PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           20 March 2001                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000048013

	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. W. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. William D. Powers		Member	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		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, the United Nations Medal, the Korean Campaign Medal and any other awards to which he is entitled.

3.  The applicant states that he is deserving of all of the medals shown above.

4.  In support of his request, he submits a copy of his Report of Separation      (DD Form 214).

5.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was derived from his DD Form 214 and obtained from other sources.

6.  The DD Form 214 shows that he was inducted on 30 October 1950 and served approximately 10 months in Korea.  He was honorably separated at the completion of his term of service and transferred to the US Army Reserve for completion of his military service obligation on 3 October 1952 in the grade of private.

7.  His awards include the Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  Block 29 (wounds received as a result of action with enemy forces) of the DD Form 214, shows that he received shell fragment wounds, severe, left hand and frontal region on 29 September 1951.

8.  Information obtained from hospital admission cards created by The Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) for the year 1951, shows that the applicant was admitted to a medical treatment facility in Korea on 29 September 1951 with abrasions to the forehead and frontal region and penetrating wounds to the thigh and shoulder as a result of the explosion of an enemy projectile.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, make no reference to a “Korean Campaign Medal”.  It provides that campaign credit is awarded in the form of a bronze service star for each named campaign.  In the case of Korea, the bronze service stars are affixed to the Korean Service Medal.

10.  The awards regulation 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.

11.  The same regulation also provides that the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954; and the United Nations Service Medal (UNSM) is awarded for service in Korea during that same period.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart, information contained in the wounds received as a result of enemy action section of the form and information from OTSG’s hospital admission files clearly show he was wounded in action on 29 September 1951, and is entitled to the Purple Heart for those wounds.

2.  Furthermore, based on the period of his active duty service and his service in Korea, he is also entitled to the NDSM and the UNSM.  

3.  In the absence of his official records, and considering the information on his DD Form 214 only, it appears that the foregoing awards are the only ones he is entitled to.  Without more definitive information, it is not possible to determine, for example, if he is authorized additional service stars (campaign credit) on his Korean Service Medal or if he qualified for the Good Conduct Medal.  And of course, the awards regulation does not recognize an individual award titled the Korean Campaign Medal.

4.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

	a.  showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Korea on 29 September 1951,

	b.  showing that he was awarded the NDSM and the UNSM; and

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

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

___fne __  ____wdp   ___rjw __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___________Fred N. Eichorn_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048013	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010320	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT PLUS)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  107.00		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.