Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | Senior Analyst |
Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor | Chairperson | |
Mr. Hubert O. Fry | Member | |
Mr. Eric N. Andersen | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, award of two Purple Hearts. The applicant stated in a self-authored statement that he was severely injured by multiple shrapnel wounds during World War II and tried "many times to get any type of compensation for [his] injuries" but was unable to do so because he had no proof of any his injuries. He also notes that he was severely burned "on the liberty ship, Samuel J. Tilden due to an explosion" as the ship approached the Italian port of Bari. In support of his request he submits copies of pictures of his "Purple Heart reception" and a March 2001 local newspaper article about a bombing mission in North Africa which notes the applicant "earned a pair of Purple Hearts for injuries he sustained in combat, however, a fire destroyed records and he has never received the medals."
3. Except for partial service medical records, the applicant official military personnel records were apparently lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Information contained herein was reconstructed from information contained in those service medical records and a copy of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation).
4. The applicant entered active duty on 23 January 1942 and arrived overseas in August 1942. According to an entry in his original service medical records, he sustained second degree burns over his face and chest on 2 December 1943 as a result of enemy action during an air raid. While his service medical records also indicate that he was treated by medical personnel for a cold, the flu and a stomach disorder while in the military there is no record that he was ever treated for multiple shrapnel wounds.
5. The applicant returned to the United States in April 1945. His separation physical examination notes the treatment of the burns sustained in December 1943 but makes no mention of any other wounds or injuries and does not record any scars which could have been attributed to multiple shrapnel wounds.
6. On 16 September 1945 the applicant was discharged as a result of demobilization. His separation documents contains the entry "not available" in block 33 (decorations and citations) and block 34 (wounds received in action).
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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. While it is clear from the available evidence that the applicant's second degree burns were the result of hostile action there is no evidence which confirms he sustained any shrapnel wounds as a result of hostile action during World War II. As such it would be appropriate to award the applicant a single Purple Heart for the wounds he sustained on 2 December 1943 but no basis for any additional awards of the Purple Heart.
2. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 2 December 1943 as a result of hostile action during World War II.
2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.
BOARD VOTE:
__RVO__ __HOF__ __ENA __ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
__Raymond V. O’Connor_
CHAIRPERSON
CASE ID | AR2001057031 |
SUFFIX | |
RECON | YYYYMMDD |
DATE BOARDED | 20010726 |
TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
DISCHARGE REASON | |
BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
ISSUES 1. | 107.00 |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
6. |
ARMY | BCMR | CY2013 | 20130008734
The applicant, the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests her husband be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and correction of his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) to show this award. The FSM's military service records are not available to the Board for review. In addition, the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was wounded in action.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120001430
The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review. Regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows he sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, that he was treated by medical personnel for those wounds or injuries, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record, there is insufficient basis for awarding the Purple Heart to the applicant in this case. Therefore, the Board requests that the ARBA CMD administratively correct the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2008 | 20080014461
The applicant provides the following additional documentary evidence in support of her application: a. the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Honorable Discharge), dated 12 November 1945; b. the FSM's certificate of death, dated 17 July 2007; c. certificate of marriage, dated 9 June 1951; d. witness letter, dated 13 January 2002, from a former unit member; and e. operational history sheet of the 438th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion from April 1943 to...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 2004106971C070208
The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for review. His report of separation shows that he entered on active duty on 12 August 1943 and served in the 147th Field Artillery Battalion (158th Regimental Combat Team) in the Asiatic Pacific Theater during World War II beginning in March 1944, and returning to the United States in February 1946. Consequently, his request for award of the Purple Heart cannot be granted.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100028691
The applicant provides: * WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) * DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty)) * U.S. Air Force (USAF) WD AGO Form 53 and DD Form 214(Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) * VA Form 8-1520 (Decision of Disability Insurance Claims) * Two Internet printouts of POW Roster * Self-authored POW timelines * Letter from FSM son to his Member of Congress * Statement from...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002076211C070215
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...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2001 | 2001059886C070421
The VA Rating Decision provided by the applicant with his application indicates that the applicant’s service medical records show that he sustained frostbite to both feet in January 1945, that he was treated and that he was returned to duty. Army Regulation 600-45, the regulation in effect at the time, governed the award of the Purple Heart. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | 20070011308
The applicants military records are not available to the Board for review. It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action. Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his military records to show three bronze service stars...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002067060C070402
The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein. In the April 1945 letter the applicant wrote to his spouse, and submitted as evidence in support of his request to the Board, he wrote: The applicant returned to the United States in August 1945 and on 27 October 1945 he was discharged as a result of demobilization.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060006576C070205
He further states that his discharge document does not show the Purple Heart or the Combat Infantryman Badge but does list wounds received in action as “one.” He also states that items 40 (In your opinion will wound, injury, or disease result in Disability? The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for review. Item 4 (Arm or Service) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows his branch of service was the Medical Department.