MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           15 February 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000044197

	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. William Blakely		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		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 records of her husband, a deceased former service member (FSM), be corrected to reflect the award of the Purple Heart (PH). 

APPLICANT STATES:  That the FSM should be awarded the PH for his hearing condition that resulted from an artillery burst which blew up his jeep and effected his hearing with traumatic tinnitus.  In support of her contention she submits a certificate of death, the FSM DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), and a letter from the Veterans Administration (VA) awarding the FSM disability compensation. 

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The FSM's military records were lost or destroyed in the fire that occurred at the National Personnel Record Center in 1973.  The information herein was gleaned from a copy of the FSM’s DD Form 214, which was submitted with his application. 

The FSM had 7 years, 7 months, and 2 days of prior service.  He honorably served in the Army in the rank of captain from 1 May 1951 to 5 March 1953.  He was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.  The FSM died on 11 February 1995.

Item 27 (Awards) of the FSM’s DD Form 214 does not show the PH.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the PH 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.

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.  Because the applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in the fire at the National Personnel Records Center, there is no evidence to show that the applicant suffered any wounds that would entitle him to the PH.

2.  The Board determined that the evidence submitted by the applicant was insufficient for correction of the FSM’s records to show he was awarded the PH.

3.  The disability rating actions by the VA did not establish that the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action, that his wounds required medical treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

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

__FNE__  __MKP__  __MHM__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000044197	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010215	
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.