RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           9 December 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003088908

	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. Carolyn Wade		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Mark D. Manning		Chairperson	
	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Member	
	Ms. Eloise C. Prendergast		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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:  

1.  The applicant requests reconsideration of his earlier request to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to correct his DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) by changing his military occupational specialty (MOS) from truck driver to tank gun loader, and by awarding him the Purple Heart (PH).  In regards to the latter, he requests that his medical records be corrected to show he received a shrapnel wound instead of a self-inflicted gunshot (carbine) wound to his leg.  

2.  The applicant states that he was a gun loader in a tank battalion and was never issued a carbine; therefore, he could not have shot himself while cleaning a carbine.  He states that he was injured by shrapnel from enemy indirect weapons fire during combat and he is entitled to the PH.  He states that due to time constraints and his difficulties with the English language, he signed an inaccurate DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant provides a partial copy of a Rating Decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Regional Office, Albuquerque, New Mexico, dated 18 September 2002.  This document was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence.  It indicates that the DVA has reassessed a previous decision "Considering the fact it took a 3 inch incision for debridement of your wound, you continue to have metal fragments in your leg, the wound was considered in the line of duty and you received the Bronze Service Star, the preponderance of the evidence is more consistent with your statement that you were wounded [by enemy action] in combat rather than being wounded when your carbine accidentally discharged."

4.  The applicant also provides a copy of a self-authored letter to his congressman explaining his problem and requesting the congressman's help in obtaining the corrections he seeks.  This document was not previously reviewed by the ABCMR; therefore, it is considered new evidence.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the ABCMR in Docket Number AR2002069144 on 14 May 2002.

2.  Service medical records show the applicant received a gunshot wound to his left anterior thigh at 8 p.m. on 22 October 1951 while assigned to Company C, 6th Medium Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division.  He was initially treated at the Battalion Aid Station where his records were annotated that he received the 

gunshot (carbine) wound while cleaning his tank.  He was then evacuated to the 8076th MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), then to the 3rd Station Hospital, and, finally, to the 343rd General Hospital in Japan.  He spent a total of 44 days in hospital and was discharged and returned to duty on/about 8 December 1951.

3.  A medical admission record, dated 23 October 1951, is annotated that the applicant was accidentally injured in the company area while he was cleaning a gun (carbine) when it discharged.

4.  An Abbreviated Clinical Record (SF Form 539), dated 26 October 1951, is annotated "WIA NK SF LT THIGH [wounded in action, North Korea, shell fragment, left thigh]" and "2x4 inch wound of left thigh needs more debridement."

5.  A Clinical Record, dated 8 December 1951, is annotated that the applicant was injured when he was cleaning a carbine.

6.  A Clinical Record, dated 11 December 1951, is annotated that the applicant was treated for a "wound, missile, left anterior thigh, penetrating no artery or nerve involvement, accidentally incurred 2000 hours, 22 October 1951 in the company area, North Korea when patient was cleaning carbine and it discharged."  It also shows the debridement of wound of extremities, left thigh, performed at 343rd General Hospital, 1 November 1951.  

7.  The applicant was separated on 10 November 1952 after completing 1 year, 11 months, and 4 days of creditable military service with no lost time.  

8.  His DD Form 214, Item 5, shows his MOS as 4345 (Light Vehicle Driver) and his most significant duty assignment as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Medium Tank Battalion.  

9.  On 21 June 2002, a DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214) awarded the applicant additional medals; however, the PH was not one of them.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart (PH) is awarded for a wound sustained as a result of hostile action.  Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that:  (1) the wound was the result of hostile action; (2) the wound required medical treatment; and (3) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

11.  Unit records for the 6th Medium Tank Battalion, obtained from the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, show that for the 24-hour period beginning at 1800 hours, 22 October 1951, the applicant's unit was located at map grid 

coordinates CT765434.  The records also show that seventy rounds of enemy artillery fire were received at map grid coordinates CT805526, and thirty rounds of enemy mortar fire were received at map grid coordinates CT810538, and that this was the only enemy activity during the 24-hour period.

12.  The US Army Korean War Casualty File 1950-1953 is a data file containing casualty information on US Army Soldiers during the Korean War.  The file lists only 10 entries for the 6th Medium Tank Battalion with no casualties reported on 22 October 1951.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his MOS 4345 is incorrect and that it should be changed to gun loader.  The available evidence of record cannot verify that the applicant’s MOS 4345 is incorrect and that it should be changed to gun loader.  Administrative regularity in the preparation of the applicant’s DD Form 214 is presumed.

2.  The applicant contends he was wounded in combat and is entitled to award of the PH.  Except for a terse note on an undated Abbreviated Clinical Record, all pertinent medical records show that he accidentally shot himself while cleaning a carbine.

3.  A review of unit records for the time period the applicant was injured confirm that the enemy fired artillery and mortar rounds.  However, based upon the grid coordinates in the unit records, those rounds impacted some 5 miles from the applicant's unit location.  The applicant could not have been wounded by indirect weapons fire; the bursting radius of both artillery and mortars firing high explosive rounds would have been no more than 40 meters.

4.  Although the DVA has accepted the applicant's explanation for how he incurred his leg wound and has granted service-connection with a 10 percent disability rating, that action does not provide sufficient evidence to support the applicant’s request for award of the PH.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__mdm___  __rjw___  __ecp___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2002069144, dated 14 May 2002.

			Mark D. Manning
		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088908	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20031209	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	(DENY)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0017	
2.	100.0500	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.