MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            7 December 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000040870

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. John P. Infante		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:  That he be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he should have been awarded the Purple Heart because he was hit by a shell that wounded him and two others on 23 December 1944 in Spa, Belgium; however, his wound was not severe enough to be sent to a large hospital so he was kept at a local hospital and sent back to duty with another unit because his unit was wiped out.  He goes on to state that there were no records left of his unit after the Battle of the Bulge.  In support of his application he submits a document from the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) dated 11 June 1984 showing that he was being considered for service connected disabilities for the residuals of a concussion, deviated septum, and residuals of shell fragment wounds to the left forehead.  The document does not provide an actual decision by the BVA.  He also submits a copy of a document from a Graves Registration Command indicating that 17 members of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment were lost while participating in a combat parachute jump on 15 August 1944, and letter of good standing from the 82d Airborne Division Association.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri which destroyed millions of service records.  However, a copy of the report of separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) previously provided by the applicant shows:

He enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps (now known as the USAR) on 1 February 1943 and entered active duty at Camp Upton, New York on 13 August 1943.

He departed for the Mediterranean Theater of Operation (MTO) on 13 March 1944 and then proceeded to the European Theater of Operation (ETO) on 15 August 1944.  He participated in the Ardennes, Central Europe, Rhineland, Rome-Arno, and Southern France Campaigns and was awarded the European African Middle-Eastern Service Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the American Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.

He remained in the ETO until 10 December 1945 when he was returned to the Continental United States on 21 December 1945.  He was honorably discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey on 27 December 1945 and had served 2 years, 10 months and 26 days of service.  His WD AGO Form 53-55, which was signed by the applicant, shows in block 34 that he had no wounds received in action.

On 1 November 2000 the Board reviewed the applicant’s request and the majority of the members voted to grant him a formal hearing in order to afford him the opportunity to submit evidence or testimony to support his claim.  The applicant was contacted telephonically and he declined to appear before the Board because he had no additional evidence to submit to the Board.  He subsequently provided the documents indicated with his application.

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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

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.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy this requirement.

2.  The available evidence of record fails to show that the applicant was wounded/injured as a result of enemy action; therefore, there is no basis for the Board to award him the Purple Heart.

3.  While the Board understands the applicant’s desire to be awarded the Purple Heart, there must be sufficient evidence to show that he was in fact wounded/injured as a result of enemy action and that medical treatment was rendered by medical personnel for that wound/injury.  Unfortunately, his records were destroyed in the fire at St. Louis in 1973 and the applicant has failed to show through the evidence submitted with his application or the evidence of record that such was the case.

4.  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

__rvo ___  __ewl___  __jpi ____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000040870	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2000/12/07	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/PH	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.