RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:                                        26 OCTOBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:                         AR20050001540


      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:

|     |Mr. James Vick                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Conrad Meyer                  |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Linda Barker                  |     |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 the records of her deceased husband, a
former service member (FSM) be corrected to reflect his award of the Purple
Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that at the time the FSM was
discharged, his award of the Purple Heart was omitted from his report of
separation (WD AGO Form 53-55).  She goes on to state that the FSM was
awarded the Purple Heart for a wound to the left thigh while in the Pacific
Theater of Operations (PTO) while trying to pull another Soldier into a
foxhole.  She further states that she desires the correction out of respect
for his memory and to recognize his combat contributions and bring
emotional closure to the family.  She also states that the FSM was
receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of the FSM’s WD AGO Form 53-55, a copy of
the FSM’s disability compensation from the VA, a copy of the FSM’s death
certificate, a copy of her daughter’s birth certificate and two statements
from the FSM’s family doctor.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM’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 his 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.  The FSM was inducted on 12 March 1943 and entered active duty in New
Cumberland, Pennsylvania, on 13 March 1943.  He completed his training as a
heavy truck driver and departed for New Guinea on 27 March 1944, where it
appears he served with the 737th Anti-Aircraft Automatic Gun Battalion.

3.  Information obtained from the hospital admission cards created by the
Department of the Army, Office of The Surgeon General for the period of
1942 to 1945, indicate that the FSM was admitted to a hospital in the
Southwest Pacific in November 1944 for observation for nervous and mental
disease.


4.  He departed the PTO on 5 January 1946 and arrived in the United States
on 20 January 1946.  He was transferred to Fort Indiantown Gap,
Pennsylvania, where he remained until he was honorably discharged on 3
February 1946.  He had served 2 years, 10 months and 17 days of total
active service and 3 days of lost time.  Item 34 “Wounds Received in
Action” of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry “None.”  The FSM
authenticated the form with his signature and right thumb print.  He was
awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal with one
bronze service star, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific
Service Medal with two bronze service stars and the World War II Victory
Medal.

5.  The documents provided by the applicant from the VA indicate that the
FSM was awarded disability compensation of 70% for a nervous condition and
scar to the left thigh.  The letters from the family doctor indicate that
the FSM suffered a gunshot wound while in the service and that he had the
sequelae of continuous tremor and decreased sensation of the right arm and
weakness of the lower extremities.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for a wound/injury sustained as a result of hostile
action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the
wound/injury was a result of hostile action, that the wound/injury must
have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical
treatment was made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  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.

2.  The available evidence fails to show that the FSM was wounded as a
result of enemy action and that treatment was made a matter of record.
Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, there appears to be
no basis to add the award of the Purple Heart to the FSM’s records at this
time.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____JV__  ____CM_  ___LB___  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.





            ______________________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR                                      |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051026                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD)                                    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19460203                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |DEMOB                                   |
|BOARD DECISION          |(DENY)                                  |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |AR 15-185                               |
|ISSUES         1.       |PH                                      |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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