IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 30 August 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004204
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 his congressman, requests reconsideration of his request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states he was wounded while he was on patrol behind the front lines. His records were burned in the fire in St. Louis, MO in 1973 and his medical records were destroyed.
3. He provides an insert and pages 6 and 7 of his WD AGO Form 4 (Service Record).
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 AR20100000978 on 22 July 2010.
2. The applicants 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 applicants 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.
3. The applicant submitted pages from his service record as new evidence that will be considered by the Board.
4. The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States on 30 March 1943 and entered active duty on 6 April 1943. He served as an infantryman in the European theater of operations from 10 November 1943 through 13 July 1945 and was honorably discharged on 9 October 1945.
5. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation - Honorable Discharge) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of his WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry, "None."
6. In support of his claim, he provided an insert and pages 6 and 7 from a military service record [his name is not indicated on these documents] which show:
a. Insert Number One - (Medals Decorations, and Citations):
(1) lists four bronze service stars for participation in the Normandy,
Northern France, Rhineland, and Ardennes campaigns
(2) the Bronze Star Medal awarded by Headquarters, 5th Infantry
Division, General Order Number 43, dated 15 May 1945
(3) a handwritten entry "Purple Heart 12 OCT 44"; no orders were
cited
b. Page 6 - (Medals, Decorations, and Citations):
(1) Army Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, and Bronze Star Medal
(2) a handwritten entry "Purple Heart 12 OCT 44"; no orders were cited
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides 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 he was wounded while he was on patrol behind the front lines. However, there is insufficient evidence to show he was wounded as a result of hostile action during World War II.
2. The otherwise typewritten documents from his service record show handwritten entries indicating award of the Purple Heart; however, orders awarding him this decoration is not cited or provided.
3. In the absence of any other corroborating evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action during World War II, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record, 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 AR20100000978, dated 22 July 2010.
___________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) AR20110004204
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110004204
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