PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:            13 February 2001  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR200048562

	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	
	Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Harry B. Oberg		Member	
	Shirley Powell		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, in effect, that the records of his father, a deceased former servicemember, be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart and any other awards he may be entitled to based on his service during the Korean War.

3.  Records available to the Board indicate the former servicemember served two periods of active duty between July 1946 and May 1950.  He reenlisted and returned to active duty on 15 October 1950 and served six months in Korea with the 32nd Infantry Regiment.  As a result of his service in Korea the former servicemember was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Korean Service Medal, which is incorrectly recorded on his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) as a Korean Campaign Ribbon.

4.  Item 29 (wounds received as a result of action with enemy forces) on his DD Form 214 indicates that the former servicemember sustained a shrapnel wound to his left side on 2 April 1952.  There is, however, no indication he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.

5.  On 23 July 1951 the former servicemember was honorably discharged from active duty.

6.  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.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that individuals awarded the Korean Service Medal automatically establish eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal and that the National Defense Service Medal is awarded to individuals who served honorably between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.

8.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit (32nd Infantry Regiment) was credited with participating in one designated campaign during the applicant’s period of assignment.  The unit was also awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation during his tenure with the organization.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms the former servicemember was wounded as a result of hostile action on 2 April 1951 and as such is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The evidence also confirms the former servicemember is entitled to a bronze service star on his Korean Service Medal denoting participation in one designated campaign period while in Korea, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.  

3.  The Board also notes that it would be appropriate to correct the Korean Campaign Ribbon listed on his DD Form 214 to show the correct title of the decoration as the Korean Service Medal.

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:

a.  by awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for the wound he sustained on 2 April 1951;

b.  by correcting the Korean Campaign Ribbon to read the Korean Service Medal; and

c.  by showing that the former servicemember is entitled to one bronze service star on his Korean Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jh____  ___hbo__  ___sp___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000048562	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010213	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	Grant	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.