MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            25 July 2000               
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999032270

	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. Ted S. Kanamine		Chairperson	
	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Member	
	Mr. John H. Kern		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:  That the Purple Heart be listed on his separation document.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was wounded in action and received a Purple Heart from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars after he was discharged.

In support of his request, he has included a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation and a copy of the Veterans Administration (VA) Award of Disability Compensation or Pension, dated 23 July 1946, awarding him disability for a gunshot wound to the left foot.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information herein was derived from the documentation furnished by the applicant.

His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows that he was inducted on 12 May 1944, awarded the military occupational specialty of rifleman and served in the European Theater of Operations from March 1945 to May 1945.  He was honorably separated at demobilization on 6 May 1946 in the grade of corporal.

His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

The WD AGO Form 53-55, which he authenticated at the time of his separation from active duty, does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  Item 34 (wounds received in action) contains the entry “None”.

The VA Award of Disability Compensation or Pension form shows that he was awarded a disability pension for an injury held to have been incurred during his WWII service.  The injury identified was a gunshot wound left foot, perforating, residual compound fracture of metatarsal.  No further explanation of the injury or the circumstances of its occurrence are indicated.

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.

Subsequent to the cessation of hostilities during World War II, the regulation governing the award of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) was changed, in part, to provide for the award of this decoration to those individuals who had been awarded the CIB or the Combat Medical Badge for meritorious achievement in ground combat against the armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 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.  The evidence submitted by the applicant from the VA confirms that he was awarded compensation for the wounds to his left foot which, they have attributed to his service.  However, the VA determination does not establish and the applicant has submitted no substantiation evidence that the injury was a result of hostile action, a prerequisite for the Purple Heart.  Without such evidence there is no basis for this Board to award the Purple Heart.

2.  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 satisfies this requirement.

3.  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 Board Agency Support Division, St. Louis will be requested to issue a correction to the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 showing that he was awarded the BSM based on his having received the CIB during his WWII service.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__tsk____  ____sk__  __jhk ___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999032270	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000725	
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.