PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           16 April 2002      
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002066999

	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. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Irene N. Wheelwright		Chairperson	
	Ms. Melinda M. Darby		Member	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		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, as the daughter and legal representative of a former service member (FSM), requests correction of her father’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show award of the Purple Heart. 

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that her father sustained a gunshot wound to his right arm in Korea.  In support of her application, the applicant submits two copies of the FSM’s DD Forms 214 with effective dates of 9 October 1953 and 
2 March 1955; and a Durable General Power of Attorney, dated 12 April 2001. 

4.  The FSM’s military records show that he enlisted on 20 September 1949.  He served as a light weapons infantryman in Korea from 19 February 1951 through 29 August 1953 and was honorably discharged on 9 October 1953.  He reenlisted on 7 January 1954 and was discharged under honorable conditions 
(a general discharge) on 2 March 1955. 

5.  The FSM’s DD Forms 214 do not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

6.  The available records contain information from the Hospital Admission Cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army (1942-1945 and 1950-1954) which indicate the FSM was hospitalized for burns to his left leg sustained as a direct result of enemy action on 11 March 1951 in Korea.

7.  The available records also contain a FEC AGO Form 241 (Casualty Report), dated 16 October 1951, which states “EM [enlisted member] missing in action 
14 Sep 51 in the vicinity of Suim-Myon, North Korea.  EM’s Company has stated that EM was wounded in action and evacuated to hospital unknown.”  The available records contain three eyewitness statements attesting that the FSM was on his way to the aid station after being wounded in action on 14 September 1951 when he disappeared.  One eyewitness statement provided by a guard indicates that he redressed the FSM’s wound, that the FSM joined approximately six or seven other wounded soldiers enroute to the aid station and shortly thereafter he (the guard) heard small arms fire in the vicinity in which the wounded soldiers were traveling.

8.  The FSM’s records show that he was missing in action in Korea from 
14 September 1951 and was returned to military control on 26 August 1953.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Prisoner of War Medal.  The regulation states that the Prisoner of War Medal was authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

11.  Army Regulation 635-5 establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  In pertinent part, it directs that, in the case of prisoners of war, the unit of assignment, country and dates of capture and release will be entered in the “Remarks” section of the discharge document.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Medical evidence of record shows the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action on 11 March 1951 in Korea.  Evidence of record also shows that the FSM was wounded as a result of hostile action prior to being taken prisoner on 14 September 1951 in Korea.  Therefore, the Board determined that there is sufficient evidence on which to base two awards of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster) in this case.   

2.  The FSM was a prisoner of war from 14 September 1951 through 26 August 1953 in Korea.  Therefore, the FSM is entitled to award of the Prisoner of War Medal and correction of  item 38 (Remarks) on his DD Form 214 with an effective date of 9 October 1953 to show his POW status. 

3.  In view of the foregoing, the FSM’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected:

	a.  by adding the entries, “Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster” and “Prisoner of War Medal” in item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) on the DD Form 214 with an effective date of 9 October 1953 of the FSM concerned;  	

	b.  by deleting the entry, “NONE” in item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) on his DD Form 214 with an effective date of 9 October 1953;

	c.  by adding the entries, “Korea, 11 March 1951” and “Korea, 
14 September 1951” in item 29 on the DD Form 214 with an effective date of 
9 October 1953; and

	d.  by adding the entry, “Prisoner of War, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Korea, 510914-530826.” In item 38 (Remarks) on his DD Form 214 with an effective date of 9 October 1953.

BOARD VOTE:  

INW____  MMD____  JTM____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Irene N. Wheelwright_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002066999	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20020416	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0030	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.