MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:    

	BOARD DATE:         8 August 2002                    
	DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002073944

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		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:  Reconsideration of his earlier appeal to correct his military records by showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries suffered during World War II. 

APPLICANT STATES:  Through his elected representative, that his case should be reconsidered based upon a letter provided by a retired colonel who was present at the time of the incident.

NEW EVIDENCE OR INFORMATION:  Incorporated herein by reference are military records, which were summarized in a memorandum prepared to reflect the Board's previous consideration of the case (AR2000047383) on 30 January 2001.

The letter provided by the applicant is considered new evidence that requires Board consideration.

The letter is from a now retired colonel who was an Army captain at the time of the incident in which the applicant was burned while destroying excess ammunition propellant found in an enemy gun position.  The colonel states that during the course of the cleanup a fire erupted injuring several soldiers.  He goes on to say that the soldiers who were hurt were highly trained artillerymen and their injuries, he believes, were not the result of carelessness.  The applicant is not mentioned by name as one of the injured soldiers.

The applicant’s medical treatment card shows that he was treated for 1st and 2nd degree burns to the buttocks, back, neck, elbows and hands, bilaterally on 31 July 1943.  The physician’s statement of the circumstances of the injury indicates that the applicant was injured “when soldier was helping to burn gun powder when they dumped a cart of powder on a spark and which set fire to powder before soldier could get away causing burns…”

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 by a medical officer, 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.  The supporting letter submitted in behalf of the applicant’s request for reconsideration is insufficient as a basis to award the Purple Heart in that the individual making the statement was not an eyewitness to the event nor does he identify the applicant specifically as being involved in the mishap.
2.  Furthermore, the circumstances of the applicant’s burns as described by the treating physician (the only such documentary evidence found in the record) indicate that the incident was more likely the result of an accident than combat action.  Accidental injuries, even though they may occur in a combat zone, that are not directly attributable to an act of the enemy, are not considered wounds received in action and do not entitle the individual to the Purple Heart.

3.  The overall merits of the case, including the latest submissions and arguments are insufficient as a basis for the Board to reverse its previous decision.

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

___mvt___  ___le___  ___rjw___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002073944	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020808	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	 	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.