PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:          26 February 2002                    
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2001060119

	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. Luis Almodova		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart and that his records be corrected to show this award.

3.	The applicant states that he “was put in for the Purple Heart and never received it.”  In support of his application, applicant submitted a copy of his Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States (DD Form 214), dated 11 July 1953.  He also submitted a letter written on 8 August and another on 11 September 1952 to his then girlfriend, now his wife, wherein he mentioned wounds he received while on the front lines.

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.	Records that were obtained from alternate sources show that he was inducted into the Army on 12 October 1951.  He served one year and nine months on active duty.  Records further show that he served eleven months and six days foreign service.  Exact dates of his service in Korea are not known.  He was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 13 December 1952, released from active duty, and transferred to the Reserve on 11 July 1953.

6.	The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.  The applicant’s DD Form 214, which was authenticated in his own hand, shows the entry, “None,” in Item 29 (Wounds Received As A Result Of Action With Enemy Forces).   However, records obtained from the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), report titled - Information from the Hospital Admission Cards Created by the OTSG, Department of the Army (1942-1945) and (1950-1954), show that he received treatment for a wound to the hand on
30 August 1952 that was incurred as a direct result of action against or by an organized enemy.

7.	His awards, as recorded in Item 27, DD Form 214, include the Korean Svc Medla (sic), the Combat Infantry Badge (sic), the U.N. Svc Medla (sic), and two bronze service stars (sic).

8.	The Board notes that the applicant is entitled to the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars that are not shown correctly on his DD Form 214.

9.	 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation; and, it states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.	Applicant sustained a wound to the hand and was treated for it on 30 August 1952.  The wound sustained was a direct result of action against or by an organized enemy.

2.	The wound he described in the letter dated 11 September 1952 to his then girlfriend, now his wife, even though not authoritative in nature, is corroborated by description of the wound sustained as found on the Surgeon General’s report. 

3.	Applicant should be awarded the Purple Heart and his DD Form 214 should be amended to show this award.

4.	Incorrect entries found in Items 27 and 29, DD Form 214, should now be corrected to properly show his entitlement.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

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

a.	awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds he received on 30 August 1952 while serving in Korea;

b.	deleting incorrect entries, “Korean Service Medla,” “Combat Infantry Badge,” "U.N. Svc Medla,” and “2 bronze svc stars,” from Item 27, of his DD Form 214;

c.	Adding the following in Item 27, DD Form 214: Purple Heart, Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, United Nations Service Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge;

d.	Deleting the word, “NONE” from Item 29, DD Form 214; and,

e.  Adding the following to Item 29, DD Form 214, “Wound to hand, penetrating, 30 August 1952” to show that he was wounded as a result of action with an enemy force.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jhl___  __rjw___  __rtd___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

			Joann H. Langston
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001060119	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020226	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.