PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           26 JULY 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001057031

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings 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. Raymond V. O’Connor		Chairperson	
	Mr. Hubert O. Fry		Member	
	Mr. Eric N. Andersen		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, award of two Purple Hearts.  The applicant stated in a self-authored statement that he was severely injured by multiple shrapnel wounds during World War II and tried "many times to get any type of compensation for [his] injuries" but was unable to do so because he had no proof of any his injuries.  He also notes that he was severely burned "on the liberty ship, Samuel J. Tilden due to an explosion" as the ship approached the Italian port of Bari.  In support of his request he submits copies of pictures of his "Purple Heart reception" and a March 2001 local newspaper article about a bombing mission in North Africa which notes the applicant "earned a pair of Purple Hearts for injuries he sustained in combat, however, a fire destroyed records and he has never received the medals."

3.  Except for partial service medical records, the applicant official military personnel records were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.  Information contained herein was reconstructed from information contained in those service medical records and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).

4.  The applicant entered active duty on 23 January 1942 and arrived overseas in August 1942.  According to an entry in his original service medical records, he sustained second degree burns over his face and chest on 2 December 1943 as a result of enemy action during an air raid.  While his service medical records also indicate that he was treated by medical personnel for a cold, the flu and a stomach disorder while in the military there is no record that he was ever treated for multiple shrapnel wounds.

5.  The applicant returned to the United States in April 1945.  His separation physical examination notes the treatment of the burns sustained in December 1943 but makes no mention of any other wounds or injuries and does not record any scars which could have been attributed to multiple shrapnel wounds.

6.  On 16 September 1945 the applicant was discharged as a result of demobilization.  His separation documents contains the entry "not available" in block 33 (decorations and citations) and block 34 (wounds received in action).

7.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While it is clear from the available evidence that the applicant's second degree burns were the result of hostile action there is no evidence which confirms he sustained any shrapnel wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.  As such it would be appropriate to award the applicant a single Purple Heart for the wounds he sustained on 2 December 1943 but no basis for any additional awards of the Purple Heart.

2.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 2 December 1943 as a result of hostile action during World War II.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RVO__  __HOF__  __ENA __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001057031	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010726	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.