MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           07 MARCH 2002                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002066474

	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. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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:  He was "wounded in combat" in May 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge and was treated in a hospital in Germany.  He states he believes his unit thought he was evacuated "home" after his release from the hospital and as such he never received the Purple Heart.  In support of his request he submits a 1947 VA document granting him a disability award for “gun shot wound scar of upper one-third of left leg.”

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources, including information provided by the applicant.

He entered active duty on 31 March 1943 and served overseas between February 1945 and April 1946.  His 22 April 1946 WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 34 (wounds received in action) reflects “NONE.”  The document does reflect award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

The VA document, submitted by the applicant in support of his request, merely indicated that the applicant was compensated for a “gun shot [sic] wound scar of upper one-third of left leg.”  There were no additional medical records available to the Board or any indication of the source of the gunshot wound scar.

The Battle of the Bulge, which lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 28, 1945, was the largest land battle of World War II in which the United States participated.

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.

By virtue of his award of the Combat Infantryman Badge, the applicant is entitled to an award of the Bronze Star Medal.

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.  Although the applicant may be receiving disability compensation for a service-incurred wound, there is no evidence that the wound was the result of hostile action and no medical evidence to support the source of the VA’s determination.
2.  In the absence of medical evidence confirming that the gunshot wound was incurred as a result of hostile action the Board concludes there is no basis for 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.  The Board also notes the applicant’s record indicates that he arrived overseas in February 1945 and contends that he was wounded in May 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.  However, the “Battle of the Bulge” period ended in January 1945.

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.

(NOTE:  Officials at the ARBA Support Division in St. Louis are requested to administratively correct the applicant’s separation document to reflect award of the Bronze Star Medal based on his Combat Infantryman Badge.)

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__RVO__  __JPI ___  __RKS __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002066474	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020307	
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.