| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Beverly A. Young | Analyst |
| Mr. Samuel A. Crumpler | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Roger W. Able | Member | |
| Mr. Patrick H. McGann | Member |
APPLICANT REQUESTS: Correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart.
APPLICANT STATES: That he received a Purple Heart, but it is not shown on his discharge document. He contends that he was given a Purple Heart by a colonel while he was in a field hospital with malaria. The applicant claims that a "red hot" piece of hand grenade got in his right wrist. He states that he went to Australian medics who got the metal out. He did not submit any documents in support of his application.
EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that he was inducted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps on 21 July 1942 and entered active duty on 4 August 1942. He completed training as a payroll clerk and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations from February 1943 to approximately November 1945. The applicant was honorably discharged from active duty on 15 November 1945.
The applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation), which was authenticated in his own hand at the time of his discharge from the Service, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
Item 34 (Wound Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "NONE."
Medical records from the Veterans Administration contain a WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement). This document does not make reference to wounds sustained in combat or show wounds or injuries consistent with those received as a result of hostile action.
Form 52C, Medical Department, U.S. Army, dated 7 October 1943, shows the applicant was admitted to the 262nd Medical Station for treatment of an injury sustained in the line of duty. This document shows the entry "Shock….WIA."
Form 52C, Medical Department, U.S. Army, dated 9 October 1943, shows the applicant was transferred to the 3rd Field Hospital and diagnosed with "Neurosis; anxiety; moderate, severe; following bomb explosion."
The applicant's medical records also indicate that he was diagnosed as having psychoneurosis during the period October 1943 through November 1943.
His medical records show that he was admitted to the hospital on 2 February 1944 and was diagnosed with pneumonia.
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.
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 considered the applicant's contentions that he got a piece of hand grenade in his right wrist and he was given a Purple Heart by a colonel while in a field hospital.
2. There is no evidence of record available to the Board which shows the applicant sustained an injury to his right wrist.
3. The applicant signed his own discharge document which attested that he was not wounded and did not receive the Purple Heart.
4. The Board carefully reviewed the medical documents provided by the Veterans Administration.
5. The Board noted that one medical document indicated that the applicant sustained a "shock" in the line of duty. In the absence of any other corroborating evidence of record which shows that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, this medical document alone is not sufficient as the basis for award of the Purple Heart.
6. Based on the foregoing, there is no basis for granting award of the Purple Heart in this case.
7. 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 this requirement.
8. 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
SAC____ RWA____ PHM____ DENY APPLICATION
| CASE ID | AR2002080451 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 20030403 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR . . . . . |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | DENY |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | Mr. Chun |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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