MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           14 December 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048419

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was wounded by shrapnel in the left leg at the bottom of Mount Etna, near Sicily in 1943.  He contends that his being wounded is confirmed in block 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).  He states that he realized that he was not awarded the Purple Heart after reviewing his medals to be framed.

In support of his application, the applicant submitted a presentation book containing:  a letter of support from the officers of American Legion Post 300; a picture of the applicant swearing on a Bible that he was wounded in action during World War II; a picture of the applicant’s military decorations, awards, medals, insignia of rank, and unit patch; a 20 September 2000 handwritten statement by the applicant; a copy of “Ward Orders” with the date “21 May” and the entry “300,000 u. Penicillin”; a copy of his discharge document; two certificates related to commemoration of the Battle of Normandy; a certificate from the Military Order of the Ardennes; a letter from the Claims Representative of the American Legion to the American Legion Post 300 Service Officer; and a special message certificate from the applicant and the Post 300 Service Officer.

COUNSEL CONTENDS:  That the American Legion supports the applicant’s claim and requests relief as warranted by the evidence of record.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he was inducted on 24 October 1941.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations for the period 26 October 1942 to 7 July 1945 and was honorably discharged on 25 July 1945.

Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the WD AGO Form 53-55 submitted by the applicant shows the entry “one”.

The applicant submitted a statement:  “I [applicant’s name omitted] do hereby swear on this Bible that I was wounded in action shrapnel hit me in my left leg.  This happened at the bottom of Mt. Etna in Sicily in 1943.  I received a large amount of penicillin and spent one week in a field hospital.  I was in the First Infantry Division Battery B 32nd Field Artillery.”

Although the applicant’s service personnel records are only partially reconstructed, the applicant’s service medical records were provided by the Veterans Administration (VA).  These records appear to be complete and contain a copy of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 filed with Santa Clara County, California, on 15 May 1963.  This record is signed by the applicant and clearly shows the entry in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) is “None”, not “one” as shown on the reproduced copies of his discharge submitted to the Board.

Review of the applicant’s medical records show that he was treated for a skin disease on 27 September 1943 and he was treated at the 315th Station Hospital for Hepatitis during November and December 1943.  There is no medical record which shows that the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds resulting from hostile action during 1943.

To support his claim of wounds, the applicant submitted a statement in which he contends that he was wounded, admitted to a field hospital and administered a large dose of Penicillin.  He submits a copy of “Ward Orders” dated “21 May” showing the entry “300,000 u. Penicillin”.

The original copy of those Ward Orders, dated 21 May, is contained in the records provided by the VA.  Service medical records show that the applicant was admitted to the 7th Field Hospital on 13 May 1945 for “dermatitis” of the left “scapular area”.  From there he was transferred to the 227th General Hospital and was eventually admitted to the 36th General Hospital on 19 May 1945.  On 21 May 1945, the Ward Orders were written at the 36th General Hospital for 300,000 units of Penicillin.  That same record shows a summary prepared by a medical officer in the grade of major which states the applicant was “admitted to hospital with a small area of dermatitis on shoulder.”  Clinical records show the applicant was returned to duty effective 29 May 1945.

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 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.  There is no evidence of record which shows that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  

2.  There is no medical evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.

3.  The applicant’s discharge document, which is authenticated in his own hand, shows that he was not awarded the Purple Heart and did not sustain any wounds as a result of hostile action.

4.  The Board carefully reviewed the applicant’s statement that he was wounded at Mt. Etna, Sicily in 1943.  There is medical evidence which shows that the applicant was treated for a skin disease in September 1943 and for Hepatitis in November and December 1943.  However, there is no documentation for treatment of wounds during 1943 as claimed by the applicant. 

5.  The Board carefully reviewed the Ward Orders submitted by the applicant in support of his claim.  Based on the original copy of these Ward Orders, the Board determined that the prescribed Penicillin was solely related to treatment of the applicant’s dermatitis of the shoulder and was not for treatment of wounds resulting from hostile action.

6.  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.

7.  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

__JH ___  __HOF___  __RTD__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048419	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001214	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR CHUN	
ISSUES         1.	107.0000.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.