PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            25 October 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001058651

	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. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		Member	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		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 that his records Report of Separation (DD Form 214) be corrected to show that he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.  He also requests that the Combat Infantryman Badge be reflected on his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart in June 1951.  He states that his records never caught up with him so that his awards could be included on his DD Form 214.

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

5.  He was inducted into the Army on 20 October 1950 and he successfully completed his training as an infantryman.

6.  His DD Form 214 shows that he was awarded the Korean Service Medal (KSM) with Two Bronze Service Stars.

7.  Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General (SGO) for the period covering 1942 through 1945 and 1950 through 1954 and the SGO File Listing for the period covering 1950 through 1953 show that the applicant was admitted to the hospital on 12 June 1951.  He was hospitalized from 30 to 39 days after he was wounded in the thigh as a result of explosive projectile shells from a gun or mortar.  The Hospital Admission Cards show that he was assigned to an infantry unit and that his wounds were the direct result of action by an organized enemy.

8.  He was promoted to the rank of Corporal (E-4) on 31 December 1951.

9.  He was honorably released from active duty on 19 July 1952 and he was transferred to the United States Army Reserve.  The DD Form 214 that he was furnished at the time of his release from active duty shows his most significant duty assignment as Company C, 17th Infantry Regiment.  However, his DD Form 214 fails to show that he was wounded in action.  

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that to be eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge, a soldier must be an Army infantry or special forces officer in the grade of colonel or below, or an Army enlisted soldier or warrant officer with 
an infantry or special forces military occupational specialty (MOS), who subsequent to 6 December 1941 has satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of a infantry, ranger or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also 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.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 further provides for award of the United Nations Service Medal (UNSM).  In pertinent part, the regulation states that the period of eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal was between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  The regulation provides that this service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations.  Award of the Korean Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for award of the United Nations Service Medal.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It appears that administrative errors were made during the preparation of his DD Form 214 which resulted in the omission of the CIB and the Purple Heart.

2.  The available evidence clearly shows that he was hospitalized after being wounded in the thigh as a direct result of hostile action by enemy forces.  His DD Form 214 should be corrected to show that he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The available evidence also shows that he was performing the duties of an infantryman, assigned to an infantry regiment and engaged in ground combat with enemy forces.  Consequently, it is reasonable to presume that he was awarded the CIB and his DD Form 214 should be corrected to reflect his award.

4.  Additionally, he is also entitled to the UNSM based on his award of the KSM.

5.  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 amending the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned to show that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart for wounds that he received to his leg and thigh on 12 June 1951 as a result of hostile action by enemy forces, while serving in the rank of Private First Class 
(E-3); and

b.  by awarding him the United Nations Service Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

__kan___  ___reb __  __rjw ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Raymond J. Wagner____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001058651	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2001/10/25	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  131	107.0085	
3.  		
4.		
5.		
6.