MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           10 July 2003       
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002080195

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy L. Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Roger W. Able		Chairperson	
	Mr. Larry C. Bergquist		Member	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		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 his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Report of Separation) be amended to add the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he believes the shrapnel injuries he received as a result of hostile action entitles him to have the Purple Heart added to his DD Form 214.  He provides two witness statements as supporting evidence.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.

The applicant was inducted into the Army on 9 September 1943 and entered active duty on 30 September 1943.  He arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 6 August 1944.

The applicant provides a 6 January 1985 statement from an individual who states he served with the applicant in the 173d Engineer Combat Battalion in the Battle of Okinawa.  He states that he and the applicant became foxhole mates when they landed on Okinawa on 1 April 1945.  They were together in the same emplacement on the night of 16 May 1945 when enemy explosives ripped apart their cover in a hail of shrapnel.  He was wounded and required immediate attention.  The applicant was lucky to survive since he was one position closer to the detonation.  Although the applicant was hurt himself, he helped evacuate (the individual) and others back from the area of the explosion.  

The applicant provides another, undated statement from a U. S. Marine who states he met the applicant "at mobile hospital unit the night of the kamikaze attack in the early part of May.  We were both hurt but we helped some other boys there that night…"

The applicant departed the theater of operations on an unknown date.  He arrived in the States on 5 March 1946.  He was separated on 12 March 1946.

Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was wounded.  

A review of the historical files of the 173d Engineer Combat Battalion at the National Archives in College Park, MD failed to identify the applicant as being entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 Board has considered the two statements provided by the applicant in support of his request for the Purple Heart but determined they are insufficient to support award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment.  In addition, it appears to the Board that the two supporting statements describe two different events.  One statement describes an explosion at an emplacement and the other statement describes a kamikaze attack at a hospital unit.

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

__rwa___  __lcb___  __bje___  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR202080195	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030710	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Chun	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.