PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           10 January 2002    
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001062424

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in the arm in 1944 in the Philippines.  He contends that he was put on a hospital ship, that he was “off the line” for over a month, and that his parents were notified by telegram of his wounding.  In support of his application, he submits an eyewitness statement, dated 23 May 2000. 

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant was inducted on 
26 October 1943.  He served as a truck driver (light) in the Asiatic Pacific Theater of Operations from 2 August 1944 through 25 January 1946.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 21 February 1946.  

5.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  The Office of the Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant sustained a battle injury to his forearm and was hospitalized on 22 October 1944 in the Southwest Pacific.    

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Medical evidence of record shows the applicant sustained a battle injury on 
22 October 1944 in the Southwest Pacific.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and correction of his military records to show this award.  

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected: 

a.  by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 22 October 1944 in the Southwest Pacific; 

b.  by deleting the entry “None” in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55; and

c.  by adding the entry “Southwest Pacific, 22 October 1944” in item 34 on his WD AGO Form 53-55.

BOARD VOTE:  

FNE___  TSK_____  JTM_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Fred N. Eichorn________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062424	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020110	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	 	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.