BOARD DATE: 20 September 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110004571
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, through a Member of Congress, reconsideration of her earlier request that the record of her deceased father, a former service member (FSM), be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart (PH).
2. The applicant states the FSM received a shrapnel wound to the right eye during World War II (WWII).
3. The applicant provides a Congressional Inquiry packet with accompanying documents, including military medical treatment records, and a news article in support of this application.
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 AR20090013116, on 2 February 2010.
2. The FSMs 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 (NPRC) in 1973. It is believed that the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using reconstructed records maintained at the NPRC which include a WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) and the supporting documents, which are new evidence, provided by the applicant.
3. The FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 6 January 1943, and he entered active duty on 13 January 1943. It also shows he served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 19 September 1943 through 21 November 1945, and that he participated in the following campaigns during WW II:
* Normandy
* Northern France
* Rhineland
* Ardennes
4. Item 33 (Decorations and Citations) of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 shows he earned the following awards:
* Army Good Conduct Medal
* Meritorious Unit Award
* American Theater Service Medal
* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars
* WWII Victory Medal
5. Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry None.
6. The FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 confirms he was honorably separated on
5 December 1945, in the rank of technician five, after completing 2 years,
10 months, and 23 days of military service.
7. The applicant provides military medical treatment records for the FSM that include records of treatment for Chorioretinitis, temporal area of the right eye, moderate," dated between February and July 1945. These records indicate the cause for the condition was undetermined and contain entries indicating the condition was not incurred in the line of duty (LD). The condition existed prior to induction (EPTI). None of the medical treatment records indicate the FSM's wound was a result of enemy action. The applicant also provides a newspaper article and a letter, dated 8 August 2005, in which the FSM's former commander indicated he was cutting through the red tape and awarding him the PH based on documents provided at a recent reunion.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the Armys awards policy. Paragraph 2-8 provides guidance on award of the PH. It states in order to support award of the PH there must be evidence confirming the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, that the wound required treatment by military medical personnel, and a record of the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants request that the FSM's record be corrected to show award of the PH and the supporting documents she provided have been carefully considered. However, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.
2. By regulation, in order to support award of the PH there must be evidence that the wound for which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action. The medical documents provided by the applicant show only that the FSM was treated for an eye condition that existed prior to induction. Item 33 of his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not include the PH, and item 34 contains the entry "none," indicating he was never wounded as a result of enemy action.
3. The available evidence fails to corroborate the information in the newspaper article and the unofficial award of the PH by the FSM's former commander in 2005. Further, there is no evidence confirming the FSM was wounded as a result of enemy action, or that he was awarded the PH by proper authority while serving on active duty. As a result, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the PH has not been met in this case.
4. The applicant and all others concerned should know this action related to award of the PH 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 the FSMs service in arms.
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 AR20090013116, dated 2 February 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) AR20110004571
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