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Decision Text

ARMY | BCMR | CY1990-1993 | 9308952c
Original file (9308952c.rtf) Auto-classification: Approved
2. The applicant requests that his military records be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in World War II.
3. He states that although his request for the Purple Heart has been refused before he now has evidence to prove that his wounds were the result of enemy action. In support of his request he has provided a copy of a letter from a witness and an extract from a book identifying him by name and the circumstances of his injury.

4. The applicant was injured on or about 15 November 1944 in Myitkyina, Burma. The official records state that he severely fractured a tooth, and suffered other facial and head injuries when the nozzle of an air hose flew up and struck him in the face. As a result of his injury, he was evacuated to Calcutta, India for treatment where the foregoing entry was made in his medical records approximately 9 days following the event.

5. Information provided by the applicant in the form of a witness statement and an extract from a book entitled, “I’ll Never Forget”, detailing the activities of his unit in Myitkyina, Burma, confirm that his injuries were caused in the manner described in the medical report. However, the documentation he has provided goes on to describe the circumstances under which the air hose struck him. It appears that the underlying cause of his injury was that the jack hammer he was operating struck an enemy mine causing the air hose to disconnect and hit him in the face.

6. On 26 January 1994 this Board denied his request for the Purple Heart because it was not filed in a timely manner and lacked corroborating evidence.

7. Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.


CONCLUSIONS :

1. Although this Board previously denied the applicant’s request for the Purple Heart, evidence now available suggests that the full circumstances of his injury were not known at the time the injury was recorded in the medical records or at the time this Board rendered its decision.

2. Considering the uncertainty surrounding his injury, it would be appropriate to give the applicant the benefit of the doubt and award the Purple Heart in this case.

3. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION :

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in Burma on or about 15 November 1944.

BOARD VOTE :

GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

GRANT FORMAL HEARING

DENY APPLICATION




                 
                  CHAIRPERSON

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