RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        17 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060001501


      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. John J. Wendland, Jr.         |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John T. Meixell               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Peter B. Fisher               |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Rowland C. Heflin             |     |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, in effect, reconsideration of award of the
Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the initial review of his request
for award of the Purple Heart indicated that a fire destroyed approximately
18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records
Center (NPRC) in 1973 and it is believed that his records were lost or
destroyed in that fire.  As a result, there was no medical evidence to show
that he was wounded as a result of hostile action to substantiate award of
the Purple Heart.  The applicant also states, in effect, that the Board did
not dispute the narrative he provided regarding the incident in April 1945
in which he was blown up into the air by an anti-tank mine.  He further
states that the Board indicated that if the applicant has new evidence or
argument that was not previously considered, he should submit the evidence
within 1 year.  The applicant adds, in effect, that he now has a record of
his medical treatment in July 1945, while he was an in-patient in the U.S.
Army Hospital at Aalen, Germany.  The applicant also states, in effect,
that he was an in-patient at the same hospital in May or early June 1945
for very severe head pains, but the NPRC was not able to recover any record
of this.  The applicant also offers information concerning the continuing
pain he suffers and the medical treatment that the Veterans Administration
has provided him.

3.  The applicant provides a self-authored statement, dated 20 January
2006; a copy of a National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel
Records,
St. Louis, Missouri, letter, dated 15 December 2005; two WD AGO Forms
1 (Morning Reports), dated 26 July 1945 and 27 July 1945, respectively; a
Form 79 (Register of Dental Patients At) and Form 52a, dated 23 March 1944;
and an Army Board for Correction of Military Records, Customer Survey,
dated
19 November 2005.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR20050001350, on 13 October 2005.  (Note:  The ABCMR Record of Proceedings
contain a typographic error that indicates Docket Number AR20050001350 was
considered on 13 October 2006.)

2.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 13 September 1943 and
entered active duty on 4 October 1943.  He served in the European Theater
of Operations (ETO) during World War II with the 119th Armored Engineer
Battalion, arriving in the ETO on 1 October 1944 and returning to the
United States on 29 January 1946.  The applicant was honorably discharged
on
8 February 1946 after completing 2 years, 4 months, and 5 days of service.

3.  In support of his application for reconsideration, the applicant
provides a self-authored statement, NPRC letter, 2 Morning Reports, dated
26 July 1945 and
27 July 1945, respectively; a Form 79 (Register of Dental Patients At), and
Form 52a, dated 23 March 1944.  The Form 79 and Form 52a, dated 23 March
1944, provide evidence of a blister on the applicant's left toe and are not
pertinent to the issue concerning award of the Purple Heart.  The 2 Morning
Reports provide evidence that the applicant's duty status changed from
"Duty" to "Sick (In Line of Duty)" effective 23 July 1945; and then changed
from "Sick (In Line of Duty)" to (presumably) "Duty", effective 27 July
1945; however, the complete entry on this document is indistinguishable.

4.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 requests reconsideration of award of the Purple Heart for
an incident in April 1945 wherein he was blown up by an explosion from a
mine or a small bomb and, afterwards he could not hear, his head and ears
hurt, but there was no sign of bleeding or open wounds.  While the
applicant provides documentary evidence that his duty status changed from
"Duty" to "Sick (In Line of Duty)", effective 23 July 1945; this
documentation provides insufficient evidence upon which to base award of
the Purple Heart.

2.  In the applicant's original request he acknowledges that he did not
report the incident that occurred in April 1945 to medical personnel or
seek medical treatment for his injuries at that time.  In addition, he
adds, "I believe it was late May or early June 1945, that I developed a
very severe headache.  Our company medic sent me by ambulance to our
Division Hospital in Aalen, Germany; this hospital was not a great distance
from our abode.  At this time I do not remember what I told the Army
doctor.  My guess is, I told him about the “up and over” experience and
when a swinging .50 caliber machine gun barrel hit me on the side of my
head (emphasis added)."  Consequently, by his own statement, the applicant
introduces another incident as a possible cause of his severe headache and,
therefore, adds uncertainty as to the origin of the injury for which he
received medical treatment in July 1945.

3.  In order to substantiate a claim for award of the Purple Heart,
documentary 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.  While
the two morning reports provide evidence that the applicant's duty status
changed from "duty" to "sick" on 23 July 1945, these documents provide
insufficient evidence of the applicant's actual medical condition (e.g., a
wound or injury) that required medical treatment. Unfortunately, in this
case, there is no medical evidence to show that the applicant was wounded
or injured as a result of hostile action, that the wound required
treatment, or that the medical treatment was made a matter of official
record.  Therefore, the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart
cannot be granted.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___JTM__  ___PBF_  __RCH __  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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20050001350, dated 13 October 2005.




                                             John T. Meixell_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060001501                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |200610DD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051017                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |19460208                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365, RR1 (Demobilization)        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Convenience of the Government           |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015.0000                           |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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