MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:                          15 June 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:                  AR1999026483

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

	Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Ms. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Orville W. Troesch, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		Member	

	The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date.  In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

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

APPLICANT REQUESTS:  In effect, two awards of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES:  In effect, that his VA records show that he is currently 
10 percent disabled due to shrapnel wound he received to his knee during a retreat in Korea.  He also states that as a result to exposure to cold weather, he was awarded compensation for service-connected injuries to his hands and feet. He further states that his initial injury of shrapnel wounds to his left knee was severe enough that he was medically evacuated to Seoul for an operation on his knee.  He goes on to state that he was confined to the hospital for approximately 
one month, was returned to battle status and was later assigned to the Mortar Company, of the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division from September 1950 to August 1951.  In support of his application he submits a copy of NA Form 13045 (Informal Information Reply), NA Form 13038 (Certificate of Military Service), copy of his VA Rating Decision, dated 8 April 1998 and a copy of a medical record, dated 7 April 1997 from a civilian physician.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  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 13 June 1950 and was honorably discharged on 27 July 1953.  The available records do not contain a DD Form 214 for the period of service from 13 June 1950 to 27 July 1953.

There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded as a result of hostile action.  

Information in Hospital Admission Cards from the Office of the Surgeon General on 29 February 2000 shows that the applicant received a contusion to his knee region-popliteal space (behind the knee) on 24 March 1951 while serving in Korea.  This form also shows that his injury was non-battle.

There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant was diagnosed with frostbite at the time in question.

The applicant provided a copy of his VA Rating decision, dated 8 April 1998, which shows he was granted service-connected disability for residuals of frostbite to his hands and feet and for an injury to his left knee.  There also is no indication that his injury to his left knee was the result of hostile action.

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.

While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  Until 1951 Army Regulation 
600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a “wound” is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element” pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized.

DISCUSSION:  Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that his VA records show that he is currently 10 percent disabled due to a shrapnel wound he received to his knee during a retreat in Korea.  There is no evidence to show he sustained a shrapnel wound to his knee.  Records show he sustained a bruise to his knee which was a non-battle injury.  Based on the foregoing, the applicant is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart.

2.  Notwithstanding the VA Rating Decision which indicates that the applicant was granted service-connected disability for residuals of frostbite to his hands and feet, there is no medical evidence which shows he was treated for frostbite by medical authorities or the dates of his alleged injuries during the Korean War. Additionally, the authority to award the Purple Heart for frostbite was terminated effective 23 August 1951 and there is no evidence which shows the dates of the applicant’s service in Korea.  Based on the foregoing, there is no basis for award of the Purple Heart based on frostbite injuries.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that
would satisfy the aforementioned requirement.

4.  In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION:  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

OWT____  KAN____  MVT____  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		    Carl W. S. Chun
		    Director, Army Board for Correction
    of Military Records

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999026483	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000615	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19530727	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR .  .  .  .  .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	DENY	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.