| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mrs. Nancy L. Amos | Analyst |
| Mr. Roger W. Able | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Larry C. Bergquist | Member | |
| Ms. Barbara J. Ellis | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: That his WD AGO Form 53-55 (Report of Separation) be amended to add the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: That he believes the shrapnel injuries he received as a result of hostile action entitles him to have the Purple Heart added to his DD Form 214. He provides two witness statements as supporting evidence.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973. Information contained herein was obtained from the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55.
The applicant was inducted into the Army on 9 September 1943 and entered active duty on 30 September 1943. He arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 6 August 1944.
The applicant provides a 6 January 1985 statement from an individual who states he served with the applicant in the 173d Engineer Combat Battalion in the Battle of Okinawa. He states that he and the applicant became foxhole mates when they landed on Okinawa on 1 April 1945. They were together in the same emplacement on the night of 16 May 1945 when enemy explosives ripped apart their cover in a hail of shrapnel. He was wounded and required immediate attention. The applicant was lucky to survive since he was one position closer to the detonation. Although the applicant was hurt himself, he helped evacuate (the individual) and others back from the area of the explosion.
The applicant provides another, undated statement from a U. S. Marine who states he met the applicant "at mobile hospital unit the night of the kamikaze attack in the early part of May. We were both hurt but we helped some other boys there that night…"
The applicant departed the theater of operations on an unknown date. He arrived in the States on 5 March 1946. He was separated on 12 March 1946.
Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was wounded.
A review of the historical files of the 173d Engineer Combat Battalion at the National Archives in College Park, MD failed to identify the applicant as being entitled to award of the Purple Heart.
Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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.
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 Board has considered the two statements provided by the applicant in support of his request for the Purple Heart but determined they are insufficient to support award of the Purple Heart.
2. Statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment. In addition, it appears to the Board that the two supporting statements describe two different events. One statement describes an explosion at an emplacement and the other statement describes a kamikaze attack at a hospital unit.
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___ __lcb___ __bje___ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR202080195 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030710 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | Mr. Chun |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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