PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           09 MAY 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002068198

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. John N. Slone		Member	
	Mr. Terry L. Placek		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 the award in 1951.  To support his request, he furnishes a copy of a 19 November 1952 VA letter informing him that he was awarded a 40 percent disability rating for a wound to his left arm, elbow, and left side abdominal wall, and that service connection was established for the wound to his right wrist and left chest conditions.

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.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) shows that the applicant entered on active duty on 3 October 1950 and that he was released from active duty on 2 July 1952.  He had 1 year and 9 months of service, of which 3 months and 14 days were foreign service.  His DD Form 214 shows award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star.  The word “NONE” is entered in item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces).

6.  Information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General shows that the applicant was admitted to a hospital in Korea on 1 July 1951 for a lacerated missile wound to his wrist and abdominal wall, that the wounds occurred while performing assigned duties, and the cause of the wound was an accident – explosion of small arms ammunition.  The applicant was evacuated to the United States.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 , Chapter 4 prescribes the eligibility criteria for award of the Army Good Conduct Medal, and states in pertinent part, that the medal is awarded for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity in active Federal military service.  One of the qualifying periods of service for the award is upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950, of less than 3 years but more than 1 year (for first award only).

8.  The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.

9.  The United Nations Service Medal is awarded for service in Korea between    27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  Personnel awarded the Korean Service Medal automatically establish eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.

11.  A health record research project, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In 1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  The availability of the information to the NPRC received considerable publicity by the various veterans service organizations.  It was widely believed that these tapes would become a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  It is estimated that the SGO files document 95 percent of all hospitalized battle casualties from World War II and the Korean war.

12.  As a matter of information, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, the Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service Medal to pay tribute to eligible Korean War veterans for their historic endeavors to preserve the freedom of the Republic of Korea and the free world.  On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of this foreign award.  The Department of Defense has assigned responsibility to the Department of the Air Force for distribution of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans of all services.  To apply, veterans must provide a copy of their discharge paper to the Awards and Decorations Section, Headquarter, Air Force Personnel Center, 550 C Street West, Suite 12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 78150-4714.  Once the Korean War Service Medal has been authorized by the Department of the Air Force, the applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to add this foreign award to his DD Form 214.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is insufficient evidence to show that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action.  To the contrary, the evidence indicates that the wounds that he suffered were a result of an accidental explosion of small arms ammunition.  Consequently, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart. 
 
2.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 indicates that he served his country faithfully and honorably.  That form shows that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.  It also shows that he had no lost time.  Furthermore, the applicant received numerous wounds as a result of the accidental explosion.  It would be in the interest of justice to award him the Army Good Conduct Medal. 

3.  The applicant is entitled to award of the National Defense Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal.

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 be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal. 

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__JHL___  __JNS __  __TLP   _  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Joann H. Langston___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002068198	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20020509	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.	61	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.