PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           1 September 1999                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR1999019490

	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	
	Mrs. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Mr. Kenneth L. Wright		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 that he be awarded  the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded during a mortar attack when a mortar round hit his bunker and it caved in on him.  His DD Form 214 and three medical treatment documents are submitted as supporting evidence.

4.  The applicant’s military records are not available.  Those portions of his service medical records pertaining to his claimed injuries are available.

5.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 15 September 1951.  He served in Korea as an infantryman and earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.

6.  On 8 May 1952, the applicant was injured, in a combat area, when a bunker caved in and he was struck by one of the beams.  He suffered a broken jaw, was treated at the 8063d Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and was evacuated to Japan in good condition.

7.  On 23 June 1952, the applicant was released from active duty.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides policy and criteria concerning individual military decorations.  In pertinent part, it states that the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of an Armed Force who has been wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States.  The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.  When contemplating an award of the Purple Heart, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.  The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While service medical records do not specifically state the bunker cave-in was the result of an enemy mortar attack, the applicant was an infantryman in a combat area.  The Board concludes that some type of intense disturbance caused the cave-in and the applicant’s contention it was a mortar attack is a plausible explanation.  

2.  In view of the foregoing, it would be in the interest of justice to correct the applicant’s records as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:  

__sk____  __jea___  __klw___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Stanley Kelley
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999019490	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.