| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. William Blakely | Analyst |
| Mr. Roger W. Able | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Richard T. Dunbar | Member | |
| Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr. | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).
APPLICANT STATES: That he was injured due to a collision with an enemy plane while on a reconnaissance mission. He states that he is eligible to be awarded the PH. In support of his application he submits a letter from the Total Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM), a copy of the letter requesting congressional assistance, and WD AGO Form 53-98 (Military Record and Report of Separation Certificate of Service).
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:
The applicant entered the Army on 26 Aug 1943 and served as a field artillery unit commander. His highest rank attained was first lieutenant.
On 31 December 1944 while taking off in a cub plane as an aerial observer near Marche, Belgium, the plane the applicant was occupying accidentally collided with a landing plane and caught fire. The applicant sustained 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns and deformity to his face, scalp and legs.
The applicant’s injuries resulted in a Disposition Board Proceedings for Officers being convened on 12 February 1947. The Disposition Board Proceedings for Officers noted that the applicant’s injuries were accidentally incurred and recommended that the applicant appear before an Army Retiring Board. He appeared before the Army Retiring Board on 13 March 1947. The Army Retiring Board approved the findings of the Disposition Board Proceedings for Officers. The applicant was permanently retired from the Army by reason of physical disability (70%) on 15 June 1947.
The letter provided by the applicant indicated PERSCOM denied his request to be awarded the PH. PERSCOM opined that the applicant’s personal statements and the Disposition Board Proceeding for Officers indicated that the plane occupied by the applicant, averted collision with an aircraft that was landing and crashed. Also, the applicant’s wounds were not caused by direct result of enemy action, but because of an aircraft accident.
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.
Included as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1994 was an amendment to the rules governing award of the Purple Heart. While the original rules established that the Purple Heart would be awarded to individual's killed or wounded as a result of hostile action the amendment enabled the Secretaries of each department to award the Purple Heart to members of the armed forces who were killed or wounded in action by weapon fire, while directly engaged in armed conflict, other than as the result of an act of an enemy of the United States. This ruling, in effect, granted the service Secretaries the authority to award the Purple Heart to individuals directly engaged in armed conflict who were killed or wounded as a result of "friendly fire."
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 evidence of records shows that the applicant’s injuries were the result of an aircraft accident not the result of hostile enemy action and as such he is not entitled to the PH.
2. The Board found no evidence nor has the applicant provided evidence that would award him the PH in accordance with the amendment to the rules governing the award of the PH.
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___ __RTD___ __DPH___ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2001051125 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20010412 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
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| 6. |
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090010365
The material evidence presented to the VA shows that the applicant was wounded on 28 March 1945 by an accidental discharge from a U.S. Army Soldier's pistol. Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), then in effect, which governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951, stated the Purple Heart was awarded to citizens of the United States serving with the Army, who are wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a direct result of an act of such enemy, provided...
AF | BCMR | CY2011 | BC-2011-01938
He believes it is not intended that such a strict interpretation of the requirement for the wound or injury to be caused by direct result of hostile action be taken that it would preclude the award being made to deserving personnel. Commanders must also take into consideration the circumstances surrounding an injury even if it appears to meet the criteria. In support of his request, the applicant provides an SF Form 502, Medical Record - Narrative Summary, dated 15 Jul 67. ...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080015811
The FSM's military service records are not available to the Board for review. There are no orders in the FSMs available military service records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart. There is no evidence the FSM was awarded the Purple Heart.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2015 | 20150000163
There is no evidence of record that shows he was injured or wounded as a result of hostile action or that he was awarded the Purple Heart. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. In this case, the evidence of record shows the applicant was involved in an accidental discharge of a weapon by another Soldier and he later received treatment for this injury.
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2004-00937
_________________________________________________________________ AIR FORCE EVALUATION: HQ AFPC/DPPPR advises that, to be awarded the PH, a member must provide detailed evidence/documentation to support he was wounded as a direct result of enemy action and received treatment by medical personnel. By the time he was liberated from the POW camp nine months later, his wounds had healed and no further treatment was necessary. Exhibit E. Letter, Applicant, dated 13 Jun 04, w/atchs.
The applicant has not provided any documentation showing that he received medical treatment for either injury and there is no documentation in his medical file mentioning either of these injuries. Therefore, we conclude that any doubt should be resolved in this applicant’s favor and recommend he be awarded the PH for injuries sustained after bailing out of his B-24 bomber on 9 Feb 45. Exhibit C. Letter, HQ AFPC/DPPPR, dated 31 Jul 02, w/atchs.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2003 | 2003089881C070403
The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in December 1944 and January 1945 when the Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) ships Oryoku Maru and Enoura Maru were sunk by United States planes. Accordingly, the Board finds that the applicant was entitled to be awarded two awards of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained as a result of enemy action on 15 December 1944 and 9 January 1945, while serving in the rank of 1LT and in a POW status. RECOMMENDATION : That all of the Department of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120018508
The sworn statement he provided shows the convoy was hit with RPG's after the collision. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows: * injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action * injury caused by enemy-placed mine or trap *...
AF | BCMR | CY2004 | BC-2003-04015
After thoroughly reviewing the evidence of record and noting the statement from the former POW, the majority of the Board is not persuaded the applicant was wounded as a direct result of enemy action. The applicant is a former Army Air Corps B-17, Flying Fortress, navigator who seeks award of the Purple Heart (PH) for wounds received during a bombing mission over Berlin, Germany, on 20 February 1944. The majority of the panel finds insufficient evidence to demonstrate that he was injured...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130018947
The applicant, the son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM's records to show he was wounded by "friendly fire" and awarded the Purple Heart. The FSM's military service records are not available to the Board for review. The evidence of record shows that both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force award approval authorities considered the evidence and determined there was insufficient available evidence to award the FSM the Purple Heart.