MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF:   

	BOARD DATE:            15 August 2000    
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000040199

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Thomas D. Howard, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		Member	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		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:  Award of the Purple Heart.  

APPLICANT STATES:  That he was wounded during the war and did not receive a Purple Heart and it was not entered in his military records.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) and six pages of service medical records.    
EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records show:

The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant enlisted on 
27 September 1949, served in Korea and was honorably discharged on 
1 October 1952.

The applicant’s DD Form 214, which was authenticated in his own hand, does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of the DD Form 214 states “NA”. 

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

The applicant provided a copy of a Casualty Report, dated 24 April 1951, which shows he sustained a gunshot wound to his left thigh/leg during a weapons inspection by a member of the ordnance inspecting team on 22 April 1951.  This report also shows the entry “NO – PH” [No Purple Heart].  

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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

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.  Medical evidence of record shows the applicant was accidentally wounded on 22 April 1951 during a weapons inspection in Korea, not as a result of hostile action.

2.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during the Korean War.  Therefore, he is not entitled to correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart.
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:

________  ________  ________  GRANT

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

TDH____  AAO_____  GJW____  DENY APPLICATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000040199	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000815	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19521001	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Convenience of the Government	
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.