, requesting correction of his separation document to show the Purple Heart.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information herein was derived from documents submitted by the applicant and from alternate sources.

He was inducted on 26 April 1944 and was awarded the military occupational specialty of rifleman.  He served in the European Theater of Operation from December 1944 to July 1945.  Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 reflects the entry “none”.  He was honorably discharged on 4 May 1946.

His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), the World War II Victory Medal, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button and the Marksmanship Badge with rifle and carbine bars.

The available records contain a previous request from the applicant in which he stated that his wound to the right leg resulted from being accidentally shot by a fellow soldier who was cleaning his weapon.

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.

Subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the CIB or the Combat Medical Badge 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.  In fact, his previous statement of the circumstances of his injury indicates that it was accidentally incurred.

2.  Accidental injuries received in a combat zone, not directly attributable to an act of the enemy are not considered wounds received in action and do not entitle an individual to the Purple Heart.

3.  Further, item 34 of the WD AGO Form 53-55 is intended, as the title of the item implies, to reflect wounds received in action.  Since his wound was not a result of hostile action it is not appropriate to reflect it on the form.

4.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the record reflects that the applicant was awarded the CIB during his World War II service which entitles him to be awarded the BSM in accordance with the revised procedures authorizing that award as noted above

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.

Note:  The Army Review Boards Agency Support Division, St, Louis, Missouri 

will be requested to issue him the BSM with an appropriate correction to his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___slp___  ___jp ___  ___eja __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037502	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001005	
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.