MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           13 March 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048576

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		                         Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman		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:  He was wounded in July, 1944 in Normandy.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973.  The following information was derived from documents submitted by the applicant, himself.

He was inducted on 13 February 1943, was awarded the military occupational specialty of rifleman, and was promoted to private first class.  He was honorably released from active duty with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge (CDD) on 15 June 1945.  His separation papers show that he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 service star.

A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean Conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  Searches of these files show that the applicant was hospitalized and received his CDD due to psychoneurosis and anxiety.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  There is no evidence that the applicant was wounded in action.

2.  Without evidence which would show that the applicant was wounded in action, he is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

3.  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___  ____jtm _  ____dph_  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048576	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010313	
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.