MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:           3 April 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002080451

	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. Beverly A. Young 		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	
	Mr. Patrick H. McGann		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:  Correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  That he received a Purple Heart, but it is not shown on his discharge document.  He contends that he was given a Purple Heart by a colonel while he was in a field hospital with malaria.  The applicant claims that a "red hot" piece of hand grenade got in his right wrist.  He states that he went to Australian medics who got the metal out.  He did not submit any documents in support of his application.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he was inducted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps on 21 July 1942 and entered active duty on 4 August 1942.  He completed training as a payroll clerk and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from February 1943 to approximately November 1945.  The applicant was honorably discharged from active duty on 15 November 1945.

The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), which was authenticated in his own hand at the time of his discharge from the Service, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

Item 34 (Wound Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "NONE."

Medical records from the Veterans Administration contain a WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement).  This document does not make reference to wounds sustained in combat or show wounds or injuries consistent with those received as a result of hostile action.

Form 52C, Medical Department, U.S. Army, dated 7 October 1943, shows the applicant was admitted to the 262nd Medical Station for treatment of an injury sustained in the line of duty.  This document shows the entry "Shock….WIA."  

Form 52C, Medical Department, U.S. Army, dated 9 October 1943, shows the applicant was transferred to the 3rd Field Hospital and diagnosed with "Neurosis; anxiety; moderate, severe; following bomb explosion."

The applicant's medical records also indicate that he was diagnosed as having psychoneurosis during the period October 1943 through November 1943.  

His medical records show that he was admitted to the hospital on 2 February 1944 and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

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 the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment, 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 considered the applicant's contentions that he got a piece of hand grenade in his right wrist and he was given a Purple Heart by a colonel while in a field hospital. 

2.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board which shows the applicant sustained an injury to his right wrist.

3.  The applicant signed his own discharge document which attested that he was not wounded and did not receive the Purple Heart.

4.  The Board carefully reviewed the medical documents provided by the Veterans Administration.  

5.  The Board noted that one medical document indicated that the applicant sustained a "shock" in the line of duty.  In the absence of any other corroborating evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, this medical document alone is not sufficient as the basis for award of the Purple Heart.

6.  Based on the foregoing, there is no basis for granting award of the Purple Heart in this case.

7.  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 this requirement.

8.  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

SAC____  RWA____  PHM____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002080451	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030403	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	Mr. Chun	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.