MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           13 June 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002069862

	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. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Celia L. Adolphi		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		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:  In effect, award of the Purple Heart (PH).

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he was wounded while serving in the Philippines.  He was driving a jeep on a mission to pick up supplies, when a supply truck was blown up that was being loaded by the Filipinos.  He received shrapnel wounds to his right arm and wrist.  He was treated at a field hospital where some shrapnel was removed and some was not.  

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center Fire in 1973.  The information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant was inducted on 16 April 1943 and entered active service on 
23 April 1943.  He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 
13 March 1944 to 9 January 1946.

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not show the PH as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO 53-55 shows the entry, None.

Information from the three available Surgeon General Hospital Admission Cards shows that the applicant was admitted/treated at an overseas field hospital on three separate occasions.  The first admission occurred on 17 October 1944.  The second admission occurred on 27 October 1945 and the third admission occurred on 18 December 1945.  The Office of the Surgeon General did not characterize the applicant’s three separate admissions/treatment as battle related casualties.

On 3 February 1946, the applicant was discharged from active duty.  His 
WD AGO Form 53-55 shows as authorized awards: the Good Conduct Medal, the Meritorious Unit Award, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with 1 Bronze Star, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars and the World War II Victory Medal.  It does not show the PH as an authorized award.

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.  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 this requirement.

2.  The applicant contends that he was wounded, and that his injury resulted from enemy action.  There is no available corroborating evidence to support his contentions of an injury caused by hostile action.

3.  The evidence available to the Board shows that the applicant was admitted and was treated on three different occasions; however, the evidence does not authenticate that the applicant’s admissions/treatment resulted from enemy actions.

4.  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

__CLA_ _  __BJE__  __DPH___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002069862	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2002/06/13	
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.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.