MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            20 December 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001062102

	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:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern		Member	
	Mr. Lester Echols		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 denied his Purple Heart in 1945 and that it was not put on his records.  He also states that he was never presented the Purple Heart while he was in his unit or the 48th General Hospital in Paris, France.  He also contends that he has not received the other medal to which he is entitled.

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 the applicant entered active duty on 23 August 1943.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 11 March 1944 through 18 October 1945.  He was honorably separated on 5 November 1945.

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), which is authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award in item 33 (Decorations and Citations).  

Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry “None”.

There are no orders in the records available to the Board which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his records that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile 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, 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 wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II.  There are no orders which show that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant authenticated his discharge document at the time of his separation thereby attesting to the facts that he was not awarded the Purple Heart and was not wounded as a result of hostile action.

3.  In view of the applicant's own signature authenticating that he received no wounds in action and in view of the absence of any military order or military medical record showing the applicant was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action, the Board found that there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.  Therefore, there is no basis to correct the applicant’s records to show award of the Purple Heart. 

4.  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 either requirement.

5.  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

__JNS__  ___LE___  ___JBR__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062102	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20011220	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	MR CHUN	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.