MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           27 JUNE 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002072433

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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 blown off a ship in June 1945 when a kamikaze plane attacked the USS Rockbridge, crushing three vertebrae in his back.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Discharge – Honorable Discharge) shows that he was inducted into the Army on 17 March 1944.  He served in the continental United States for 1 year, 3 months, and          1 day, and in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from 24 July 1945 to       22 September 1945.  He was discharged on 18 October 1945.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge with rifle bar.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on that form contains the typed word, “None.”

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated     15 October 1945, three days prior to his discharge, shows a number of ailments listed, to include sinusitis; complaints of occasional stomach pains, belches, and dizziness, swelling, untreated, Okinawa, September 1945; and complaints of occasional heart flutter, untreated, average one per week, last one last week.     X-rays revealed a small polyp at the base of the right maxillary sinus, otherwise negative.  A chest x-ray indicated a few minute calcification in both base, otherwise negative.  That form does not indicate that the applicant had any problems with his back.  It does not show that he was wounded in action. 

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.

The American Campaign Medal is awarded for service within the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946.  Service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of 1 year entitles an individual to that award.

The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is awarded for service in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946. 

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 and the applicant has not submitted any, to show that he was wounded as a result of hostile action during his service in World War II.  There is insufficient evidence to grant his request for award of the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant has submitted neither probative evidence nor a convincing argument in support of his request.   

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.  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:  The Army Review Boards Agency in St. Louis will be requested to correct the applicant’s records to show award of the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__RNW__  __KAN__  __RTD __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002072433	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020627	
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.	61	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.