PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF

	BOARD DATE:            26 June 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2003085520

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Mr. Lawrence Foster		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A -  Application for correction of military 
                             records
	Exhibit B -  Military Personnel Records (including
	                  advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his previous application to correct his military records by awarding him the Purple Heart (PH).  

3.  The applicant states, in response to the PH criteria cited in his original case that indicated that there must be evidence showing that the wound for which a PH is being awarded required treatment by a doctor, that he was treated by many doctors over an extended period.  He states that he was severely burned when the fuel from a gasoline can ignited when a shell exploded ten feet from his position during an enemy artillery barrage.  The applicant further states that he was treated in the field by a medical aidman (MEDIC), after which he was transported to a field hospital by ambulance.  At the hospital, he was treated by several doctors during his stay.  He further claims that while in the hospital he stayed in and out of a deep sleep as a result of the medication he was receiving. He states that he remembers being awakened from this sleep one morning and finding a major in dress uniform placing a PH at his side and congratulating him. 

4.  The Memorandum of Consideration (MOC) of the Board’s 29 October 2002 review of the case (AR2002073844) is incorporated herein by reference as if wholly set forth.

5.  The separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) issued to the applicant on the date of his discharge shows that he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 11 February 1943.  He continuously served on active duty until being honorably separated on 1 November 1945.  This document also shows that he served with the Cannon Company of the 115th Infantry Regiment in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 
3 November 1943 through 7 October 1945.  

6.  The available reconstructed record contains a military record finding report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dated 24 June 2002.  This document contains information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) for the period 1942-1945. It indicates that the applicant was hospitalized and treated for burns received from flaming liquid as a result of a gasoline explosion in June of 1944.  

7.  The reconstructed file also contains a copy of a War Department letter from The Adjutant General (TAG) of the Army to the applicant’s mother, dated 26 July 1944.  In this letter, the Army TAG confirms that the applicant had been seriously injured in action on 22 June 1944.  

8.  There are also letters on file that were sent to the applicant’s mother from the Governor and a United States Senator from the State of Illinois in September 1944.  These letters indicate that these officials had learned of the War Department’s notification that the applicant had been wounded in action while serving his country. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded to any member of an Armed Forces who, while serving in any capacity with one of the Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed as a result of hostile action by an enemy.  

10.  The awards regulation defines a wound as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained as a result of enemy action.  In order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that the wound, for which the award is being made, required treatment by a medical officer.  This treatment must be supported by records of medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action, and must have been made a matter of official record.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board notes the applicant’s claim of entitlement to the PH, and it finds this contention has merit.  By regulation, in order to support awarding the PH, it is necessary to establish that a member was wounded or injured in action, the wound or injury required treatment, and this treatment was made a matter of official record.  

2.  The OTSG hospital admission card on file confirms that the applicant was hospitalized for burns in June 1944.  In its original decision, the Board did not question the medical treatment of the applicant for these burn injuries.  However, it did determine that there was insufficient evidence to show that the applicant was injured as a result of enemy action, as opposed to being injured in a 
non-battle related accident.  

3.  During its original review of the case, the Board found the standard evidentiary records required for awarding the PH were not present.  However, it now finds that the Army TAG letter of 26 July 1944, which specifically states that the applicant was “injured in action on 22 June 1944”, provides sufficient confirmation that the applicant was categorized as a battle casualty by the War Department.  This status is further corroborated in the September 1944 letters from the Governor and a United States Senator from the State of Illinois, which both verify that they had learned of the War Department’s notification that the applicant had been wounded in action while serving his country.  

4.  In the opinion of the Board, the War Department notification to the applicant’s mother, and to government officials from the State of Illinois, that the applicant had been wounded in action while serving his country more than sufficiently corroborates the applicant’s claim that his burn injuries were received as a result of enemy action.  Therefore, the Board concludes that it would be appropriate to award him the PH at this time.  

5.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, correcting the applicant’s records as recommended below would correct an error or rectify an injustice.

RECOMMENDATION:
That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for being wounded in action on 22 June 1944, while serving as a private first class in the ETO during World War II; and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects this change.  

BOARD VOTE:

__LF__  _WTM__  __LE__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ____GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ___  DENY APPLICATION

		Walter T. Morrison
		  CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003085520	
SUFFIX		
RECON	AR2002073844	
DATE BOARDED	2003/06/	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1945/11/01	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365	
DISCHARGE REASON	Demobilization 	
BOARD DECISION	Grant 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.