IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  2 September 2010

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100009926 


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 his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states his training began in December 1942 with the 59th Armored Infantry Regiment, 13th Armored Division where he learned medical training during basic combat training.  He was then transferred to the Headquarters Company and served in military occupational specialty (MOS) 014 (Mechanic).  About a year later, the division moved to Texas and was subsequently stripped of its lower ranking personnel.  Accordingly, he was shipped to Europe and upon arrival, due to a clerical error he was assigned to the 83rd Infantry Division.  He was selected to be a member of the division's military police platoon.  He adds that he was wounded by hostile action, treated by a trained medical person, and attempted to establish an official record of the wound but his attempt was ignored.  He also adds:

	a.  The only way this event would not have been hostile action would be if the 83rd Infantry Division support artillery turned their guns around during the division's advance and fired on its own division headquarters, of which the military police platoon was a part.

	b.  No official medical personnel were available to treat him or the other 6 to 8 wounded personnel.  He had a duty to keep an eye on the south entrance of the area.  His priority was to his duty first and his survival second.  He was bleeding but he had a duty.  Having had sufficient medical knowledge, he treated himself and cleaned his wound. 
	c.  He attempted to establish an official record of medical treatment prior to his release from active duty but his attempt was ignored.

3.  The applicant did not provide any additional documentary evidence.

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 AR20080018982, on 5 March 2009.

2.  The applicant did not submit any new documentary evidence but he submitted a new argument which was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence and as such warrants consideration by the Board.

3.  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 his 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.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation) shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active service at Camp Lee, VA, on 1 December 1942.  This form also shows at the time of separation, he held MOS 677 (Military Police) and was assigned to the Military Police Platoon, 83rd Division. 

5.  His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he departed continental the United States (CONUS) on 12 May 1944 and arrived in England in the European Theater of Operation (ETO) on 24 may 1944.  He departed the ETO on 25 November 1945 and arrived back in CONUS on 1 December 1945.

6.  He completed 1 year, 5 months, and 1 day of continental service and 1 year, 6 months, and 30 days of foreign service.  He was honorably separated on 7 December 1945.

7.  Item 31 (Military Qualifications and Date) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was awarded the Marksman Marksmanship Qualification Badge with M-1 and Carbine Bars.  

8.  Item 32 (Battles and Campaigns) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he participated in the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Central Europe, and Rhineland campaigns during World War II (WWII).

9.  Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Service Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon, and World war II Victory Medal. 

10.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry "None."

11.  The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.  It was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders Number 3 in 1932.  It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by medical personnel and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contends that he should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.  When contemplating an award of this decoration, 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 the award.  

3.  The criteria for an award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify that the injury/wound was the result of hostile action or while engaged in combat, the injury/wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  In this case, he does not meet any of the three conditions for award of the Purple Heart in that he has not provided any evidence to support his combat wound or treatment. 

4.  Additionally, his personal chronicles and recollection of events were noted.  However, chronicles of events, which were prepared and/or are submitted more than 60 years after the fact, do not by themselves conclusively prove the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action.  

5.  Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action or that he suffered a cold weather injury while engaged in combat and treated for those wounds/injuries, there is insufficient evidence upon 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20080018982, dated 5 March 2009.



      _______ _   __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)                                         AR20100009926



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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)