RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:                       DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-01410
                                             INDEX CODE:  100
      XXXXXXX                           COUNSEL:  NONE

                                             HEARING DESIRED:  NO


MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE:  6 November 2008


________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to reflect that he was  awarded  the  Purple  Heart
(PH).

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was awarded the PH in 1944 while still in the hospital receiving  medical
treatment for wounds he received during a forced  bail-out  at  20,000  feet
when  his  aircraft  was  hit  by  enemy  flak  over  France;  however,  the
documentation never made its way into his military records.

In support of the appeal, applicant submits his  personal  statement  and  a
28 January 1944 letter indicating that on  that  date  he  was  treated  for
injuries sustained during a forced bail-out.

Applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is a former member of the Army Air Corps who served on  active
duty from 23 June 1942 to 9 September 1945 as a P-38  and  B-17  pilot.   He
served in the European Theatre of Operation from 4 November 1943 through  20
March 1945, and was awarded four Air Medals for meritorious  achievement  in
accomplishing with distinction many hours of reconnaissance operations.

On 16 May 1943, the applicant’s P-38 aircraft crashed,  and  he  received  a
severe cerebral concussion for which he was hospitalized for several weeks.

On 28 January 1944, he was hospitalized for injuries,  i.e.,  right  eyebrow
abrasion, pain in the lumbar region, and right shoulder, he received  on  25
January 1944 after bailing-out from a fighter aircraft.



The PH is awarded for wounds received as a direct  result  of  enemy  action
(i.e., gunshot  or  shrapnel  wounds,  hand-to-hand  combat  wounds,  forced
aircraft bail-out injuries, etc.) that required  or  received  treatment  by
medical personnel.

________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPPPRA recommends the application be denied, and states, in part,  that
to be awarded the PH a member must provide documentation to support  he  was
wounded as a direct result of enemy action and must have received  treatment
by medical personnel.  Official documentation in his  records  indicates  he
was involved in two aircraft incidents; however,  both  were  accidents  and
not due to enemy action.  There is no documentation to verify  that  he  was
ever injured due to enemy action.

The AFPC/DPPPRA evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit C.

________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

On the date  in  question,  his  aircraft  was  struck  by  flak  and  while
attempting to exit the aircraft, he injured his shoulder and stuck his  head
on something which knocked him out.  Due to his injured  shoulder  he  could
not initially reach the “rip cord” to deploy his parachute  and  fell  about
18,000 feet prior to doing so.  There was no ice involved in the incident.

Applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit E.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of probable error or injustice.  After  thoroughly  reviewing  the
evidence of record, we are not persuaded the wounds applicant received  meet
the criteria for award of the Purple Heart (PH).   The  PH  is  awarded  for
wounds received as a  direct  result  of  enemy  action  (i.e.,  gunshot  or
shrapnel wounds,  hand-to-hand  combat  wounds,  forced  aircraft  bail  out
injuries, etc.) that required or received treatment  by  medical  personnel.
In the applicant’s case, it is uncontested that his injuries were caused  by
forced bail out of his aircraft and that his injuries required and  received
treatment by medical personnel.   Therefore,  the  only  remaining  question
before us is whether the damage to the  aircraft  was  caused  as  a  direct
result of enemy action.  Although the  applicant  contends  the  damage  was
caused by  flak,  his  official  military  records  indicate  both  aircraft
incidents he was involved in were accidents and not as a  direct  result  of
enemy action.  In this respect, we note his records contain  a  Headquarters
8th Reconnaissance Wing letter, dated 1  April  1944,  which  indicates  the
applicant’s aircraft was damaged after  he  got  into  a  dive  due  to  ice
forming at high altitude and was forced to abandon the aircraft at  a  speed
in excess of 625 miles per hour; and that almost exactly one  year  earlier,
he  was  involved  in  a  very  severe  aircraft  accident  which  left  him
unconscious for an undetermined period.  Although  we  are  not  questioning
his recollection of the events some 60 years later,  we  must  rely  on  the
official documentation before us which indicates that his injuries were  not
the direct result of enemy action.  The  personal  sacrifice  the  applicant
has endured for his country is noted and  our  decision  should  in  no  way
lessen his extraordinary service; however, in the absence of  evidence  that
his injuries were a direct result of enemy action,  we  find  no  compelling
basis to recommend granting the relief sought in this application.

________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only  be
reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant  evidence  not
considered with this application.

________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2007-01410
in Executive Session on 11 September 2007, under the provisions of  AFI  36-
2603:

                       Mr. Wayne R. Gracie, Panel Chair
                       Ms. Josephine L. Davis, Member
                       Mr. Elwood C. Lewis, III, Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 2 May 2007.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Memo, AFPC/DPPPR, dated 17 May 07.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 1 Jun 07.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 8 Jun 07.



                                   WAYNE R. GRACIE
                                   Panel Chair