RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        18 JULY 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050014393


      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. Rene’ R. Parker               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Patrick McGann                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Ernestine Fields              |     |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, in effect, that his records should reflect award
of two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained during WWII.  He said that he was
wounded through the leg during the Battle of Bulge in Belgium by a sniper.
He admitted that it was a clean wound.  A few weeks later, the applicant
states he was hit in the head by shrapnel which knocked him unconscious for
three days.  He maintains that when he recovered he was in a hospital in
England and suffered with memory loss.  The applicant said he regained his
memory after falling from his hospital bed.  The applicant admitted that he
has a hearing loss due to his head wound.

3.  The applicant provides his self-authored statement, WD AGO 100
(Separation Qualification Record), and a newspaper article.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Army Board
for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) 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 for the ABCMR to conduct a fair and impartial review of this
case.

2.  Records available to the Board show that the applicant was inducted
into the Army on 24 September 1942.  He served in the European-African-
Middle Eastern Theater from 18 October 1943 until 19 November 1945.  He was
honorably discharged on 8 December 1945.

3.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 100 lists his last military occupational
specialty as (050) Carpenter.  The description is listed as “Served with
the 2nd engineer combat battalion in England and France in the construction
of bridges, and roads; built frames, laid bridge floors, erected concrete
forms, and scaffolds; erected and installed guard rails; packed or freight
cars worked from blueprints and drawings.”

4.  The newspaper article provided by the applicant is dated 20 August
1990.  The title is listed as “WWII veteran finally awarded his medals.”
The article states that the applicant was wounded twice in battle while
fighting German Soldiers during WWII and lost his hearing.  After 46 years,
the applicant was presented with a Bronze Star and an oak leaf cluster in
ceremonies at Hill Air Force Base. The author said the applicant did not
have his own medals and used temporary medals for the ceremony.  The
applicant was told that his medals were in the mail.  The article explained
that the Bronze Star was awarded for heroic or meritorious service in armed
combat and the applicant received the oak leaf cluster for being wounded a
second time.  The article stated that the applicant’s first wounding earned
him the Purple Heart.

5.  The applicant’s WD 33-55 does not list the award of the Purple Heart or
the Bronze Star Medal.  The word “None” is listed in item 34 “Wounds
received in Action.”  There are no orders or certificates awarding the
applicant the Purple Heart.

6.  There is no documentation in the available records which shows that the
applicant sustained wounds or was treated for wounds incurred as a result
of hostile action.

7.  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.  The fact that the applicant provided a newspaper article that shows he
was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with an oak leaf cluster indicating that
he was wounded twice is not sufficient evidence to conclude that he is
entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.  The article also states that
the applicant’s first wounding earned him the Purple Heart.  However, there
is no evidence in the available records to support this statement.

2.  There are no medical records available which show the applicant was
wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during his
service in WWII.  The newspaper article in the absence of supporting
medical evidence is not sufficient evidence to justify the award of the
Purple Heart.  Therefore, in the absence of medical records supporting the
applicant's contention, there is an insufficient basis for award of any
Purple Hearts in this case.




BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___LE___  ____PM_  ___EF  __  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.




                                  ______Lester Echols_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050014393                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060718                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


-----------------------
[pic]