PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 2 October 2001
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001055275


         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
Mr. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson
Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Member
Mr. Richard T. Dunbar		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.

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2. The applicant requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was in the 7^th Infantry Division during the Korean War and suffered severe frostbite to both feet during the period 15 November 1950 to 15 December 1950. He adds that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently awarded him a 30 percent service-connected disability for his frostbite. In support of his request, he submits a copy of a 2 February 2001 VA rating decision and a copy of his DD Form 214, Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States.

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. It shows that the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 31 December 1948. His enlistment was involuntarily extended due to the Korean War, making his effective date of separation 3 June 1952. His DD Form 214 shows that he had a total of 3 years, 5 months, and 3 days of creditable service, of which 2 years, 2 months, and 25 days were spent overseas in Japan and Korea. He was awarded the Commendation Ribbon (now the ARCOM, or Army Commendation Medal), the Army of Occupation Medal (AOM) with Japan Clasp, the Korean Service Medal with 3 Bronze Campaign Stars, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. He was separated in the rank of Sergeant First Class.

5. The applicant served in the 7^th Infantry Division during his service in the Far East. The end of World War II saw the 7^th Infantry Division assigned occupation duty in Korea. This lasted until 1948 when the division was withdrawn from Korea in increments and assumed occupation duty on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The last units of the 7^th Infantry Division officially left Korea on 31 December 1948. When war broke in Korea, the division initially was kept in Japan as part of the Far East Command General Reserve and men from the division were used to fill under-strength units already in Korea. These plans changed with planning for the invasion of Korea at Inchon and the 7^th Infantry Division became part of the newly formed X Corps.

6. A history of the 7^th Infantry Division, taken from the division's official website, reveals the following. The landing at Inchon sent the North Koreans reeling in retreat and soon the soldiers of the 7^th Infantry "Bayonet" Division were moving to liberate the South Korean capital city, Seoul. The Division's 32nd Infantry Regiment boldly seized Angyang-ni and Namsam, terrain features dominating Seoul. Then, with the capital secured, the Division turned its attention to the south. The 17th Infantry Regiment, yanked out of Eighth Army reserve, rejoined

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the Division in time to fight a fierce 12-hour battle for two vital hills southeast of Seoul. Soon they were in command of all terrain south-southwest of the Han River. They continued to drive toward the southeast to seize key terrain and also to cut off possible enemy escape routes. The Division then marched 25 miles east to Suwon to capture the important rail junction of Ichon.

Suwon was taken by the 31st Infantry Regiment, fighting under its battle flag for the first time since its surrender to the Japanese on Bataan. The 31st pushed below Suwon and, after a stiff fight, cleared a tank-supported enemy pocket near Osan. Here the Division linked up with a column from the 1st Cavalry Division, which had raced 102 miles north from the Naktong River, through enemy-held country, to clear the way for the joining of the two US forces.

With the arrival of troops from the Naktong perimeter, the mission of the Inchon landing force was complete and the 7th Infantry Division started a long overland truck march to the east coast near Pusan. Soon the Bayonet soldiers were again loading into troop transports; this time for an amphibious landing near the east coast village of Iwon. The division's ultimate objective was the Yalu, the river boundary between North Korea and Manchuria -- the privileged sanctuary that supplied the North Korean Army.

After an unopposed beachhead landing on 31 October 1950, the 7^th Division started driving north in arctic-like cold weather and, on 20 November 1950, the 17th Infantry Regiment reached the Yalu River. However, their stay was short-lived; on 27 November 1950, Chinese Communist Forces entered the war, striking twin blows against Eighth Army in western Korea and X Corps in the east. Surrounded, the division was forced to withdraw and fight its way south The intense cold of northeast Korea in late November -- 20 to 30 degrees below zero -- took its toll in frost-bite casualties in the 7th Division. The worst to suffer was the 31st Infantry which operated in the remote mountain regions east of the Pujon Reservoir. A total of 142 men in the division were treated for frostbite up to 23 November; 83 of them were from the 31st Regiment. Of the 58 men evacuated because of frostbite, 33 were from that regiment.

7. The applicant's VA disability rating decision references his citation for the Commendation Ribbon, stating "The citation reveals that the veteran was exposed to sub-zero temperatures while serving in Korea over the period
11-15-50 to 12-15-50." The award was authorized by General Order No. 76, Headquarters, 7^th Infantry Division.

8. Award of the Purple Heart (PH) for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited; however, until 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, defined a “wound” as an injury to any part of the body from an

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outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action against an armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. An “element” was further defined as weather and the award of the Purple Heart to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was authorized.

9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides that the Good Conduct Medal (GCMDL) is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service. This period is 3 years except in those cases when the period for the first award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service. Although there is no automatic entitlement to the Good Conduct Medal, disqualification must be justified.

10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal 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 (Military Awards) provides for award of the United Nations Service Medal (UNSM). In pertinent part, the regulation states that the period of eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal was between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954. The regulation provides that this service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations. Award of the Korean Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for award of the United Nations Service Medal.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The applicant served in Korea with the 7^th Infantry Division. He participated in the Iwon Landing and the drive north to the Yalu River during November 1950. The division suffered heavy frostbite casualties due to the bitter cold weather. The applicant received a Commendation Ribbon that cited his exposure to "sub-zero temperatures." The VA has awarded the applicant a 30 percent disability for frostbite he suffered during the Korean War. Under regulations then in effect, he is authorized award of the Purple Heart.

2. Based on a review of the applicant's DD Form 214 and pertinent Army awards regulations, the applicant is also authorized award of the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

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

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RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by issuing to the individual concerned a DD Form 215, Correction to DD Form 214, showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

BOARD VOTE:

_MKP___ __KAK___ __RTD__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  _ Margaret K. Patterson_
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001055275
SUFFIX
RECON
DATE BOARDED	20011002
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
DATE OF DISCHARGE
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY	DASA
ISSUES 1.	107.0015
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.