RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:            JANUARY 22, 2004                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003090817

	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. Jessie B. Strickland		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Joann Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ronald J. Weaver		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 requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he sustained multiple wounds while on patrol in Korea from a land mine and was never awarded the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant provides copies of his medical records showing that he was wounded in action on 1 March 1951 and was treated for those wounds.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of error which occurred on 1 August 1956.  The application submitted in this case is dated 26 April 2003.  

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 applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 29 July 1947 for a period of 3 years.  He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) from 8 January 1948 to 16 December 1949.  On 28 July 1950, he was discharged under honorable conditions at the expiration of his term of service.

5.  He again enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 August 1950 and was transferred to Korea on 31 August 1950.  On 1 March 1951, while serving in the rank of corporal with K Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, the applicant was wounded in action as a result of a land mine explosion.  He received multiple fragmentation wounds and was initially treated at the battalion aid station and then at the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital before being transferred to the 279th General Hospital in Japan and then to Tripler Army Hospital in Hawaii.  He was transferred to the Army Hospital at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on 17 May 1951. 
6.  He was honorably discharged on 1 August 1956, for the purpose of immediate reenlistment.  He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars for that period of service and he again reenlisted on 2 August 1956 and continued to serve until he was discharged under other than honorable conditions on 31 July 1957, under the provisions of Army Regulation 635-208, for unfitness due to undesirable habits and traits of character manifested by misconduct and petty offenses.

7.  The applicant applied to the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) for an upgrade of his undesirable discharge in 1959 and in 1962 and the ADRB denied both of his applications.  However, the applicant's records had not been destroyed at that time and the proceedings of his case indicate the applicant's award of the KSM and the fact that his records indicate his March 1951 wounds.  Additionally, the applicant's name appears on the Korean War Casualty listing as being wounded on 1 March 1951.

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 a result of hostile action, that the wound must have required treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence of record clearly establishes that the applicant was wounded in combat in Korea on 1 March 1951, that he was treated for those wounds and that the treatment was made a matter of record.  

2.  The evidence also shows that he is entitled to be awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds and the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to award him the Purple Heart at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

jl___     __  aao_____  rjw_____  GRANT RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for 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 applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat in Korea on 1 March 1951, while serving in the rank of corporal.  

		____Joann Langston_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003090817	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20040122	
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.  107.0015	61/PH	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.