IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       27 January 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080009544 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant, as the widow of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests correction of the FSM’s records to show award of the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during World War II.

2.  The applicant states the FSM was in active combat during the Po Valley and Ardennes Campaigns.  During this time, he was wounded by shrapnel which struck him on his right side just below his rib cage.  Although the FSM was treated at the field hospital, he asked that the medics not report the incident as he did not want to further worry his parents who were incarcerated in the Relocation Center in Topaz, Utah.  As a result of trying to save his parents from additional distress, he was not awarded the Purple Heart to which he was fully entitled.  

3.  The applicant provides a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), dated 16 May 2008; the FSM's death certificate; a supplemental letter from the FSM's daughter, dated 16 May 2008; the FSM's letter to the National Personnel Records Center, dated 26 June 2007; a response letter from the National Personnel Records Center, dated 26 June 2007; the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation); extracts from the FSM's personal letter to his nephew; pages 47-48 from the Medical Detachment, 442nd Infantry; a letter of support from a former Soldier, dated 30 May 2008; congressional correspondence; and two Morning Reports in support of his application.  



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 the FSM’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 FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active service on 15 September 1944.  He served in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations from 18 March 1945 to 26 August 1946.

3.  The FSM was discharged from active duty on 6 November 1946.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle (M-1) Bar.

4.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None."

5.  The applicant provided copies of two Morning Reports of the Medical Detachment, 442nd Infantry Regiment, dated May 1945.  These documents do not show the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action.

6.  In a 16 May 2008 letter from the DVA, the Los Angeles Vet Center official stated the FSM was a member of an all-Japanese unit designated as the 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment and the most highly decorated unit of World War II.  When the FSM received his wounds, he, like other Japanese-Americans, did not seek treatment by qualified medical personnel because his wound was not life-threatening and the Japanese were often mistreated by other non-Japanese medical personnel.  He also stated the FSM's parents were still in a concentration camp in Utah and the FSM did not want them contacted about his injury as he feared it would create additional worries for them.  He continued by stating that he had secured Morning Reports for the 442nd Combat Infantry Regiment which validate that the FSM was wounded.

7.  In a 16 May 2008 letter from the FSM's daughter, she stated her father enlisted in 1944 as a member of the World War II 442nd Regimental Combat Team.  She emphasized that the FSM's family was incarcerated in one of the stables at Tanforan Race Track in Topaz, Utah.  She stated her father was 
involved in the campaigns that took place in Rhineland, the Ardennes, and the Po Valley as indicated on his discharge document.  She believed that her father was wounded during the Po Valley campaign.  In a letter the FSM wrote to his great nephew, her father stated in part "In our attempt to climb the mountains, German troops surprised the men and really shelled us.  Some of the shells hit the trees and exploded, sending a lot of metal particles raining on us inflicting heavy casualties.  I was hit by the shells in this area.  The medics took care of my wound and were telling us that they need help badly…."

8.  In a 30 May 2008 letter from a former Soldier, he reemphasized the statements from the FSM's daughter.  He stated that these statements were correct regarding his recollection of the FSM's injuries.  

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 by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  The regulation states the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant states the FSM was wounded by shrapnel which struck him on his right side just below his rib cage and that he asked the medic not to report the incident as he did not want to further worry his parents who were incarcerated in the Relocation Center in Topaz, Utah.

2.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, that the wound required treatment by medical personnel, and the treatment record must have been made a matter of official record.  

3.  There are no medical documents which indicate the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.  In addition, his WD AGO Form 53-55 or the submitted Morning Reports do not reflect he received any wounds in action.



4.  The letters of support from the FSM's daughter and the former Soldier were carefully reviewed.  Unfortunately, these documents alone are not sufficient to meet the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.  

5.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.  

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___X____  ____X____  ____X____  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.



      __________XXX____________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080009544



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080009544



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