MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:           07 MARCH 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001066049

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that he sustained a small shrapnel wound to his back "on or about 13 January 1945."  He notes that he was riding in the "rear of a 2 1/2 ton truck when it struck a mine, covered by snow, under the left rear wheel."  He states that the explosion threw him to the "top of the canvas-covered top" and that "a mine fragment had blown a 12" diameter hole out of [his] overcoat."  He states the company's "Aid Man" who was assisted by the "Aid Man for I Company" treated him.  In support of his request he submits his self-authored statement, a statement, authored in 2001, from the "Aid Man for I Company," and an extract from his unit's written history.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources, including information provided by the applicant.

The applicant entered active duty on 24 September 1943 and served in the European Theater of Operations between October 1944 and July 1945.  He was discharged from active duty on 7 February 1946 as a result of demobilization.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 34 (wounds received in action) reflects "None."  The applicant authenticated the separation report.

The statement, authored by the "Aid Man for I Company," indicates, in effect, that he recalled "when a land mine went off, 3 or 4 men were hit" and that he and another soldier "patched them up."  He states that he talked with the applicant "and the story he tells is much the same as I remember."  He states he believes the applicant was one of the men he treated and that he should be entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.

The unit history, provided by the applicant, discusses the units action in January 1945 but does not mention the applicant by name, nor recount any land mine accidents similar to the one the applicant maintains he was wounded in.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 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, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded: 

1.  There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any, which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  The statement submitted in support of the applicant's request was rendered more than 50 years after the fact, and the author bases his contention that the applicant should be awarded the Purple Heart because he “believes” the applicant may have been one of the soldiers he treated during World War II.  However, the Board notes that a requirement for award of the Purple Heart is that it required treatment by a medical officer.  

2.  Additionally, statements rendered years after the fact, which are not supported by information from any official source, and are inconsistent with information contained in official documents, are not sufficient for the Board to conclude that an award of the Purple Heart would be appropriate.  

3.  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 that requirement.

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

__RVO__  __JPI   __  __RKS __  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001066049	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020307	
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.