PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 18 June 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001062754


         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
Mrs. Joyce A. Hall		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Ms. Karol A. Kennedy		Chairperson
Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		Member
Mr. Allen L. Raub		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 in effect, correction of his Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States (DD Form 214) to show the Purple Heart (PH), the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and any other awards that have been approved since his release from active duty.

3. The applicant states in effect, that while assigned to a unit in Korea he was wounded in ground combat. He received extensive burns to his lower right leg. His DD Form 214, item 29 annotates his injury.

4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Information available to the Board was obtained from a reconstructed record and shows that the applicant entered active duty on 12 October 1948. His DD Form 214 shows his military occupational specialty (MOS) as 5657 (Medical Corpsman). His DD Form 214 also shows that he served overseas for 7 months and 12 days. The applicant’s available record
shows that he was assigned to Company L, 23^rd Infantry Regiment.

5. The applicant’s DD Form 214, item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) shows Leg burn Wonjui Korea 10 January 1951.
However, Information Form, (W.D.A.C.O. Form No. 8-26) filed in the applicant’s reconstructed record shows that he was treated on 9 January 1951 for first and second degree burns of both of his legs. It also shows that the applicant was burned while standing around a bonfire.

6. Information from the three available Surgeon General Hospital Admission Cards shows that the applicant was admitted/treated at an overseas treatment facility on three separate occasions. The first admission occurred on
29 September 1950. He was treated for Pyrexia (abnormal elevation of body temperature). The applicant’s admission/treatment was characterized as non-battle. The second admission occurred on 9 January 1951. He was treated for burns to his lower extremity (leg). The applicant’s injury occurred while he was performing assigned duties. The third admission occurred in June 1951. The applicant was evacuated from an overseas treatment facility to Fort Lewis, Washington for further treatment. He was treated for malaria and his illness was characterized as non-battle.

7. On 14 October 1951, the applicant was honorably discharged from active duty. His DD Form 214 shows as authorized awards the Korean Service Ribbon and 3 Battle Stars. It does not show the award of the PH or the CIB.




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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 prescribes Army policy and procedures concerning awards. Paragraph 8-6 provides for award of the CIB. That paragraph states that there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB. The soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat. Specific requirements state, in effect, that an Army enlisted soldier must be have an infantry specialty, satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat. A recipient must be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy.

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 provides for award of the United Nations Service Medal. 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.

12. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows, among other information, units awards authorized for units which served during the Korean War. This document shows the unit to which the applicant was assigned, the 23^rd Infantry Regiment, received the Distinguished Unit Citation for actions during the period 30 July 1950 to 2 February 1951. The applicant was a member of the 23^rd Infantry Regiment during the period for which the 23^rd Infantry Regiment was cited for this unit award by War Department General Orders #36, dated 1951.



13. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, the Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service Medal to pay tribute to eligible Korean War veterans for their historic endeavors to preserve the freedom
of the Republic of Korea and the free world. On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of this foreign award. The Department of Defense has assigned responsibility to the Department of the Air Force for distribution of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans of all services. In order to assist the applicant, the Board is furnishing him with a copy of the Department of the Air Force administrative instructions for requesting award of the Korean War Service Medal. When the Korean War Service Medal is authorized by the Department of the Air Force, the applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to add this foreign unit award to his DD Form 214.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board notes that the applicant met the regulatory requirements for award of the National Defense Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal. Therefore, correction of his DD Form 214 to show these awards is appropriate.

2. The evidence available to the Board shows that the applicant was assigned to a unit during a period of time that the unit was awarded the Distinguished
Unit Citation. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award.

3. The applicant’s DD Form 214, item 29 indicates that he was wounded as a result of hostile action; however, that information appears to be an administrative error. The Surgeon General Hospital Admission Cards and the W.D.A.C.O. Form No. 8-26 shows that his injury was not battle related. Therefore, the applicant would not have been entitled to the PH.

4. The evidence available to the Board shows that the applicant did not have an infantry MOS. While he certainly may have performed combat duties and he may have been assigned and supported an infantry unit to the extent of being involved in enemy fire while in Korea, those duties do not qualify him for award of the CIB.

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





RECOMMENDATION:

1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by amending the applicant’s DD Form 214 to show the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation.

2. That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:

__KAK__ __MHM__ __ALR__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  ___Karol A. Kennedy___
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001062754
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	2002/06/18
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	PARTIAL GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.0015
2.	107.0111
3.
4.
5.
6.