IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 7 July 2023 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20230000675 APPLICANT REQUESTS: * the applicant, daughter of a deceased former service member (FSM), requests, in effect, the award of the Purple Heart, and the addition of that award to her father's DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) * In addition, the applicant requests a thorough investigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in her home area, and she asks that the VA or other responsible Federal agency meet with the family to discuss the benefits owed APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENT(S) CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Army Review Boards Agency letter * WD AGO (War Department, Adjutant General's Office) Form 8-27 (Field Medical Card) * Standard Form (SF) 539 (Abbreviated Clinical Record) * DA Form 8-24 (Admission Form) * DD Form 214 * Death Certificate * VA documents and medical records (226 pages) FACTS: 1. The applicant did not file within the 3-year time frame provided in Title 10 (Armed Forces), United States Code (USC), section 1552 (b) (Correction of Military Records: Claims Incident Thereto). However, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) conducted a substantive review of this case and determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant's failure to timely file. 2. The applicant states, in effect, her father served during the Korean War, and he had to endure systemic prejudice and discrimination as a wounded warrior and "MIA" (missing-in-action) Soldier. In addition, after he separated from the Army, he faced significant disparities in his healthcare treatment because of racial and ethnic bias; the poor treatment he received went on for far too long, and it now needs to be addressed. The applicant continued with additional arguments in a separate self-authored statement: a. The applicant points out that the Union Army disability pension system was an early experiment in colorblind social policy; however, Black Veterans were shortchanged due to the difficulty in proving eligibility as a result of the legacy of slavery, and because white former Soldiers received greater leniency than what was afforded Black Veterans. b. The applicant declares that she and her family want a thorough investigation of the VA office in their home area; they allege their father was mistreated and received inadequate medical care. After 65 years, the family was forced to relocate their parents (aged 89 and 83, respectively) to another State, where their access to VA benefits improved. c. The applicant maintains her father incurred wounds in combat, and he should have been awarded the Purple Heart, but this award was intentionally withheld. As of 2023, the family is seeking to obtain all of their father's medals and rank so that his service can be appropriately honored. d. On the applicant's DD Form 149, she has checked blocks for "Administrative Correction," "Pay & Allowances," "Decorations/Awards," "Disability," and "Promotion/Rank." 3. With regard to the applicant's requests that pertain to the VA, the VA and the Army (under the Department of Defense) operate under separate provisions of Federal law. By law, the ABCMR's mandate is limited to correcting Army records; it is not an investigative body, and it has no authority to direct changes in VA policy or how the VA's subordinate agencies respond to Veterans' claims. As such, that portion of the applicant's request will not be further addressed in this Record of Proceedings. The Board recommends the applicant and her family reach out to VA leadership and/or their members of Congress look into their concerns. 4. In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO, destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records and affected Army personnel records dated between November 1912 and January 1960. It is believed the FSM's records were damaged and/or destroyed in that fire. NPRC provided a reconstructed record, consisting of the FSM's separation order, and the applicant has submitted the FSM's DD Form 214 and an extract from the FSM's medical records. These documents offer sufficient information for the Board to address the applicant's request. 5 The applicant offers the following evidence: a. WD AGO Form 8-27, dated 22 April 1953, which indicates an unnamed Soldier incurred a penetrating wound to the abdomen, on 16 April 1953; enemy mortar fire struck the Soldier, at a location in North Korea, and he underwent surgery at the 46th MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). b. SF 539, generated by the Osaka Army Hospital, stated the FSM was wounded in action in North Korea, on 16 April 1953; the FSM sustained three penetrating wounds to the left abdomen, and the 46th MASH performed a laparotomy. The FSM's post- operative condition was uneventful, and he was subsequently evacuated. c. DD Form 214. The form indicates that, on 3 September 1952, the Army of the United States inducted the FSM for a 2-year term. (1) While in Korea, the FSM was assigned to the 532nd Engineer Battalion, and item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) confirms the FSM incurred the following wounds: "LWA SFW Lt side of body 16 Apr 1953." The FSM completed 1 year, 6 months, and 6 days of foreign service. (2) On 11 August 1954, the Army honorably released the FSM from active duty and transferred him to the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) to complete the remainder of his military service obligation. Item 3 (Grade, Rate, Rank and Date of Appointment) indicates the FSM held the temporary grade of private first class, with a date of rank of 21 December 1953. Item 24 (Total Net Service Completed for Pay Purposes) reflects the completion of 1 year, 11 months, and 9 days of net active duty service. (3) Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) lists the following: Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal. 6. NPRC provided the FSM's separation orders, dated 11 August 1954 and issued by a personnel service center at Fort Chaffee, AR; the order shows that, on 11 August 1954, the Army released the FSM from active duty and transferred him to the USAR. 7. Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 (Military Awards), currently in effect, prescribes policies and procedures for the individual and unit military awards. a. Paragraph 2-8 (Purple Heart) states the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action. b. Beyond showing that a Soldier sustained a wound or injury, approval of the Purple Heart requires substantiating evidence validating that the wound was serious enough to require treatment by medical personnel, and the medical personnel must have recorded the treatment as a matter of official record. 8. On the applicant's DD Form 149, she has checked blocks for "Administrative Correction," "Pay & Allowances," "Decorations/Awards," "Disability," and "Promotion/Rank." On the DD Form 214 she provided, she made notations pointing to four parts of the form that she believed required correction. Although she submits evidence to support the award of the Purple Heart, she offers no further evidence or explanation for the remaining errors. a. Service records are permanent historical documents, and any requests for correction must be carefully considered before changes are made. The Army has an interest in maintaining the accuracy of its records, and, for historical purposes, the data and information contained in those records should reflect the conditions and circumstances, as they existed at the time of the records' creation. (This includes references to race or ethnicity). b. The ABCMR's governing regulation (Army Regulation 15-185) states the Board decides cases based on what is in an applicant's service record and the documentary evidence provided by the applicant; it is not an investigative body and the Board must begin its consideration of each case from a presumption of administrative regularity, meaning that what the Board finds in the applicant's service record is presumed to be correct. c. The regulation goes on to state that it is the applicant who has the burden of proving the existence of an error or injustice, and he or she must do so by submitting a preponderance of documentary evidence. (Preponderance of evidence is a legal standard of proof; the standard requires a petitioner to submit strong enough evidence for a decider to find that, more likely than not, the petitioner's claims are correct). BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. After reviewing the application, all supporting documents, and the evidence found within the military record, the Board determined that partial relief was warranted. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s contentions, military record, and regulatory guidance. In accordance with regulatory guidance on awarding the Purple Heart, the applicant must provide or have in supporting service records substantiating evidence to verify that he was injured, the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Documentation, specifically that denoting a wound due to having been struck by an enemy mortar and showing the former service member had a history of a shrapnel wound for which he underwent surgery in 1953, the Board found substantiating evidence to validate that he met the requirements for the award of the Purple Heart. Based on the preponderance of the documentation available for review, the Board determined the applicant met regulatory guidance on the award of the Purple Heart and that it be awarded. 2. As the applicant’s request pertaining to an investigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is outside the Board’s authority, the Board denied that portion of the request. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 : : : GRANT FULL RELIEF :xx :xx :xx GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: 1. The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by reissuing a DD Form 214 to show the award of the Purple Heart for injuries incurred in Korea on 16 April 1953 and that his daughter receive the award on her father’s behalf. 2. The Board further determined the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief. As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to any other relief not stated above. I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. REFERENCES: 1. Title 10, USC, 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 also allows the ABCMR to excuse an applicant's failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. 2. AR 600-8-22 (Military Awards), currently in effect, prescribes policies and procedures for the individual and unit military awards. a. Paragraph 2-8 (Purple Heart), the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action. b. Beyond showing that a Soldier sustained a wound or injury, approval of the Purple Heart requires substantiating evidence validating that the wound was serious enough to require treatment by medical personnel, and the medical personnel must have recorded the treatment as a matter of official record. //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20230000675 1 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1