MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           26 March 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001061661

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. George D. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Ms . Deborah S. Jacobs		Member	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		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:  That on 31 December 1944 he was in Saarbrucken (sic), France when his unit, the 141st Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company, was ordered to move back 30 miles.  At the time, German artillery was shelling the crossroads within 100 yards of an old building where they were located.  He exited the building to move a jeep and a piece of metal hit him on the back of his left hand.  It started to bleed and he tightly bandaged the cut with supplies from his first aid kit.  He did not go to the medics because the bleeding stopped and he did not think it was necessary at the time.  He provides a statement from a fellow unit member who stated that he assisted the applicant in dressing the wound with supplies from his first aid kit.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from alternate records.

The applicant was inducted into the Army on 11 March 1943 and entered active service on 18 March 1943.  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations on 6 November 1944.

A review of the historical files of the 141st Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company for the months of December 1944 and January 1945 show that no battle casualties were reported.  The unit historical report for the month of January 1945 reads in part, “…the new year could really be said to come in with a bang.  The bells were still ringing the new year in when artillery shells began to drop in our area in Sarre Union, France…This news, coupled with the fact that both our area and a nearby road junction formed important targets…issued orders for us to move from Sarre Union, France to Sarrebourg, France…”

The applicant departed the European Theater of Operations on 8 July 1945 and separated on 29 January 1946.  His Report of Separation, WD AGO Form 53-55, item 34 does not indicate that he received wounds in action.

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 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.  The statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment.  The evidence of record tends to verify that the applicant was subjected to artillery fire on 31 December 1944 and may well have been hit by a piece of shrapnel.  However, he himself stated that he did not seek medical treatment for his injury and therefore he does not meet the eligibility criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  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

__gdp___  __dsj___  __reb___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001061661	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020326	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.