RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 OCTOBER 2005
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20050002498
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 |
| |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | |Senior Analyst |
The following members, a quorum, were present:
| |Mr. Curtis Greenway | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. Richard Dunbar | |Member |
| |Ms. LaVerne Berry | |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 he was injured in the Philippines in July 1945.
3. The applicant provides a copy of his separation document with a
notation in the wounds section that he was stabbed in the back in July
1945.
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. The applicant's separation document indicated that he entered active
duty on 12 December 1944 and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations
between June 1945 and September 1946. He was released from active duty as
a result of demobilization on 9 November 1946.
3. Item 24 (wounds received in action) reflects a typed entry of "NONE."
There were no service medical records available to the Board or provided by
the applicant.
4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been
made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. Unfortunately, there is no medical evidence, and the applicant has not
provided any, which confirms that he was wounded as a result of hostile
action during World War II. In the absence of such evidence, there is no
basis for an award of the Purple Heart.
2. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___CG __ __RD ___ __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.
_____Curtis Greenway_______
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR20050002498 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20051006 |
|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. |107.00 |
|2. | |
|3. | |
|4. | |
|5. | |
|6. | |
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