PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:            15 December 1999             
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR999020756

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas N. Kuhn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Elizabeth Buchannon		Member	
	Mr. Mark D. Manning		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 a second Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that his discharge record does not reflect the second wound he received in battle.  He contends that he was wounded on 26 November 1950 but was not awarded the Purple Heart for this wound.  He request that his records be checked to determine the accuracy of his account of this wound and that he receive any medals to which he may be entitled.  In support of his request, he has provided a statement of the circumstances of his wounding and a copy of his DD Form 214.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  Information herein was derived from documents provided by the applicant.

5.  He enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 23 July 1948 and served as a light weapons infantryman with the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in Korea in 1950/1951.  He was involuntarily extended for 1 year and honorably discharged on 23 April 1952 in the grade of sergeant first class after completing   3 years, 9 months and 1 day service.  

6.  His awards, as shown on DD Form 214, include the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal (Japan).  The DD Form 214 shows in item 29 (wounds received as a result of action with enemy forces) that he was wounded by shrapnel in the back, in Korea, on 6 September 1950.  However, there is no indication that he was awarded a Purple Heart for that wound.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

8.  The same regulation provides, in pertinent part, that the Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to soldiers who distinguish themselves from among their fellow soldiers by their exemplary conduct, efficiency and fidelity throughout a specified period of continuous enlisted active Federal military service, normally 3 years.

9.  The awards regulation authorizes the National Defense Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal for honorable active service for any period between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, shows that the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the period 19 September 1950 to 31 July 1952.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, the applicant’s records were apparently destroyed in the fire at the NPRC and there is no evidence to substantiate the wound he contends he received on 26 November 1950.  In the absence of corroborating information there is no basis to award the Purple Heart for that wound.

2.  However, the evidence in item 28 of his DD Form 214, showing he was wounded as a result of enemy action on 6 September 1950, is accepted as evidence of his entitlement to an award of the Purple Heart for that wound.

3.  Additionally, based on his service in Korea and his overall length of service, and his honorable discharge, he is also entitled to have the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation shown on his DD Form 214.

4.  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 by:

a.  showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Korea on 6 September 1950;

	b.  showing that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal for the period 23 July 1948 to 23 April 1952, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; and

	c.  correcting his DD Form 214 to show the aforementioned awards and issuing the medals to him.

BOARD VOTE:  

_tnk ____  _eb_____  _mdm___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Thomas N. Kuhn_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999020756	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	19991215	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.