RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            MARCH 2, 2004                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090300

	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. Luis Almodova		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Robert Duecaster		Member	
	Mr. Arthur A. Omartian		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, the son of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests, in effect, that the Purple Heart be added to the FSM's DD Form 214.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he has his father's awards and decorations in his possession and they include a Purple Heart, which his father, the FSM, said he received in Inchon, Korea.

3.  The applicant submitted a copy of the FSM's DD Form 214, Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States; a copy of his birth certificate, to establish relationship; and a copy of the FSM's death certificate.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on 16 April 1954.  The application submitted in this case is dated 26 February 2002.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file within the 3-year statute of limitation if the ABCMR determines that it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The FSM's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from alternate sources.

4.  The FSM's DD Form 214 reflects that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 8 July 1952.  He was trained in the military occupational specialty, 1795 (Tanker).  He was released from active duty on 16 April 1954, in the rank of Corporal, under the provisions of SR (Service Regulation) 615-363-5, section V, after having completed 1 year, 9 months, and 9 days active Federal service.

5.  The FSM was assigned in Korea for 1 year and 8 days during the Korean War.  While in Korea he was assigned to the Tank Company, 5th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division.

6.  The FSM's DD Form 214 reflects that he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, with two bronze service stars; the United Nations Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge, with Carbine Bar, during his service.

7.  The FSM was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps to complete the remainder of his eight years service obligation under the Universal Military Training and Service Act.

8.  The Hospital Admission Card Data File created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, and made available to the National Personnel Records Center, by the National Research Council, was reviewed for any information that the FSM was wounded in action during the Korea War.  No record that he was wounded in action was found; however, there is evidence that the FSM was hospitalized two times for treatment while he served in the Army.  

9.  On 25 August 1953, the FSM was hospitalized for impaired hearing, unilateral, for 3 days. This hearing impairment was not the result of trauma or injury.  In March 1954, the FSM was hospitalized, at Camp Chaffee, Fort Smith, Arkansas, for treatment of Rubella, (German Measles) for 3 days. 

10.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces), of the FSM's DD Form 214, has the entry, "None."  The FSM's signature appears in item 48 of the DD Form 214.

11.  On 24 April 1978, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requested the FSM's service medical records from the Army, in behalf of the FSM.  The FSM was in the process of submitting an "original disability" claim for compensation or benefits from the VA for a damaged right knee that he alleges to have sustained in August 1952 and received treatment for at the 231st Evacuation Hospital while he was in Korea.

12.  On 18 June 1991, the FSM requested that a copy of his service medical records be sent to him so that he could submit a request for disability [presumably to the VA].  In his letter requesting these records, the FSM did not mention the nature of his disability, whether it was related to illness or injury or the part of his anatomy that was affected.

13.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows that the FSM was assigned to a unit, Tank Company, 5th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division, at the time it was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the period 31 July 1950 through 27 July 1953 by Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) Number 49, dated 1954.

14.  AR 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.

15.  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 heroic 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.  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, or their surviving next of kin, 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 provided.  Once the Department of the Air Force has authorized the Korean War Service Medal, the applicant may apply to the Army Board For Correction of Military Records to have it added to the DD Form 214.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the applicant's contention that his father was awarded the Purple Heart while he served on active duty in Korea; however, the evidence of record does not support this contention.

2.  The FSM was hospitalized twice while he served in the Army; however, neither of these times was for treatment for wounds received in action.

3.  The FSM's service medical records were requested from the Army on two occasions.  Neither of these requests for his medical records mentioned a wound sustained in action against a hostile force.

4.  The FSM signed his DD Form 214 on the date he was discharged from the Army.  His signature signifies that he reviewed the information recorded on the DD Form 214 and that he agreed to the best of his knowledge, that it was correct and complete. 

5.  The unit the FSM served with in Korea, Tank Company, 5th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division, was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential 

Unit Citation while he was a member of the unit.  The FSM is therefore entitled to this unit award and to have it added to his DD Form 214.

BOARD VOTE:

fne_____  aao_____  ryd_____  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief and to excuse failure to timely file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding the FSM the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and adding it to his DD Form 214.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to award of the Purple Heart to the FSM and its addition to his DD Form 214.

		___Fred N. Eichorn___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090300	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20040302	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT IN PART	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.