MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            2 April 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001065867

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

	The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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 her deceased husband, a former service 
member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That her husband was wounded on the island of Luzon during World War II and was never awarded the Purple Heart.  She further states that he was shot in the head and elbow, that he was discharged from the hospital and lived his entire life as a 100% disabled veteran.  She also states that he lived with pain and the Purple Heart was not foremost in his thoughts.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The FSM’s military records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, which destroyed millions of service records.  However, information obtained from alternative sources show:

He was inducted in Chicago, Illinois on 29 December 1944 and departed for the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations (SWPTO) on 14 June 1945.  He arrived there on 8 July 1945 and served as a medium tank crewman in the 637th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

Information obtained from the hospital admission files of the Department of the Army, Office of the Surgeon General, indicate that he was declared a non-battle casualty on 16 August 1945, for a compound fracture of the ulna shaft.  He was also diagnosed with conversion reaction.  The causative agent was a mechanism of a firearm.  The injury was determined not to be in line of duty.

He departed the SWPTO on 13 September 1945 and was assigned to Vaughn General Hospital in Illinois.  He remained there until he was honorably discharged on 25 January 1946, under the provisions of Army Regulation      615-361, by reason of disability.  He had served 1 year and 27 days of total active service.

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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was 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.  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.
2.  Although the amount of evidence in this case is very limited, the available evidence of record found in his case clearly indicates that the FSM was not wounded/injured as a result of enemy action.  While the evidence shows that his wounds/injuries were treated by medical personnel and made a matter of official record, they also show that it was not a combat related injury. 

3.  Accordingly, absent evidence to the contrary, the Board finds no basis to award him the Purple Heart for his injuries during World War II.

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

__wtm___  __clg____  ___wtm_  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001065867	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2002/04/02	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/PH	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.