PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:          11 September 2003                    
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003083816

	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. Richard P. Nelson		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Stanley Kelley		Chairperson	
	Mr. Christopher J. Prosser       		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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 his records be corrected to reflect award of the Purple Heart as a result of being wounded in Korea.

3.  The applicant states that his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) reflects that he was wounded as a result of action with enemy forces on 2 June 1953 and that he was awarded the Purple Heart, but the award is not reflected in his military service records.

4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and consist of his DD Form 214 and copies of information from the hospital admission cards of the Office of The Surgeon General, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files.”

5.  The available records show that the applicant was inducted in the Army on 14 October 1952.  He completed training as an infantryman and served in Korea for 14 months with the 25th Infantry Division.  The applicant was honorably separated from the Army on 13 October 1954 after completing 2 years of creditable service.  Block 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows award of the following: the Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

6.  Block 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 show that he was wounded on 2 June 1953, in Korea.  SGO Files show that the applicant was wounded, as a result of enemy action, on 2 June 1953, and hospitalized on 3 June 1953.

7.  The US Army Korean War Casualty list shows that the applicant was wounded, while assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, on 2 June 1953.

8.  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.

9.  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 service award to eligible US veterans of the Korean War, or their surviving next of kin. The medal is provided at no cost to veterans.

10.  The Department of Defense assigned responsibility to the Department of the Air Force for distribution of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans or their surviving next of kin.  To apply, veterans must submit a copy of their discharge paper (DD Form 214) to the Awards and Decorations Section, Headquarters, Air Force Personnel Center, 550 C Street West, Suite 12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 78150-4714.  A sample request form is being provided to the applicant.  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’s DD Form 214 and SGO Files show that the applicant was wounded, as a result of hostile action, on 2 June 1953, and hospitalized for his wounds on the following day.

2.  The US Army Korea War Casualty list shows that the applicant was wounded while assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, in Korea, on 2 June 1953.

3.  The Board determined that the evidence shows that the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat on 2 June 1953 and as such, is entitled to correction of his records to reflect this award.

4.  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 showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat against a hostile force, in Korea, on 2 June 1953.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jtm___  ___sk___  ____cjp__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Stanley Kelley_________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003083816	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030911	
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.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.