MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            3 May 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999033048

	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. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. John H. Kern		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		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 she was assigned to a Field Hospital in direct support of the troops during the taking of Saipan during World War II. She states that she believes the Army was not ready at that time to acknowledge women were not only in the immediate area of combat, but also were being wounded. Further, the applicant states that she was wounded by enemy action and that this fact was not addressed by her command.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that she entered active duty on 1 June 1943. She served as an operating room nurse in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from 12 November 1943 to 23 October 1945. The applicant was separated from active duty on 19 January 1946.

The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation), which was authenticated in her own hand at the time of her separation from the Army, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. Her discharge document also shows the entry “None” in item 30 (Wounds Received in Action).

The applicant submitted a 1999 DVA rating decision which shows that she is currently evaluated 10 percent disabled for residuals of a grenade wound and was seeking an increased evaluation. The results of the DVA examination stated: “Fin’al impression is shrapnel wound to the right thigh, through-and-through, with no residual function deficit.” The 10 percent rating was continued.

The applicant also submitted a picture showing a white bandage on her right leg.

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.  There is no evidence in the service records available to the Board which shows that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action.

2.  The applicant has not provided service medical records or personnel records, which were prepared at the time of the event in question, showing that she was wounded as a result of hostile action.

3.  The applicant authenticated her discharge document attesting to the fact that she was not authorized award of the Purple Heart and attesting to the fact she received no wounds in action.

4.  The DVA rating decision and the picture submitted by the applicant are not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart in view of the military record which shows she was not entitled to the Purple Heart and was not wounded.

5.  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 the aforementioned requirement.

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

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.