MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           12 SEPTEMBER 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002073217

	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:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. William D. Powers		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 injured while in the service.  He provides a copy of a 2 October 2001 VA rating decision to support his request.

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 Separation), shows that the applicant was inducted into the Army on 15 April 1943, served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II from January 1944 to December 1945, and was discharged on 6 January 1946.  That form shows the applicant’s organization as the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment; that he participated in the New Guinea and Southern Philippines campaigns; and that he was awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze stars, the Marksman Badge with rifle bar, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button for World War II.  That form does not show award of the Purple Heart, nor does it show that he was wounded in action.  

On 21 December 1992 the Army Reserve Personnel Center at St. Louis authorized the issuance to the applicant of the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars and one arrowhead, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp, the Philippine Liberation Medal with two bronze service stars, the Honorable Service Lapel Button for World War II, and the Marksman Badge with rifle bar.  It also informed him that he was authorized the Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.

In a 2 October 2001 rating decision, the VA indicated that the applicant stated that while aboard a LST (landing ship, tank), they were hit by a 75 mm [round], and that he had blood all over himself, but did not realize that he had been hit.  The VA indicated that his service medical records showed no evidence of treatment for wounds to the head.  The VA indicated that a 21 August 2001 examination showed that the applicant had a small retained shrapnel in his left face, and stated that the evidence showed that the applicant possibly suffered from a wound to the left side of the head while in the service.

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).  The availability of the information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various veterans service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean war.  Information from those hospital cards shows that the applicant was treated in August and in September 1944, both times for non-battle related diseases.  Searches of these files fail to show that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of enemy 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 Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register shows that the 
532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment participated in three assault landings, two in New Guinea in April and May 1994, and one in Leyte Island in October 1944.  That organization was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its actions from October 1944 to July 1945.  It served as an occupation force in Japan from 25 November to 5 December 1945. 

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.  Notwithstanding the information provided in the VA rating decision, there is no evidence to show that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action.  There is insufficient evidence to grant the applicant’s 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 is requested to correct the applicant’s records to show award of the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars and one arrowhead, the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp, and the Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JNS   _  __DPH __  __WDP__  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002073217	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020912	
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.