MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            7 November 2000                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000045017

	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. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. George d. Paxson		Chairperson	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member	
	Ms. Paula Mokulis		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 the application was filed within the time established by statute, and if not, whether it would be in the interest of justice to waive the failure to timely file.

	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.  He states he sustained an injury that "occurred during combat."  He submits a copy of a unit morning report entry.

PURPOSE:  To determine whether the application was submitted within the time limit established by law, and if not, whether it is in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD:  The applicant's military records were likely lost or destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  Information contained herein was reconstructed from alternative sources.

The applicant entered active duty in July 1949 and served in Korea for nearly 10 months where he was awarded the Korean Service Medal.  Unit morning report entries indicate the applicant was evacuated from Korea as a result of arthritis in his left knee, "secondary" to an injury from an automobile accident prior to the applicant's entry on active duty.  The report notes the applicant "re-injured" the knee when the tire of a truck he was riding in "blew out" causing the vehicle to overturn.  There is no indication of enemy action and files maintained by The Office of The Surgeon General, commonly referred to as SGO Files, indicate the injury was "non-battle."

The applicant was discharged in September 1951 as a result of physical disability.  His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), which the applicant authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart and item 29 (wounds received in action) reflects "NONE."

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  The fact that an individual may have been injured in a combat theater is not a basis for award of the Purple Heart unless the injured was directly related to enemy action.

Title 10, U.S. Code, section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  Failure to file within 3 years may be excused by a correction board if it finds it would be in the interest of justice to do so.

DISCUSSION:  The alleged error or injustice was, or with reasonable diligence should have been discovered in September 1951, the month in which the applicant was released from active duty.  The time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice expired in September 1954.

The application is dated 29 June 2000 and the applicant has not explained or otherwise satisfactorily demonstrated by competent evidence that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to apply within the time allotted.

DETERMINATION:  The subject application was not submitted within the time required.  The applicant has not presented and the records do not contain sufficient justification to conclude that it would be in the interest of justice to grant the relief requested or to excuse the failure to file within the time prescribed by law.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  EXCUSE FAILURE TO TIMELY FILE

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____gdp_  ___mhm__  _pm_____  CONCUR WITH DETERMINATION

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

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000045017	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001107	
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.	142.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.