PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           26 September 2000 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000037660

	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	
	Ms. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Mr. Thomas F. Baxter		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, as the legal representative of the next of kin of a deceased former service member (FSM), correction of an unidentified document to show that the FSM was wounded in action during World War I.  In effect, the applicant is requesting that the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM died on 20 January 1920 as a result of shell-shock and creeping paralysis received during the Meuse-Argonne battle in World War I.  He contends that towards the end of World War I, during the Meuse-Argonne battle, the FSM was subjected to enemy artillery fire, exposed to chemical agents and mustard-type gas and became incapacitated.   He goes on to state that the FSM was honorably discharged from the Army in September 1919 with a 100% service-connected disability.  The applicant contends that the FSM suffered serious, lingering injuries as a result of his exposure to the mustard-type gas, that his condition continued to worsen, a gradual paralysis set in, and on 20 January 1920, he succumbed to those injuries.  In support of his application, he submits a letter of explanation, dated
10 February 2000; National Personnel Records Center correspondence dated 
2 October 1998; Lawrence Veterans Services Records; Massachusetts National Guard Records; an affidavit from the applicant dated 9 February 2000; FSM’s Death Certificate; excerpts from Legal Medicine Pathology and Toxicology; excerpts from the Attorney’s Textbook of Medicine; newspaper articles and obituaries; and an affidavit from the applicant’s father.     

4.  The FSM’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the FSM enlisted in the National Guard on 26 October 1917.  He served overseas from 22 March 1918 through 
25 August 1919 and was honorably discharged on 10 September 1919 due to service connected disability (100 %).  

5.  The available records do not contain a discharge document.  There is no evidence the FSM was awarded the Purple Heart.  

6.  An available record shows the entry “Wounds or other injuries received in action:  None.”  However, another record shows the entry “Was reported 
100% disabled on date of discharge.”  

7.  The applicant provided four newspaper articles, dated January 1920, which state that the [FSM] was severely wounded and shell-shocked in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign during World War I.

8.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Evidence of record shows the FSM was honorably discharged on 
10 September 1919 due to a service-connected disability rated at 100%.   

2.  The applicant provided newspaper articles which state that the FSM was severely wounded and shell-shocked in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign during World War I.

3.  The Board finds the evidence of service-connected disability (100%) and information contained in the newspaper articles sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the FSM is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, between 26 September 1918 and 11 November 1918, during World War I.  

4.  The Board notes the applicant’s request to correct an unidentified document to show that the FSM was wounded in action during World War I.  However, since this document cannot be identified and since the Purple Heart will be authorized in official orders, there is no basis and there is no necessity to correct this record. 

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That an official certificate and orders be prepared to show that the FSM was awarded of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, between 26 September 1918 and 11 November 1918, during World War I.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

AAO____  MHM___  TFB_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Arthur A. Omartian_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000037660	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000926	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19190910	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Service connected disability 100%	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.