IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 2 December 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100025730
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, through her Representative in Congress, requests reconsideration of an application for award of the Purple Heart submitted by the applicant's late husband, a former service member (FSM).
2. The applicant's Representative in Congress states the applicant is 88 years old and has been fighting for the FSM's Purple Heart since her first application in May 2008. Before the FSM's death, he fought the same battle for many years since his original application in 1997.
3. The applicant's Representative in Congress provides all supporting documentation provided to him by the applicant, including three "buddy statements" from veterans who served with the FSM in combat.
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 AC98-08782, on 29 July 1998.
2. The FSM was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active service on 9 February 1942. On 22 June 1943, he arrived in the European Theater of Operations where he performed duties as a truck driver. He returned to the United States on 18 September 1945 and received an honorable discharge on 25 September 1945.
3. In a statement provided in support of his initial application, the FSM stated his ammunition truck was hit in Italy near "Abbey Hill" in February 1944. When his truck was hit he "was walking in the back" and was wounded in the right heel. A medic put sulfa powder on the wound, and he put another boot on and went on. On three occasions he cut open the wound with his pocket knife to allow it to drain. Finally, a sergeant told him to go to the field hospital. Hospital personnel put hot towels on the wound and drew out shrapnel.
4. Two of the three veterans who provided buddy statements indicate the FSM was wounded. One states he "was wounded in the line of duty at Abby Hill in Casino [sic], Italy in 1944." The other states he was with the FSM "somewhere in Italy when he was wounded in one of his legs by shrapnell [sic]."
5. The author of the third statement indicated he could not document the FSM's injury, but continued to state, in effect, it was common for casualties to receive medical treatment in the field and immediately return to combat.
6. An Abbreviated Clinical Record shows the FSM was hospitalized on 26 March 1945 and that at the time of admission he had pain and swelling in his right heel for 1 week. The form further shows his condition "first started as a small callous [sic] which got progressively painful." The FSM was diagnosed with cellulitis and treated with hot compresses.
7. Additional service medical records show the following diagnoses:
* abscess, rt. heel cause undetermined
* cellulitis, acute, suppurative, moderate, right heel, cause undetermined
8. The available medical records make no reference to removing shrapnel from the FSM's heel, nor do they show he was injured as a result of hostile action.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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 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 evidence of record does not support the applicant's request to award the Purple Heart to the FSM.
2. Unfortunately, the statements made by the FSM and his former comrades are not substantiated by official documentation. The criteria for award of the Purple Heart require that medical treatment for a wound must have been made a matter of official record. In this case, the available medical records show the FSM was treated for an infection (cellulitis) of undetermined cause more than a year after the incident in which he stated he was injured. The available medical records make no mention of shrapnel being removed from his heel.
3. In view of the above, there is no basis for granting the requested relief.
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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AC98-08782, dated 29 July 1998.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices the FSM made in service to the United States during World War II. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of the FSM's 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) AR20100025730
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