PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           16 November 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000042793

	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	
	Mrs. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Ms. Martha E. Schuler		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 the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states in effect, that he was wounded twice and that his Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, DD Form 214, item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) does not show that he was wounded as a result of being under hostile fire.  He is requesting correction of his records to reflect his injuries and to be awarded two PHs if appropriate.

4.  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 served on active duty from 
28 November 1952, until he was honorably discharged on 5 May 1954.

5.  The Office of the Surgeon General Hospital Admission Cards shows that the applicant was admitted/treated on three different occasions for an illness/injury.
The first admission occurred in July 1950, at Ft Ord, Monterey, CA., which was categorized as (Non-Battle).  The second admission occurred in June 1951, while the applicant was serving in Korea; he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  The record shows that he was wounded by grenade fragments in the left shoulder and left thorax.  These injuries were categorized as (battle casualties).
The third admission occurred in September 1951, while in Korea the applicant was performing assigned duties accidentally wounded himself with his own instrument.  This injury was categorized as (Non-Battle).

6.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that he was wounded on two separate occasions, which was caused by enemy action.  There is no available corroborating evidence to support his contentions of two injuries caused by hostile action.  However, the available evidence does support that the applicant sustained fragment wounds to his left shoulder and left thorax in June 1951, that occurred as a result of enemy action.  Therefore, entitling him to one award of the PH.

2.  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 awarding the applicant the PH and correcting his records to show the PH award.

BOARD VOTE:  

__wtm___  __jea___  __mes___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Walter T. Morrison
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000042793	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20001116	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.