PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            30 May 2002
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001064724

	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. Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. John P. Infante		Member	
	Ms. Paula Mokulis		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 that his records be corrected to show his entitlement to the award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he incurred a combat wound while he was in the Republic of Korea in August or September 1951 and that his Report of Separation (DD Form 214) shows that he was discharged as a result of a physical disability.  However, his award of the Purple Heart was omitted.

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

5.  On 14 August 1950, he enlisted in the Army for 3 years and he successfully completed his training as an infantryman.

6.  His awards include the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Korean Service Medal w/two Bronze Service Stars.

7.  Information obtained from hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army shows that on 16 September 1951, the applicant, while he was in Korea serving in the rank of Private First Class (E-3), was hospitalized after he was wounded in the thigh by fragments from a grenade or other explosive munitions.  The hospital admission cards also indicate that his wound was a direct result of action by enemy forces.

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 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.

9.  That regulation also provides that the United Nations Service Medal (UNSM) is awarded automatically to personnel awarded the Korean Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is awarded to personnel for honorable active service during the period of 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, provides in pertinent part, that the 17th Infantry Regiment was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (ROKPUC) in Department of the Army General Order Number 22-56, for the period of 30 September 1950 to 27 July 1953.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record clearly shows that the applicant was wounded in Korea on 16 September 1951.  Therefore, it is reasonable to presume that he was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds and that the omission of that award was the result of an administrative oversight.

2.  Accordingly, the Board finds that it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart and that he was wounded on 16 September 1951 from fragmentation wounds to the thigh while in Korea. 

3.  Additionally, the applicant was authorized to receive awards of the UNSM, the NDSM and the ROKPUC.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to award them to him at this time.

4.  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 by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for fragmentation wounds he received on 16 September 1951 and by awarding him the UNSM, the NDSM and the ROKPUC.

BOARD VOTE:  

___jpi___  ___pm __  __rvo ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr._
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001064724	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	2002/05/30	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.