PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           19 November 2002   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002074188

	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. Edmund P. Mercanti		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Slone		Chairperson	
	Ms. Sherri V. Ward		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states his separation documents should reflect that he was awarded the PH.

4.  The applicant’s military records could not be located and are presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973.  The following information was derived from alternate sources.

5.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 25 January 1952, was promoted to sergeant, and was honorably released from active duty on 24 October 1953.

6.  The applicant’s separation document shows that he was awarded the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, the UN Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the National Defense Service Medal.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded for wounds 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.

8.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Credit Register, shows that the applicant's unit was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the period in which the applicant was assigned.

9.  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).  Searches of these files show that the applicant was wounded as a result of enemy action and admitted to a hospital for treatment of that wound on 12 November 1952.  The wound was a bullet to his shoulder.

10.  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.  The applicant is entitled to the PH for wounds he sustained during the Korean War.

2.  The applicant is also entitled to the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
 
3.  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 by:

a.  awarding to the individual concerned the PH for wounds he sustained in Korea; and

b.  awarding him the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:  

___mhm_  ___svw__  ___jns __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________John N. Slone_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002074188	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20021119	
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.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.