| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. William Blakely | Analyst |
| Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr. | Chairperson | |
| Ms. Celia L. Adolphi | Member | |
| Mr. John T. Meixell | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that his military records be corrected to show he was awarded the Purple Heart (PH) and Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
RECOMMENDATION:
3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was wounded in Korea on
23 September 1952. In support of his application, he submits a copy of a Disposition Board Proceedings (WD AGO Form 8-118) and Report of Medical Examination (Standard Form 88).
4. The applicant’s military records show that on 28 February 1953, he was honorably discharged, by reason of permanent disability, after completing a total of 1 year, 1 month, and 9 days of active military service.
5. The DD Form 214 issued to and signed by the applicant on the date of his separation confirms that he held the rank of private/E-2 and was serving in military occupational specialty (MOS) 1745 (Light Weapons Infantryman) on the date of his separation. It also lists his most significant assignment as
Company B, 38th Infantry Regiment, which was located in Korea. Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows that he earned the Korean Service Medal with 1 bronze service star and the United Nations Service Medal.
6. Item 27 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 also contains the entry “Purple Heart-Authority not available”, which indicates that the applicant was awarded the PH, but the General Order authorizing the award was not available. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) contains an entry confirming that the applicant was wounded in action in Korea on 23 September 1952. This document does not include the CIB as an authorized award.
7. The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) confirms that he served in Korea with Company B, 38th Infantry Regiment, as a light weapons infantryman, from 8 August 1952 to 31 October 1952, and that he earned the PH while personally present with this unit in combat. In addition, his Military Personnel Records Jacket (MPRJ) contains no derogatory information that would have disqualified him from receiving the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM), and there is no record of his ever being disqualified from receiving this award by any of the unit commanders for which he served.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. Paragraph 2-10 contains guidance on award of the National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) and it states, in pertinent part, that the NDSM is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954, both dates inclusive.
9. Chapter 4 of the awards regulation provides guidance on awarding the AGCM and it states, in pertinent part, that it is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service. It also specifies that for the first award only, if awarded at the termination of a period of active military service, a period of 1 or more years is a qualifying period. Further, it stipulates that any disqualification must be justified.
10. Paragraph 8-6 contains the criteria for awarding the CIB and it states, in pertinent part, that there are basically three requirements for award of the CIB; the soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties; must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat; and must actively participate in such ground combat.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. A review of the evidence of record confirms the applicant was awarded the PH and it is reflected in his DD Form 214 as an authorized award. However, the PH entry in Item 27 of the applicant’s separation document indicates that the authority for the PH was not available, which meant the order granting the award was not on file; however, this could be misconstrued to mean there was no authority for the award. Therefore, the Board concludes it would be appropriate, in the interest of clarity, to amend this entry to read simply “Purple Heart”.
2. The evidence of record confirms that the applicant was serving with an infantry unit performing infantry duties as a rifleman and was personally present with this unit while it engaged the enemy in combat during the period 8 August 1952 to 31 October 1952. Therefore, the Board concludes that the applicant is entitled to award of the CIB.
3. In addition, the record verifies that the applicant served a qualifying period of honorable service that entitles him to receive both the NDSM and the AGCM. Given there is no derogatory information on file that would disqualify him from receiving the AGCM, and lacking a formal disqualification for this award by any of his unit commanders, the Board concludes it would also be appropriate to add the AGCM and NDSM to his record at this time.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by awarding the individual concerned the Combat Infantryman Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, and National Defense Service Medal; by amending the Purple Heart entry in Item 27 of his DD Form 214, dated 28 February 1953, by deleting the portion of the entry that reads “Authority not available” leaving only the entry “Purple Heart”; and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects these changes.
BOARD VOTE:
__RVO__ _ _CAL__ __JTM GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
__Raymond V. O'Connor__
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001064954 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | YYYYMMDD |
| DATE BOARDED | 2002/02/28 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | YYYYMMDD |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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