PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:                16 December 1998
	DOCKET NUMBER:       AC98-12734
                                                  AR1998012225

	I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.  

	Mr. Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Mr. Hubert S. Shaw, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher		Chairperson	
	Ms. Lana E. McGlynn		Member	
	Ms. Carol Jo Suiter		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A - Application for correction of military 
                records
	Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
	            advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he wants his Purple Heart entered on his records.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of the telegram notifying his next of kin that he was wounded.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show he entered active duty on 1 February 1950.  He served in Korea, but the exact dates of his service cannot be determined from the records available to the Board.  The applicant was separated from active duty with an honorable discharge on 5 February 1953.

5.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award and shows “NA” under item 28 (Wounds Received as a Result of Enemy Action).  The Board notes that the applicant was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece which are not shown on his DD Form 214.

6.  The applicant provided a copy of a telegram, dated 26 September 1950, to his next of kin.  This telegram stated the applicant was seriously wounded in action in Korea on 13 September 1950.

7.  The applicant was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation by Department of the Army General Orders 35-51.

8.  The applicant was awarded the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece by Department of the Army General Order 2-56.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action in Korea on 13 September 1950; therefore, he is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and correction of his records to show this award.

2.  The applicant was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show these awards.

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected: 

a.  by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart and correcting his records to show this award; and 

	b.  by showing he was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece.

BOARD VOTE:  

EMW________  LEM________  CJS________  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AC9812734/AR1998012225	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	1998/12/16	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.