RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	


	BOARD DATE:	  8 May 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060015259 


	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. Gerard W. Schwartz

Acting Director

Ms. Wanda L. Waller

Analyst


The following members, a quorum, were present:


Ms. Linda Simmons

Chairperson

Mr. Jerome Pionk

Member

Mr. Eddie Smoot

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 reconsideration of an earlier request for a second award of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).

2.  The applicant states that he was injured on two separate occasions while serving his country during World War II.  He contends that he was in a Belgian hospital recovering from injuries he suffered in Germany, for which he received a Purple Heart, and the hospital was hit by a rocket that demolished the building.  He contends that he suffered wounds from this incident and was taken to a hospital in Wales where he spent nine months. 

3.  The applicant provides a letter, dated 3 October 2006, from a Member of Congress and a Congressional Record, dated 6 September 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 AR20060001729, on 14 September 2006.

2.  The applicant provided a Congressional Record of the Proceedings and Debates of the 109th Congress, First Session, House of Representatives on 
6 September 2005.  This record shows the applicant was presented the Purple Heart by a Member of Congress.  This record also states, in pertinent part, that the applicant was “wounded in his shoulder by shrapnel in the Black Forest.  He was taken to a hospital in Belgium and was transferred to a hospital in England when the Belgian hospital was hit by a B2 German bomber.”

3.  The applicant’s submission is new evidence which will be considered by the Board. 

4.  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.  

5.  The applicant was inducted on 4 March 1941.  He served in the European Theater of Operations from 29 January 1944 through 15 September 1945 and was honorably discharged on 29 September 1945.  

6.  The applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, “ETO [European Theater of Operations] 21 NOV 44.”   

7.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was wounded a second time as a result of hostile action.

8.  Item 11 (List all significant diseases, wounds, and injuries) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 38 (Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement), dated 25 September 1945, shows he was hospitalized in England in February 1944 for “trouble with right knee.”  This medical record also shows the applicant was hospitalized in Belgium in November 1944 for 3 days for a.shrapnel wound on left shoulder and a head concussion.  There is no evidence of record which shows these injuries (shrapnel wound and concussion) occurred on separate occasions.        

9.  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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record supports the applicant’s contention that he was hospitalized in Belgium for injuries and that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 21 November 1944 in the European Theater of Operations. Contemporaneous medical evidence of record also shows the applicant was hospitalized in Belgium for 3 days in November 1944 for a shrapnel wound and a concussion.    

2.  Although the applicant contends that the Belgian hospital was hit by a rocket that demolished the building, that he suffered wounds from this incident, and that he was taken to a hospital in Wales where he spent nine months, there is no evidence of record to support this contention.  His separation physical examination states that he was hospitalized in England for 30 days in February 1944 for a right knee problem, nine months before he was hospitalized in Belgium.
 
3.  In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds a second time as a result of hostile action, the Congressional Record provided by the applicant is not sufficient as a basis for a second award of the Purple Heart.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base a second award of the Purple Heart in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

LS______  _JP____  __ES___  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 AR20060001729, dated 14 September 2006.




___Linda Simmons______
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20060015259
SUFFIX

RECON
20060914
DATE BOARDED
20070508
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.0015
2.

3.

4.

5.

6.