PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           6 March 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002078852

	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:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Ms. Linda D. Simmons 		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones 		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 correction of an award certificate for award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 1 September 1951, dated 18 May 2001, to show his rank as staff sergeant instead of Chief Warrant Officer Three.  He also requests that his military records be corrected to show two awards of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster)). 

3.  The applicant states that his rank should have been staff sergeant at the time of his wounding on 1 September 1951 in Korea.  He contends, in effect, that he received a Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 1 September 1951 in Korea and he received a second award of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 18 December 1965 in Vietnam.  Therefore, his military records should reflect two awards of the Purple Heart.  In support of his application, he submits an award certificate for the Purple Heart, dated 18 May 2001, which shows he was awarded the Purple Heart as a Chief Warrant Officer Three for wounds sustained on 1 September 1951 in Korea.  He also provided orders for the Purple Heart, dated 6 March 2001; and a letter, dated 17 May 2001, from the Military Awards Branch, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command. 

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he served on active duty from 
7 January 1949 to 6 December 1949.  He was discharged for fraudulent entry for not disclosing dependents.  The Army Discharge Review Board upgraded the applicant's undesirable discharge to honorable on 30 March 1950.

5.  The applicant reenlisted on 16 August 1950 and remained on active duty in an enlisted status until he was appointed as a warrant officer on 15 October 1964.  He retired on 31 October 1973 in the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three. 

6.  The applicant's retirement DD Form 214 shows one award of the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

7.  The applicant's DA AGO Form 20 (Soldier's Qualification Card) shows that he was serving in the grade of "SGT" [sergeant] on 25 July 1951, as a member of the 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.  This DA AGO Form 20 also shows that he was serving in the grade of "SGT" on 17 December 1951 while assigned to the 14th Transportation Battalion.  

8.  Permanent Order 065-02, dated 6 March 2001, show the applicant received the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of hostile actions on 
1 September 1951 in Korea.        

9.  1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) General Orders Number 301, dated 
26 December 1965, show the applicant received the Purple Heart as a Warrant Officer One for wounds received in action on 18 December 1965 in Vietnam.

10.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board considered the applicant's request to change his rank from Chief Warrant Officer Three to staff sergeant on the award certificate for the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 1 September 1951.  However, the applicant's DA AGO Form 20 shows that he served in the grade of "SGT" from 25 July 1951 through 17 December 1951.

2.  The award certificate and the orders for award of the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in Korea on 1 September 1951 are in error in that they show the applicant's rank as a Chief Warrant Officer Three instead of sergeant.  Therefore, the award certificate and orders should be corrected to show the applicant's rank as sergeant at the time he was wounded in Korea.

3.  The applicant's retirement DD Form 214 shows one award of the Purple Heart as an authorized award.

4.  Evidence of record shows the applicant received two awards of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, the applicant's retirement DD Form 214 should be corrected to show award of the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).

5.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

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

	a.  By showing the individual concerned, while a sergeant, received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 1 September 1951 in Korea;  

	b.  By showing the individual concerned, while a Warrant Officer One, received the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster) for wounds sustained on 
18 December 1965 in Vietnam; and

	c.  By correcting the applicant's retirement DD Form 214 to show award of the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster).
 
2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.  

BOARD VOTE:  

WTM___  LDS_____  FCJ_____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__Walter T. Morrison____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002078852	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20030306	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.