| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | Senior Analyst |
| Mr. Arthur A. Omartian | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Roger W. Able | Member | |
| Ms. Karen Y. Fletcher | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: He sustained "injuries" during his military service and indicates that those injuries were the result of a "shrapnel wound on [his] right thumb and left knee." In support of his request he submits a 2001 VA decision document granting him "service connection" for a scar on his right thumb and left knee.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Information contained herein was reconstructed from information provided by the applicant.
He entered active duty in 1952 and served nearly 15 months overseas where he was awarded the Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He was released from active duty in 1954. His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 29 (wounds received as a result of hostile action with enemy forces) reflects "None."
The 2001 VA document, submitted in support of the applicant's petition, notes that the applicant claimed that scars on his thumb and knee were the result of "getting hit in the left knee and right thumb with shrapnel in the summer of 1953." He indicated to the VA that the "wounds were taped and treated in the field." The VA document also notes that the applicant's "available service medical records, including the veteran's service separation examination report, are negative for any indication that the veteran sustained wounds to the right thumb and left knee in service."
There were no medical records available to the Board.
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.
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. There is no evidence, and the applicant has not provided any, which confirms he was wounded as a result of hostile action. The VA's determination, rendered nearly 50 years after the fact, is not sufficient justification for the Board to conclude that the applicant is entitled to the Purple Heart. The requirements for award of the Purple Heart included evidence that an individual was wounded as the result of hostile action, that such wounds required treatment by a medical officer, and that such treatment was made a matter of official records. There is no evidence available to the Board which confirms any of those requirements.
2. 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 that requirement.
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
___AAO_ __RWA__ __KYF __ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2001065593 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020404 |
| 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. | 107.00 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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