MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:           24 July 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003086416

	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. Luis Almodova		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Chairperson	
	Ms. Yolanda Maldonado		Member	
	Mr. John P. Infante		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:  In effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he would like to have the award for posterity.

COUNSEL CONTENDS:  That the veteran alleges to have been wounded in action on 14 or 15 December 1944 in Aldorff, Germany.  He was treated at an aid station close to Aldorff and was returned to the front lines.  A record documenting the injury is not in the applicant's Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claim folder; however, an examination on 2 November 2001 notes a small scarred area on the left posterior of the lower leg.

In support of his application, the applicant submitted a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge, with a date of separation of 15 November 1945; a copy of page 2 of a Department of Veteran's Affairs Ad Hoc Summary Board results, and two pictures of an individual's lower leg.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records are not available and it is believed that they were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.

Records available to the Board show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 October 1942 and entered on active duty on 27 October 1942.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he served on active duty for 3 years and 20 days of which 1 year, 8 months, and 22 days were spent in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).  He was honorably discharged in the grade of Sergeant under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365, for the convenience of the government, at demobilization, on 15 November 1945.

The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, which is authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart in block 33 (Decorations and Citations).  The separation document also shows the entry "None" in block 34 (Wounds Received in Action).  The applicant provided no orders awarding him the Purple Heart.

Block 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, shows that the applicant participated in the Northern France, Central Europe, and Rhineland Campaigns.  Block 33, of this same form, shows that the applicant was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Distinguished Unit Badge [correctly known as the Distinguished Unit Citation and now known as the Presidential Unit 

Citation], the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Belgium Fourragere, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars.  Block 55 (Remarks) shows he was issued the Lapel Discharge Button [properly known as the Honorable Service/Discharge Emblem].

No medical records were available for the Board to review.  The Hospital Admission Card Data File, created by the Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army, and made available to the National Personnel Records Center, by the National Research Council, was reviewed for any information that would indicate support for the applicant's contentions that he was wounded in action and therefore eligible for award of the Purple Heart.

The decision reached by the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) Ad Hoc Summary Board is not known.  The applicant was evaluated for scars, residuals of shell fragment wound of the left lower leg.

Pictures of an individual's lower leg submitted by the applicant do not have any identification, the date that the pictures were taken is not shown, and the source of the pictures (the photographer) is unknown.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 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, 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 Board considered the applicant's contention that he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55, prepared at the time of the applicant's separation from the Army, and which the applicant authenticated in his own hand, shows that he was not wounded in action against a hostile enemy of the United States, and therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

3.  No service medical records were available for the Board to review.  The applicant's counsel pointed out that there are no records documenting the injury in the VA claims folder. 

4.  Notwithstanding the fact that the applicant was evaluated for scars, residuals of shell fragment wound of the left lower leg, and the pictures of an individual's lower leg, purported to be that of the applicant, the standards for award of service-related compensation and award of the Purple Heart are significantly different.

5.  Review of the Hospital Admission Card Data File created by the Office of The Surgeon General failed to reveal any information showing that the applicant was wounded in action against a hostile force during World War II.  No record of any hospitalization or treatment for a wound was found.

6.  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

__ym____  ___ao___  __jpi____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003086416	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/07/24	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.