RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           23 August 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR20040010548


      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. Jessie B. Strickland          |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen A. Newman            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Marla J. N. Troup             |     |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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds
received in action during World War II.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded by sniper fire in the left arm
during a firefight in Palermo, Sicily, and never received the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his report of separation (WD AGO Form
  53-55), a copy of his induction order and a copy of his Separation
Qualification Record (WD AGO Form 100).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

2.  He was born on 22 August 1924 and was inducted in Richmond, Virginia,
on 16 February 1943.  He completed his training as a rifleman and departed
for North Africa on 18 June 1943.  He arrived in North Africa on 25 June
1943 and participated in the Sicilian, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern
France, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns.

3.  He attained the rank of private first class and departed the European-
African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater of Operations on 13 November 1945.
He arrived in the United States on 24 November 1945 and was honorably
discharged at Fort Meade, Maryland on 22 November 1945.  He was awarded the
Good Conduct Medal, the EAME Theater Service Ribbon, the American Theater
Service Ribbon, the Expert Infantryman Badge, and the WWII Victory Medal.
His unit was listed as Company C, 474th Infantry Regiment.

4.  In item 34 of his WD AGO Form 53-55, under Wounds Received in Action,
is the entry “None”.  That form was also authenticated by the applicant at
the time of his separation.


5.  Information from the Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of
the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, for the period of 1942 to 1945
shows that the applicant had previously been treated for a bullet wound to
the arm.  The wound was declared a non-battle injury occurring while
handling firearms, ammunition, etc., on post or in camp (cleaning gun, on
range, etc.).  He was again readmitted to the hospital on 14 January 1944
for treatment of a wound infection that resulted from his previous
treatment and was also classified as a non-battle injury.

6.  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 a
result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a
medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of
official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence of record does establish that the applicant was
treated for a bullet wound to the arm.  However, it does not establish the
date of his wound and the available evidence surrounding the circumstances
of his wound indicate that it was a non-battle injury that occurred while
handing firearms.

2.  Inasmuch as the Purple Heart is only awarded to those Soldiers who are
wounded as a result of enemy action and for which treatment was made a
matter of record, it must be presumed that the proper determination was
made at the time that his wound did not qualify for award of the Purple
Heart.

3.  Therefore, absent evidence to show that he was wounded as a result of
enemy action, there appears to be no basis to award him the Purple Heart at
this time.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__kan___  __wdp___  __mjnt__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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.




                 Kathleen A. Newman
            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040010548                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050823                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES                  |61/PH                                   |
|1.107.0015              |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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