| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Ms. Wanda L. Waller | Analyst |
| Ms. Shirley Powell | Chairperson | |
| Mr. Elzey J. Arledge | Member | |
| Mr. Stanley Kelley | Member |
2. The applicant requests award of the Purple Heart.
3. The applicant states that he was injured by frostbite in North Korea near the Yellow River.
4. The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted on 12 December 1940. He served as a squad leader in the European Theater of Operations from
7 January 1943 through 9 November 1945 and served as a rifleman in Korea from 27 August 1950 through 1 July 1951. The applicant remained on active duty through continuous reenlistments until he retired on 28 February 1961 in the rank of sergeant.
5. The applicant’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) with an effective date of 18 December 1951 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award.
6. Item 40 (Physician’s Summary and Elaboration of all Pertinent Data) on the applicant’s Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History), dated 30 November 1951, shows the applicant had frostbite in his left foot in Korea in December 1950 and was treated for this injury.
7. Section 6 (Original Assignment and Organizations to Which Subsequently Assigned During this Period of Service) on the applicant’s WD AGO Form 24A (Service Record) shows he was hospitalized from 30 December 1950 through
16 January 1951.
8. 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.
9. While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award. Until 1951 Army Regulation
600-45, which governed the award of Army decorations, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a “wound” is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy. An “element” pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is authorized.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Evidence of record shows the applicant served as a rifleman in Korea.
2. Medical evidence of record shows the applicant had frostbite in his left foot in Korea in December 1950 and was treated for this injury.
3. Evidence of record also shows the applicant was hospitalized from
30 December 1950 to 16 January 1951. Therefore, the Board determined that there was sufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.
4. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.
RECOMMENDATION:
That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for frostbite in December 1950 in Korea on his DD Form 214 with an effective date of 18 December 1951.
BOARD VOTE:
SP____ EJA_____ SK______ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
___Shirley Powell_____
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2001066231 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 20020319 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | |
| DISCHARGE REASON | |
| BOARD DECISION | (GRANT) |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. | 107.0015 |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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