IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 24 July 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20120001436
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 the Board's denial of his previous request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states the Board's denial decision stated he had no proof he was injured in the military. He has attached a copy of the hospital notice sent to his mother identifying burns on his hands and legs. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has granted service connection for these injuries.
3. He provides a copy of two WD AGO Forms 234 (Hospital Patient Status) and VA Rating Decision documents.
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 AR20110006613 on 11 October 2011.
2. The two WD AGO Forms 234 and VA Rating Decision provided by the applicant are new evidence which require that the Board reconsider his request.
3. His WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge) shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 22 September 1943 and he entered active service on 13 October 1943. He served in the European theater of operations from 28 July 1944 to 20 March 1946. His WD AGO Form 53-55 shows the entry "None" in item 34 (Wounds Received in Action).
4. His WD AGO Form 100 (Separation Qualification Record) shows he served as a demolition specialist with the 111th Engineer Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, in the European theater of operations from December 1944 to March 1946.
5. He provides two WD AGO Forms 234, dated 5 and 20 May 1945, indicating the second-degree burns on his hands and legs were making normal improvement.
6. He was honorably discharged on 11 April 1946. His WD AGO Form 53-55 does not show he was awarded the Purple Heart.
7. A search of the Office of the Surgeon General files (commonly referred to as the SGO files), a health record research project involving transposing hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean Conflict onto magnetic tape, revealed the applicant had been admitted to a general hospital on 20 April 1945 for a non-battle injury due to burns on his arm and leg from an explosion of ammunition while on a work detail.
8. He submits VA rating decision documents showing he was granted service connection for residuals of burns on his arms, legs, and buttocks. The VA documents indicate the applicant had explained that an explosion had occurred while he was in Germany causing second and third degree burns on his legs, right buttock, arms, hands, and face. The documents contain a handwritten note stating "powder blew up during the war period."
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action. Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify 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 in the SGO files, WD AGO Forms 234, and VA rating decision documents support his contention he sustained burns while in the military in Germany. However, there is no evidence or medical documentation which indicates his injuries were the result of hostile action during World War II. In addition, his WD AGO Form 53-55 does not reflect he received any wounds in action.
2. As such, in the absence of corroborating evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action during World War II, 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 the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20110006613, dated 11 October 2011.
_____________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) AR20120001436
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20120001436
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