IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 6 January 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140007546
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, the son of a former service member (FSM), requests the FSM be awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received in combat during World War II (WWII).
2. The applicant states, in effect, that his father was injured in combat during WWII and was granted service-connection for those injuries by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and should have been awarded the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant provides copies of the FSMs WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge), obituary, death certificate, certificate of trust, VA Rating Decision, and the applicants birth certificate.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. The FSM's military records are not available for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed the FSM's records were lost or destroyed in that fire. However, the documents contained in a reconstructed record are sufficient to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
2. The available records show the FSM was inducted on 26 January 1943 and entered active duty on 2 February 1943. He departed for the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 3 February 1945. He served in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns and was returned to the continental United States on 16 March 1945. He was transferred to Camp Atterbury, Indiana where he was honorably discharged on 21 March 1946.
3. His WD AGO Form 53-55 issued at the time of his discharge shows the entry None in item 34 under "Wounds Received in Action."
4. The VA Rating Decisions provided by the applicant show that the FSM was granted service-connected compensation for degenerative disc syndrome of the spine as early as 1946.
5. 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. While the FSM was granted service-connection for disabilities incurred as a result of his service during WWII, the applicant has failed to show through the evidence submitted and the available evidence of record that the FSMs injuries were the result of hostile action and required treatment by medical personnel.
2. Therefore, in the absence of such evidence, there appears to be no basis to award him the Purple Heart at this time.
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 for correction of the records of the individual concerned.
2. The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by his late father in service to the United States during World War II. The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his 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) AR20140007546
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140007546
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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