PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:  22 March 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2000049494

	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. Paul A. Petty		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Shirley Powell		Chairperson	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		Member	
	Mr. John P. Infante		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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), for the period beginning 
12 February 1952, be corrected to show his correct service number which should start with the digits 55 instead of 44; to show his correct date of separation as 
26 January 1954 instead of 1964; to show his first and middle name in the correct order as shown on his birth certificate; and to show the award of the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he wants to get these corrections made so that his family will not have any difficulty in getting his grave marker placed after he is deceased.  He provides a copy of this DD Form 214, his Form 3072 (Honorable Discharge Certificate), and his birth certificate.

4.  The applicant’s military records were requested from the repository in 
St. Louis, Missouri, but without success.  A fire destroyed approximately 
18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost in that fire.  From his DD Form 214, it shows that he was inducted into the Army and entered active duty on 12 February 1952.  He served in Korea for 1 year, 3 months, and 
19 days, as an infantryman in the 160th Infantry Regiment.  He was wounded on 
1 November 1952 in Mun Dunghi Valley, Heart Break Ridge.  According to U. S. Army Surgeon General Hospitalization (SGO) File Listings, he was wounded in the leg and foot by shrapnel from an explosive projectile shell.  He was treated in the theater of operations, hospitalized for about 2 months, and then returned to duty. 

5.  There is no record that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or the CIB.  His DD Form 214 shows that he was awarded the Korean Service Ribbon with 3 bronze service stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

6.  After 1 year, 11 months, and 15 days, on 26 January 1954, he was released from active duty and transferred to the Army Reserve to complete his military obligation.  His DD Form 214 erroneously shows this release date as 26 January 1964.  The State of Illinois, Union County clerk recorded the DD Form 214 in county records on 4 February 1954.

7.  His first and middle names on the DD Form 214 are listed in the reverse order as they are listed on the applicant’s birth certificate.

8.  His DD Form 214 shows the applicant’s service number starting with the 
digits 44.  The SGO records show that his service number begins with the 
digits 55.  The applicants Form 3702 (Honorable Discharge Certificate), shows his service number beginning with the digits 55.

9.  According to Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is awarded to a soldier with an infantry MOS who is assigned or attached to an infantry, ranger, or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period that such unit was engaged in active ground combat with the enemy.  The soldier must have been personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry or special forces primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy.

10.  According to AR 600-8-22, Military Awards, award of the Purple Heart is made to soldiers wounded, injured, or killed from an outside force or agent as a result of an action against an enemy or an act of any such enemy.  The wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by medical personnel and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was wounded while in action against the enemy as indicated on his DD Form 214 and the SGO records.  He should be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant was an infantryman and fought in combat with the 160th Infantry Regiment against the enemy as proven by the evidence of his wounding.  He should be awarded the CIB.

3.  The applicant’s correct date of separation is 26 January 1954 according to his time in service and other evidence of record.  His record should be corrected to show this date.

4.  The applicant’s service number on his DD Form 214 should be corrected to begin with the two digits, 55.

5.  The applicant’s first and middle name on his DD Form 214 should be corrected to agree with the correct order as show on his birth certificate.

6.  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 for the individual concerned by:

	a.  awarding him the Purple Heart and the CIB; and

	b.  issuing him a DD Form 215 to show his date of separation as 
26 January 1954, his correct service number beginning with the first two digits as 55, his first and middle name in the order as shown on his birth certificate, and award of the Purple Heart and the CIB.

BOARD VOTE:  

__sp___  ___rs____  __ji____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Shirley Powell____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000049494	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010322	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107 – Decorations and Awards	
2.	100 – Administrative Matters	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.