RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        19 JULY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040010333


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ted Kanamine                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. John Meixell                  |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Lawrence Foster               |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that his wounds were contracted during his service
in Africa.  The enlisted record which indicates that it was unknown whether
or not he was wounded while in the service was erroneous.  He states that
he was bombed while in a fox hole.

3.  The applicant provides the documents depicted herein.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 18 December 1943.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 8 November 2004.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
are sufficient documents available for the Board to conduct a fair and
impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant’s enlisted record shows that enlisted in the Army on 14
January 1942, arrived in England in June 1942, and left Oran in Africa on 9
September 1943, returning to the United States on 23 September 1943.  That
record contains the remark, “unknown,” in the space provided for “Wounds
received in service.”  He was discharged at McCloskey General Hospital in
Temple, Texas on 18 December 1943.

5.  The applicant’s medical records are extensive, and they show:

      a.  A 19 June 1943 medical record, which indicates that the applicant
was assigned to 414th Bomber Squadron, and was in observation for epilepsy,
in that he had a convulsion in the squadron area.  The time of the incident
was 1100 hours.

      b.  A 26 June 1943 medical record shows that he was admitted to the
 26th General Hospital with a diagnosis of hemorrhage, intracerebral, due
to rupture of aneurysm of middle cerebral artery, cause undetermined, exact
time of occurrence unknown.


      c.  A disposition board convened at the 26th General Hospital on
      15 August 1943.  The proceedings of the board indicate that on 20
June 1943 the applicant had an epileptiform seizure, characterized by a
tremor in his left hand that spread to involve the left leg; that he fell
to the ground and was unconscious for 45 minutes.  Ever since, he had
weakness which progressed so that when he was admitted to the hospital on
26 June 1943 he was unable to walk or use his left arm.  His condition was
diagnosed as hemorrhage, intracerebral, due to rupture of aneurysm of
middle cerebral artery, cause undetermined, exact time of occurrence
unknown.  The board opined that the applicant was unfit for military
service in the theater of operations, and recommended that he be returned
to the United States.


      d.  In a 23 October 1943 letter to the Commanding General, Eighth
Service Command in Dallas, Texas, a Medical Corps colonel requested
authority to transfer the applicant to McCloskey General Hospital.  In
doing so, he cited the applicant’s clinical history, stating that on 20
June 1943, while stationed in Tunis, the applicant had an epileptiform
seizure which was characterized by a tremor in his left hand and leg, and
that he fell to the ground and was unconscious for forty-five minutes.  He
was transferred to the 26th General Hospital where a craniotomy was
performed, later transferred to the 151st Station Hospital, and finally
evacuated to the United States.


      e.  A clinical record prepared at Harmon General Hospital in Longview,
Texas indicates that the applicant was transferred to McCloskey General
Hospital in October 1943, and his condition was diagnosed as indicated
above, with the additional diagnosis of hemiplegia, left, result of
hemorrhage, intracerebral.


      f.  On 14 December 1943 a board of medical officers met at McCloskey
General Hospital and determined that the applicant was unfit for service
because of hemiplegia, left, severe, secondary to rupture of congenital
aneurysm, acute, manifested by weakness and stiffness of left upper and
left lower extremities.  The board recommended that the applicant be
discharged because of his disability.  The applicant was discharged with a
certificate of disability.

6.  On 26 February 1944 the Veterans Administration (VA) notified the
applicant that he was awarded a pension in the amount of $100.00 because of
his disability – hemiplegia, left.

7.  On 7 July 1958 a doctor in Albuquerque, New Mexico provided the VA
information concerning the applicant’s medical condition, and in so doing
stated that he examined the applicant regarding old injuries to his left
leg and left arm resulting from a bombing during the war.

8.  In a 15 April 1959 letter to the VA, a doctor of the Gallup Medical
Clinic in Gallup, New Mexico provided information concerning the
applicant’s medical condition.

9.  On 26 September 1960 a doctor in Gallup, New Mexico, commenting on the
applicant’s medical condition, stated, “He was injured by a bomb explosion
during the war,” and, “In view of the fact that this man’s injuries are
definitely traceable to battlefield action, I feel that he should be given
the benefit of doubt and be allowed compensation for the loss of function
in both left leg and arm.”

10.  On 24 August 1961 the VA certified that the applicant was receiving
special monthly compensation of account of loss of use of one hand.

11.  A 26 October 1999 computer printout shows that the applicant was
receiving a 100 percent disability rating for loss of use of one hand and
one foot.


12.  In response to a request from the applicant’s daughter, the National
Personnel Records Center informed her on 4 April 2001 that the applicant’s
records showed that he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while on duty, and
that his records did not show that it was caused as a direct result of
hostile action.  She was further informed that there was no record showing
that his medical problem was a result of a blow to the head or a wound
obtained in action, and thus, the Purple Heart could not be authorized.


13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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 AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s extensive medical records show that he suffered an
epileptic-type seizure on 19 June 1943, which eventually resulted in the
loss of his left arm and leg.  Despite the applicant’s contentions,
however, there is no evidence to show that this seizure was caused by enemy
action.  None of the medical documents shown indicate that he was wounded
as a result of hostile action – that a bomb or bombs caused him to have
this seizure.

2.  The statements made by two doctors, one in July 1958 and the other in
September 1960 are noted; however, there appears to be no basis in fact for
those statements.

3.  There is insufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded
as a result of hostile action – that his seizure in June 1943 was caused by
an enemy bomb or bombs.  Consequently, the applicant is not entitled to
award of the Purple Heart.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 18 December 1943, the date of his
separation from active duty.  The ABCMR was not established until 2 January
1947.  As a result, the time for the applicant to file a request for
correction of any error or injustice expired on 1 January 1950.  The
applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not
provided a compelling explanation or evidence to show that it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___TK  __  ___JM __  ___LF  __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board
determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis
for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  _____ Ted Kanamine_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040010333                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050719                                |
|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.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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