MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            3 August 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999034199

	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. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Mr. Edwin S. Castle		Member	
	Mr. Orville W. Troesch, 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 he was asked at the time of his discharge if he had been wounded during his service.  He answered yes, that he had grenade fragments in the neck.  The individual completing the form did not put this in his record at the time of discharge; he looked at the applicant’s neck, acknowledged that he had a scar on the neck but nothing was put on the discharge.  The applicant contends that he spent 10 days in the 107th Field Hospital at Hollandia, Dutch Guinea.

In support of his request, he has included a copy of a letter from the Veterans Administration (VA) dated 8 November 1945 awarding him disability compensation or pension for malaria.  The VA also recognized a small scar on the back of the neck and a skin condition as service related but not pensionable.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

He was inducted on 6 January 1942 and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations as a rifleman from April 1942 to May 1945.  His unit is listed as Company E, 127th Infantry.  He was honorably discharged at demobilization on 27 May 1945 in the grade of staff sergeant.

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Three Bronze Service Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button and the Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation Badge.

His Report of Separation (WD AGO Form 53-55) does not list the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Block 34 (wounds received in action) of the form contains the entry “None”.

Information obtain from the Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General for the years 1944 and 1945 show that the applicant was admitted in August 1944 and again in March 1945 for the treatment of malaria.

A copy of the 20 October 1944 morning report for Company E, 127th Infantry contains a notation in the record of events section that the applicant was accidentally seriously wounded in the right side of the neck by shrapnel from a rifle grenade which fell short during training.

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 facts in this case show that the applicant was not wounded as a result of hostile action but rather in a training accident.  Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart for the shrapnel wound to his neck. 

2.  Accidental injuries received in a combat zone, 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.  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

___jns  __  ___esc__  ___owt __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999034199	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000803	
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.