IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 20 August 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090004046
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 that the records of her deceased husband, the former service member (FSM), be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that the wounds to her husband's left arm were service connected by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
3. The applicant provides her husband's: certificate of death; internet obituary; WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge); Honorable Discharge Certificate; VA rating decision; and an unofficial roster of personnel "lost" in the FSM's unit.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM's military records show that he was inducted in the Army on 11 July 1942 and entered active duty on 25 July 1942, was awarded the military occupational specialty of wrecker operator, served in the Ardennes, Normandy, and Northern France campaigns, was promoted to Tech 5, and was honorably discharged on 8 December 1945.
2. The WD AGO Form 53-55 given to the FSM, Item 34, Wounds Received In Action, has "None" entered.
3. Neither the FSM's military or health records show that he was wounded.
4. A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files," involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape. Searches of these files fail to show that the FSM was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.
5. The VA rating decision shows that the FSM was given disability ratings for several conditions which were caused by frostbite as well as residuals of a fracture, left wrist and forearm, and left carpal tunnel syndrome.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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 FSM's WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was not wounded; the SGO files do not list his name; and neither his military or health records have any record of him being wounded.
2. The VA rating decision is not a military record and the VA does not make a determination of whether a disability was the result of hostile action. The VA did not state that the FSM's fracture of his left wrist and forearm were the result of hostile action.
3. In order to recommend awarding the FSM the Purple Heart, it would have to be shown that he was wounded as a result of hostile action and that he received medical treatment for that wound that was made a matter of official record. The applicant has not provided such evidence.
4. Regrettably, 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:
1. 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.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the FSM in service to our Nation. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.
_______ _ X_______ ___
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) AR20090004046
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090004046
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