MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  10 June 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2002081927

	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. Vic Whitney		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler		Chairperson	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		Member	
	Ms. Shirley Powell		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:  In two previous letters, that he was wounded in the head in June 1944 by a sniper bullet during the Normandy invasion.  He states that it is the fault of the Army that there are no records available of his wound and that what is available is not correct.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Records made available from alternate sources show:

The applicant was inducted and entered active duty on 20 December 1943.  He completed combat intelligence school in May 1944 and arrived in the European Theater on 1 July 1944.

Copies of hospital reports from 3 through 31 March 1945, show that the applicant was hospitalized for a line of duty illness.  A unit morning report for the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment states that he was an infantry private assigned to Company A, and was being further assigned to an unknown hospital detachment of patients as a non-battle casualty effective 21 March 1945.

The Army Surgeon General's hospital admissions cards for 1944 and 1945 show the applicant listed as admitted to a general hospital on 19 November 1944 for Hypothyroidism, a disease that existed prior to his entry on active duty.  The information also shows that he was discharged in April 1945 as a result of a disability, not in the line of duty, after 162 days in the hospital.

The applicant's Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge shows that he departed the European Theater on 1 January 1945 and that he was discharged from the Rhoads General Hospital on 30 April 1945 with a Certificate of Disability for Discharge.  The applicant authenticated his discharge with his thumbprint and signature.  The remarks block shows that this discharge document was prepared from temporary records and the service member's statements.  There is no WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) in the available records.

Army Regulations provide, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound or injury 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 has noted the applicant's contentions and understands the difficulty of presenting his case in the absence of official records.  However, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Board must presume administratively regularity in the records that do exist.

2.  All of the available medical evidence shows that the applicant was hospitalized and discharged for an illness, not a wound or injury as a result of enemy action.  There remains insufficient evidence available to the Board to recommend an award of the Purple Heart.

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 this 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

__sc____  __jm____  __sp____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081927	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2030610	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.