MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            10 May 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR1999034480

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		Member	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That on 12 July 1944 he was wounded in his right leg while serving as a medic.  His wound was the result of shrapnel from an artillery round.  He states that his wound was severe enough to have required treatment at the aid station.  However, he was too busy treating other soldiers to return to the aid station, so he treated himself.  Also, he had two brothers and a brother-in-law in the same theater of operations so he was concerned that his mother would have a nervous breakdown if she knew he was wounded.

In support of his application, he submits a letter from the sergeant who was the applicant’s former battalion aid station’s liaison with the aidmen attached to the rifle companies.  He states that wounded men that were sent to the aid station for treatment told him that the applicant was wounded, but was still doing his job.  When he later talked to the applicant he had told him that he was too busy patching up and sending wounded men back to the aid station to leave, so he cleaned his own wound and packed it with sulfa pouches.

The applicant also submits documents showing that he has been awarded disability ratings for both a shell fragment wound to his leg and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were not provided to the Board and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository in 1973.

The applicant submitted a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 which shows that he was inducted on active duty on 25 October 1943, was awarded the military occupational specialty of light truck driver, was awarded the Medical Badge, and served in battles and campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.  He was honorably released from active duty on 8 November 1945 by reason of demobilization.  Item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55, Wounds Received In Combat, has “None” entered.

Army Regulation 672-5-1 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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 and applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  There is no evidence of the applicant being wounded or being treated for a wound in his records.  To the contrary, the WD AGO Form 53-55, which he signed as the person being released from active duty, specifically states that he was not wounded in action.

2.  The statement provided by the applicant is not from a person who witnessed the applicant being wounded.  It was from a third party, a person who was told by another person that the applicant had been wounded.  

3.  In the absence of a first hand account of the applicant being wounded or a record of treatment by a medical officer, the Board will not recommend awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

4.  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

_mkp____  __gdp___  _tbr ____  DENY APPLICATION

						Karl F. Schneider
						Director, Army Review Boards Agency

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999034480	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000510	
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.