PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           6 March 2001                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000046735

	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. Nancy Amos		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Harry B. Oberg		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.

3.  The applicant states that he was not awarded the Purple Heart when he was wounded and sent right back to the front lines.

4.  The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.  Information contained herein was obtained from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant entered active service on 12 March 1951.  

6.  The applicant provides a copy of a sworn statement dated 29 April 1959 from the platoon leader he had while he was assigned to Company F, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in Korea.  His platoon leader states that on or about 4 November 1951, they held hill “200.”  That afternoon he was ordered to take his platoon across their line, locate the enemy, engage them to determine enemy strength, and pull back.  Before half his platoon was across the line the enemy hit them with a heavy artillery barrage.  Several men were badly hit but they completed the mission by getting within 20 yards of the enemy.  As they returned, they were hit with mortar and machine gun fire.  Upon regrouping within their own lines and checking each man he found the applicant with what seemed to be a slight wound.  The next day the applicant reported to him with a leg that looked infected due to the shrapnel lodgment.  He sent the applicant to their rear aid station for treatment.  He was surprised to see the applicant report back after treatment of his leg wound although due to shortages in all commands many men were returned to combat when they should not have been.

7.  The applicant separated on 6 March 1953.  

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

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Service records are not available and statements of individuals are normally inadequate as the sole basis for an award of the Purple Heart because they do not fulfill the regulatory requirement that there be a record of medical treatment.  However, the sworn statement provided by the applicant is near contemporaneous to the date he claims he was wounded.  The statement is from an individual who would have been in a good position, i. e., platoon leader, to know the condition of his men.  The Board concludes that the supporting evidence offers a credible verification of the applicant’s battle injury and medical treatment.

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 showing that the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 4 November 1951.

BOARD VOTE:  

__sk____  __ewl___  __hbo___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Stanley Kelley
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000046735	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010306	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.