PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            5 March 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001063027

	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. P. A. Castle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern, III		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, Jr.		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 his military record be corrected to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart (PH).  Upon completion of his basic training he was assigned to Korea where he was wounded.  He states the report of discharge (DD Form 214) does not reflect the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant's military records were partially lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained from reconstructed personnel records.

4.  The applicant was inducted on 16 January 1952.  After his initial training, he was assigned to Korea where he was wounded on 30 May 1953.  The U.S. Army Surgeon General Office (TSGO) Hospitalization File Listing 1950-53 (Korea) reflects he was injured and that the injury was as a direct result of action against or by an organized enemy.  

5.  The applicant submitted a copy of a certificate for the Purple Heart made out in his name as evidence for the Board.  He also submitted a copy of the western union message sent to his parents on 8 June 1953, explaining that their son had been wounded by mortar fire.

6.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows the Korean Service Medal as an authorized award with two bronze service stars (BSS).  However, his records show that he served in Korea from approximately January 1952 through          15 October 1953, and should have been awarded three bronze service stars in lieu of two for participation in three campaigns (Korean Summer-Fall, 1 May 1952 to 30 November 1952), (Third Korean Winter, 1 December 1952 to         30 April 1993), and (Korea, Summer-1953, 1 May 1953 to 27 July 1953).

7.  The available records also reflect that the applicant should have been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in the Korean conflict.  This document shows the unit, to which the applicant was assigned, was cited for award of the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for actions during the period 1 January 1951 to 30 April 1954, by Department of the Army General Orders Number 82-54. 

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through   14 August 1974, and 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995.

11.  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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSION:

1.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 indicates he was wounded while assigned to Korea.  

2.  The TSGO Hospitalization File Listing verifies the applicant was wounded as a direct result of combat.

3.  A copy of the western union message from the commander sent to his parents in 1953 further confirms he was wounded.

4.  A copy of a certificate for the PH in the applicant’s name is further evidence considered by the Board.

5.  The applicant is authorized an additional BSS for his already awarded Korean Service Medal which would make a total of three, for three campaigns.

6.  The applicant is authorized a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the period of service his unit participated and he is authorized the NDSM for honorable active service between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954.

7.  Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the omission of the PH was the result of an administrative error and it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records at this time to show his award of the Purple Heart.

8.  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 to show that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in May 1953, in Korea, the NDSM, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and an additional BSS for his already awarded Korean Service Medal.

BOARD VOTE:  

___fe ___  __tbr____  ___dh__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  _______  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  _______  DENY APPLICATION

		_____Fred N. Eichorn_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063027	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2002/03/05	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61	107.0015/PH	
2.  115	107.0069/NDSM	
3.  138	107.0092/KPUC	
4.  		
5.		
6.