PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           29 November 2001   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001062377

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Mr. William D. Powers		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.

3.  The applicant states that he should have received a Purple Heart for an injury he sustained to his left ear.  He contends that he was hit by shrapnel during the Korean War and was sent to Japan for treatment.  In support of his application, he submits a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States).

4.  The applicant’s military records were destroyed or lost during the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show that the applicant enlisted on 
13 September 1948 for a period of 3 years.  He served in Korea and was honorably discharged on 16 May 1952.  

5.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  The Office of the Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was hospitalized on 6 August 1950 for an ear injury sustained as a result of hostile action in Korea.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Medical evidence of record shows the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action on 6 August 1950 in Korea.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart and correction of his military records to show this award. 

2.  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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 6 August 1950 in Korea; 

b.  by deleting the entry “None” in item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) on his DD Form 214; and

c.  by adding the entry “Korea, 6 August 1950” item 29 on the DD Form 214. 

BOARD VOTE:  

RVO___  JPI_____  WDP_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062377	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20011129	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.