PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:         .

	BOARD DATE:              19 October 2000   
	DOCKET NUMBER:      AR2000040244

	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. Carl W. S. Chun		Director	
	Mr. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Tracey L. Pinson		Member	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser		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 his records be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that while serving in Korea he stepped on a land mine, which caused injury to the heel of his left foot.  

4.  In support of his application he submits a telegram that informed his parents that he was slightly wounded in action in Korea on 25 May 1951 and returned to duty on 3 June 1951.

5.  The military records contain an extract prepared from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army (1942 – 1945) and (1950 – 1954).  The report identifies the applicant by his service number; it reflects the diagnosis that the applicant received a laceration from a missile in the ankle region that was the direct result of action against or by an organized enemy.
 
6.  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.

7.  The same regulation provides that the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14 August 1974, and 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995.

8. The same regulation provides that the United Nations Service Medal (UNSM) is awarded for service for the period 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954.  The regulation provides that this service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board accepts the Office of the Surgeon General record as evidence that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action and is entitled to the Purple Heart for that wound. 

2.  Based on the foregoing, it would be appropriate to correct his DD Form 214 (Separation Document) to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant served during the period that the NDSM and the UNSM were authorized and is entitled to have these awards reflected 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 concern was awarded the Purple Heart, the NDSM, and the UNSM;

	b.  issuing to him all of the awards mentioned above; and

	c.  issuing to him a correction to his DD Form 214 reflecting the above awards.

BOARD VOTE:  

___ewl__  ____tlp __  ___cjp_ _  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____________Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.____
		                   CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR200040244	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001019	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Deny	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.