PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:  30 May 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2001066211

	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. Vic Whitney		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr. 		Chairperson	
	Ms. Paula Mokulis		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 several of his medical records be changed to show the correct date, location, and type of injury he suffered.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that some of his military medical records are not correct.  He injured his ankle in the barracks at Fort Lewis, Washington, not Yakima Firing Center.  Additionally, the reason he went on sick call on 17 May 1954, was for injuries he received that same day when he was thrown from a tank.  He could walk when he sprained his ankle earlier but he could not stand or walk after he broke his ankle and hurt his knee and hip.

4.  The applicant's military records were lost or destroyed in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center.  The available military medical records were made available from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) shows that he enlisted and entered active duty on 1 September 1951.  He served 11 months and 28 days in Korea and was promoted to the pay grade of E-3 effective 13 February 1953.  He was separated from active duty effective 1 September 1954 at the expiration of his term of service.

6.  The available record contains various military medical forms pertaining to examinations and treatment for complaints of left ankle pain.  A W.D., AGO Form 8-24 (medical form), dated 17 May 1954 by the unit dispensary, is the earliest record.  It states that the applicant hurt his left ankle when he jumped down stairs in the company area around 5 May 1954.  He was further referred to a medical battalion for evacuation to the Yakima Firing Center Dispensary for x-rays.  The 17 May 1954 SF 519a (Radiographic Report) showed no evidence of a fracture and further states that the applicant hurt his ankle 12 days prior at Yakima.

7.  Another W.D., AGO Form 8-24 from the Yakima Firing Center Dispensary states that the applicant injured his ankle while walking down stairs in the barracks at Fort Lewis, Washington.  After the x-rays the applicant was evacuated to Madigan Army Hospital at Fort Lewis on 17 May 1954.

8.  A SF 504 (Clinical Record), dated 25 May 1954, states that the applicant twisted his left foot on 5 May 1954 at the Yakima Firing Center.  A 27 May 1954 SF 513 (Consultation Sheet) from Madigan Army Hospital states that the applicant injured his left ankle on 5 May 1954.  A W.D., AGO Form 8-24 (medical form), dated 7 June 1954 from Madigan Army Hospital states that the applicant sprained the ligaments of the left ankle on 5 May 1954 while running at Yakima Firing Center, Yakima, Washington.

9.  A 7 June 1954 SF 502 (Narrative Summary) from Madigan Army Hospital states that the applicant injured his left foot on 5 May 1954, while running at Yakima Firing Center.  It shows that he was released from the hospital on 7 June 1954.  A DD Form 481-1 (Clinical Record Cover Sheet) states that the applicant sprained the ligaments of the left ankle on 5 May 1954, while running at Yakima Firing Center, Yakima, Washington.  A SF 513 (Consultation Sheet) shows that the applicant was referred to the Madigan Army Hospital orthopedic clinic for continued pain in his left ankle.  The orthopedic physician concluded on 9 August 1954, that the applicant's x-rays were within normal limits with no abnormality noted.  The resulting diagnosis was a ligament strain in the left ankle.

10.  The applicant states that a second injury involving a fracture to his left ankle and injury to his knee and hip occurred on 17 May 1954 when he was thrown from a tank.  There are no medical records available to support that contention of a second injury on that date under those circumstances.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  It is not the policy of the Board to create or alter military medical records.  Such records merely reflect the observations and opinions of medical personnel at the time they were recorded.  Medical records made or kept by the Department of the Army are merely prima facie evidence of the existence of the facts recorded, subject to further proof or disproof relating to the physical condition of a claimant at any given time.

2.  Notwithstanding the above, there is sufficient evidence of record to indicate that all references to the applicant's injuries of 5 May 1954 should reflect that the injury was sustained on the stairs in his barracks at Fort Lewis, Washington.

3.  There is no evidence of record to show that the applicant sustained a second injury on 17 May 1954 when thrown from a tank at the Yakima Firing Center, Yakima, Washington.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case for the individual concerned be corrected by placing a certificate in his records to show that all medical references to his injury on 5 May 1954 were sustained on the stairs in his barracks at Fort Lewis, Washington.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__ro____  __pm___  __ji____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr. ___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001066211	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020530	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PARTIAL	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	124.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.