MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           6 August 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002069891

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Luther L. Santiful		Chairperson	
	Ms. Paula Mokulis		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman		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 (PH).

APPLICANT STATES:  He was wounded in his right heel by a shell fragment from a German artillery round during the battle of Vianden during WWII.  He was treated for that wound by a field medic and given a new pair of boots.

In support of his request the applicant submits a Veterans Administration disability compensation decision which lists wounds to his right hand and right heel.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository in 1973.  The following information was derived from the applicant’s separation document provided by the applicant, himself.

He was inducted on active duty on 15 April 1943, was awarded the military occupational specialty of heavy construction carpenter, and served in the European Theater of Operations from 22 October 1944 to 17 February 1946.  He participated in the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central European Campaigns.  He was honorably released from active duty in the rank of sergeant on 21 February 1946.  He was awarded the American Theater Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.  Item 34 of his separation document, Wounds Received in Action, has “None” entered.

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.

A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  Searches of these files fail to show that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  While the Board has no reason to doubt the statement of events the applicant has provided regarding his wounding, such individual statements are acceptable only where corroborating evidence is available from official sources.  In the absence of official evidence showing that he was wounded as a result of hostile action, there are no grounds for this Board to award the Purple Heart.

2.  The DVA compensation decision submitted by the applicant has been carefully considered by the Board.  While it is apparent from this decision that the DVA accepted that the applicant was wounded in his hand and heel, the DVA does not specify how the wounds were incurred.  Without a finding by the DVA that the wounds were the result of hostile action, that they required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment was made a matter of official record, the DVA ruling in and of itself is unacceptable as evidence on which to base the award of the PH.

3.  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

___lls ___  ___pm_ _  ___dph__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002069891	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020806	
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.