MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            20 March 2001    
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000049406

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. William D. Powers		Member	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		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:  In effect, that her spouse, a deceased former servicemember, be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That her spouse was “shot and hit in his knee” as a result of enemy action during World War II.  In support of her request she submits what appears to be the former servicemember’s written recollections regarding his military service and employment prior to and following his service.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The former servicemember’s records were apparently lost or destroyed as a result of the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.  Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources.

The former servicemember entered active duty on 4 April 1942 and arrived overseas in July 1943.  According to his self-authored statement, the former servicemember arrived in Anzio on 6 February 1944 and indicated that he was “hit by shrapnel” and “went to [a] field hospital for 3 weeks….”  While overseas he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

He returned to the United States in October 1945 and on 2 November 1945 was honorably discharged as a result of demobilization.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge), which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 34 (wounds received in action) reflects “NONE.”

Subsequent to the former servicemember’s separation he applied for VA benefits indicating that he had been treated several times for an “abscessed eardrum.”  A review of unit morning reports and assignment orders indicates that he was listed as a patient in a military hospital in June 1944 where he was treated for a sprained right knee.  While several individuals listed on the hospital orders with him are recorded as “BC” (battle casualty) the former servicemember is not.

There is no evidence in available records that he was ever awarded a Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.

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, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  While the evidence does confirm the former servicemember was a patient in a military hospital during World War II there is no evidence that he was hospitalized for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.  

2.  The self-authored statement, which appears to have been rendered years after the fact and is not supported by any medical evidence, does not provide sufficient evidence on which to base an award of the Purple Heart.

3.  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 that requirement.

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.

(NOTE:  Officials at the Army Review Boards Agency Support Division are asked to award the former servicemember the Bronze Star Medal as a conversion award based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.)

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___fne__  ___wdp__  ___rjw__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000049406	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010320	
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.