RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           18 December 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003091786

	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. G. E. Vandenberg		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. James E. Anderholm		Member	
	Ms. Yolanda Maldonado		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 his DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that although his DD Form 214 shows he was wounded 10 June 1951, it does not show he received the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on 28 July 1951.  The application submitted in this case is dated 21 May 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 were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from his DD Form 214 and the health record research project records, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files".

4.  The applicant was recalled to active duty on 27 September 1950, having had 4 years, 2 months and 5 days of prior service.

5.  His DD Form 214 shows that he served in Korea for 8 months and 8 days, and was released from active duty on 28 July 1951.  It also shows that he received a wound as a result of action with enemy forces described as shell fragment to the left thigh on 10 January 1951.  His awards are listed as the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, and the Army of the Occupation Medal with Japan Clasp.

6.  In the development of this case a search of the health record research project records, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", was made.  These records 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).  This information is a valuable substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  A search of these files found that the applicant had received a small arms bullet wound to his thigh as a direct result of action against or by an organized enemy and was hospitalized for this wound on 10 January 1951.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, the Purple Heart is awarded to an individual who is wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, the armed force of a foreign country which is or has been engaged, while serving with a friendly foreign forces against an opposing force even though the U.S. is not engaged, as the result of any act of such enemy or opposing force or as a result an act of any hostile foreign force.  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. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 and the present.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the United Nations Service Medal.  In pertinent part, the regulation states that the period of eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal was between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  The regulation provides that this service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations.  Award of the Korean Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for award of the United Nations Service Medal.

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 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. 

11.  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 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 his DD Form 214.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 and the SGO files show that the applicant received a combat related wound to his thigh on 10 January 1951. 

2.  These two items are sufficient evidence show that he was wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, that the wound was the result of hostile action, that the wound required treatment by a medical officer, and the medical treatment is a matter of official record.

3.  Therefore, the evidence presented was sufficient to excuse failure to timely file and to warrant a recommendation for relief by awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received on 10 January 1951.

4.  The applicant is also authorized the award of the National Defense Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal.

BOARD VOTE:

__RVO__  __JEA___  _YM_______  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 showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds sustained on 10 January 1951, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

		_Raymond V. O’ Connor, Jr.
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003091786	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20031218	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION		
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107 Purple Heart	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.