IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	        17 MARCH 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080016192 


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 requests reconsideration of her previous request that her deceased husband, a former service member (FSM), be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that she proceeded to inquire further into the case of the FSM and into his right, having been wounded due to hostile action while serving with the 514th Car Company (Red Ball Express), to be awarded the Purple Heart on 15 January 1945.  She states that she is requesting reconsideration of the Board's previous decision due to new evidence/argument not considered or known by the Board when it denied her application(s).  She states that the new evidence supplements the many letters forwarded to the Board dated from the year 2000 to the present. 

3.  The applicant provides in support of her applicant a photograph of Army vehicles, which is attached to an undated, self-authored statement; a copy of a payroll listing dated 1 December 1943 through 31 December 1943; a letter of commendation addressed to the FSM, dated 31 August 1945; page 2 of a letter that she contends was authored by the FSM; a picture that appears to be of the FSM; and a copy of the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation – Honorable Discharge).





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 AR20070013490, on 17 April 2008.

2.  The photographs and the payroll listing provided by the applicant are new evidence that will be considered by the Board.

3.  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.

4.  The available records shows that the FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States in Baltimore, Maryland, on 4 January 1943 and entered active service on 11 January 1943.  He successfully completed his training in military occupational specialty (MOS) 014 (automotive mechanic).

5.  After completing 2 years, 11 months, and 9 days of net active service, the FSM was honorably discharged on 19 December 1945, under the provisions of Army Regulation 615-365 (Enlisted Men – Discharge - Convenience of the Government) by reason of demobilization.

6.  The WD AGO Form 53-55 that the FSM was furnished at the time of his discharge shows that he was assigned to the 514th Quartermaster Truck Company and item 33 (Decorations and Citations) shows he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, the World War II Victory Medal, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 also shows that he was issued the World War II Honorable Service Lapel Button prior to his discharge.  However, item 33 does not show the Purple Heart and item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) on the FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None."

7.  On 8 August 2005, the National Personnel Records Center notified the applicant that the FSM was entitled to the Good Conduct Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, the World War II victory Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Button World War II, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, and the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Carbine Bar.  The applicant was also furnished copies of the FSM's awards.

8.  In the undated statement that the applicant submitted in support of her reconsideration request, she speaks of a P____ S_____ D_______, an individual who she contends is the son of another Soldier who was injured in the same bomb explosion in which the FSM was injured.  She goes on to provide information regarding P____ S_____ D_______ and his family and friends.  She also mentions a letter that she contends she received from P____ S_____ D_______; however, the letter is not attached to her request for reconsideration.  In the undated statement the applicant goes on to refer to her prior attempts to have the Purple Heart awarded to the FSM and the results of her attempts.

9.  The applicant also submits a payroll listing dated 1 December 1943 through 31 December 1949 which reflects the FSM's name and provides information regarding the FSM's pay and promotion.  The letter of commendation that she submitted, dated 31 August 1945, shows that the FSM was commended for his service as a mechanic with the motor pool section of Headquarters Detachment, Headquarters Command, United Kingdom Base.

10.  The applicant submits the second page of an undated, unsigned letter that she contends was written by the FSM and she highlighted a portion of the letter in which the FSM explains his desire to be awarded the Purple Heart.  That portion of the letter pertaining to the award of the Purple Heart reads, "… If I could only get the Purple Heart for the time when I was hit I would be alright.  But I may still get it, you can never tell.  The Army is a strange thing."

11.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that the FSM is entitled to the award of the Purple Heart.  

2.  Her contentions have been noted.  However, they are not substantiated by the evidence of record.  While there is a sentence in the undated letter that she provided pertaining to the Purple Heart and the individual who authored the letter states, "If I could only get the Purple Heart for the time when I was hit I would be alright," the applicant has provided no evidence to show that the letter was authored by the FSM and that the "hit" the individual is referring to was the result of hostile action.  

3.  The applicant has also provided insufficient evidence to show that the FSM was injured to the extent that he required treatment by medical personnel and that the treatment was made a matter of official record.  In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be presumed that what the Army did in his case was correct.

4.  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 this requirement.

5.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20070013490, dated 17 April 2008.



      ________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)                                         AR20080016192



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080016192



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