MEMORANDUM OF CONSIDERATION


         IN THE CASE OF:



         BOARD DATE: 10 JANUARY 2002
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2001063042

         I certify that hereinafter is recorded the record of consideration of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual.

Mr. Carl W. S. Chun		Director
Ms. Deborah L. Brantley		Senior Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson
Mr. Ted S. Kanamine		Member
Mr. John T. Meixell		Member

         The Board, established pursuant to authority contained in 10 U.S.C. 1552, convened at the call of the Chairperson on the above date. In accordance with Army Regulation 15-185, the application and the available military records pertinent to the corrective action requested were reviewed to determine whether to authorize a formal hearing, recommend that the records be corrected without a formal hearing, or to deny the application without a formal hearing if it is determined that insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice.

         The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

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APPLICANT REQUESTS: Award of the Purple Heart.

APPLICANT STATES: That he was wounded on 6 April 1951 while in Korea. He states, in effect, that he sustained a compound fracture to his right arm from a land mine explosion. He notes that he is now receiving VA compensation for the injury and submits a copy of a 1952 "Army consultation sheet" which he states confirms his combat wound. He also submits his initial VA disability application in support of his request.

EVIDENCE OF RECORD: The applicant's military records show:

He entered active duty on 27 March 1946 and was discharged for the purpose of immediate reenlistment on 9 March 1949 while at Camp Zama, Japan. Between 10 March 1949 and 16 October 1952, when he was honorably discharged, the applicant was assigned overseas for more than 34 months where he was awarded the Korean Service Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge.

In March 1952 an orthopedic clinic consultation was requested for the applicant. The request notes the applicant "has bad arm, right. Combat injury - non-union, ulna." He was seen by a doctor on 2 April 1952 who noted the "patient was injured in combat" and recommended that he undergo "further surgery." The physician also noted that the applicant was seen at the Fort Jackson, South Carolina Station Hospital on 26 February 1952 where he "was found to have non-union of ulna." The physician reported a "past history as follows: WIA 6 April 51, land mine…."

On 26 May 1952 he was admitted to Letterman Army Hospital from a leave status. According to the October 1952 medical admission document, the applicant underwent a bone graft to his right arm on 11 June 1952. The admission document indicates the applicant was seen for "non-union of fracture, compound, ulna, right, junction of middle and distal thirds of shaft, incurred when WIA [wounded in action] 6 Apr 51, when patient stepped on a land mine…." The entry notes "old" and that other information, such as the installation in Korea "date, Reg No and dg [diagnosis]" were "unknown."

Files maintained by the Office of The Surgeon General, commonly referred to as SGO files, confirms the applicant's orthopedic surgery at Letterman Army Hospital. It also notes the "causative agent" was "late effect of injuries due to war operations."

The applicant was ultimately separated from active duty, not by reason of physical disability, on 16 October 1952. His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) reflects entitlement to a "Good Conduct Medal, ROK [Republic of Korea] Presidential Unit Citation, United Nations Service Medal, 2 Overseas Bars, Combat Infantryman Badge, Distinguished Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Occupation Medal (Japan), and Korean Service Medal with 5 bronze stars." It does not, however, indicate award of the Purple Heart and item 29 (wounds received in action) reflects "None." The applicant authenticated the separation report.

Subsequent to the applicant's separation he applied for disability compensation from the VA. In his initial disability application he indicated that he had been hospitalized in Japan from 6 April 1951 until 5 September 1951 as a result of "wounded right arm."

In 1953 he was awarded disability compensation from the VA for residuals of his right arm fracture.

In 1989 the applicant submitted a request to the National Personnel Records Center to secure copies of his separation documents. In that application he noted that he was writing a "family military history book." There is no evidence that he previously requested award of the Purple Heart.

Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. Commanders of military hospitals were authorized to approve awards of the Purple Heart.

DISCUSSION: Considering all the evidence, allegations, and information presented by the applicant, together with the evidence of record, applicable law and regulations, it is concluded:

1. The evidence clearly confirms the applicant sustained a fracture to his right arm for which he underwent orthopedic surgery in 1952. His 1952 treatment is confirmed in medical documents available to the Board, those submitted by the applicant, and in files maintained by the Office of The Surgeon General. What is conspicuously absent is any evidence of treatment at the time of the original injury in 1951. The source of the original injury is merely recorded in medical documents rendered more than a year after the initial injury was to have taken place, which could have been information provided solely by the applicant.

2. The Board notes that according to information provided by the applicant, he was hospitalized in Japan from 6 April 1951 until 5 September 1951, a period of 6 months, and yet there is not one piece of evidence confirming that hospitalization; no SGO files, no treatment records, and no admission documents.

3. The Board also notes that the applicant's 1952 separation document, which he authenticated, does not reflect entitlement to the Purple Heart, although it does reflect numerous other decorations. Item 29 (wounds received in action) reflects "None." It would seem reasonable that an individual who was hospitalized for a total of approximately 10 months over the course of a year and a half would have noticed an error in that entry.

4. In the absence of more conclusive evidence, such as an eyewitness statement, confirmation of the applicant's combat wound from an individual who was with the applicant at the time of his initial hospitalization, or some sort of medical evidence confirming the original injury, the Board is reluctant to award the Purple Heart based solely on information which was recorded more than a year after the initial injury. The fact that the applicant is receiving disability compensation for residuals of his fractured right arm is not confirmation that fracture was the result of hostile action and does not serve as a basis to award the Purple Heart.

5. In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must show to the satisfaction of the Board, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or unjust. The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy that requirement.

6. In view of the foregoing, there is no basis for granting the applicant's request.

DETERMINATION: The applicant has failed to submit sufficient relevant evidence to demonstrate the existence of probable error or injustice.

BOARD VOTE:

________ ________ ________ GRANT

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__FNE __ __TSK __ __JTM_ _ DENY APPLICATION

                  Carl W. S. Chun
                  Director, Army Board for Correction
of Military Records

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001063042
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	20020110
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
ISSUES 1.	107.00
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.