| Mr. Carl W. S. Chun | Director | |
| Mr. Joseph A. Adriance | Analyst |
| Mr. Raymond J. Wagner | Chairperson | ||
| Mr. William D. Powers | Member | ||
| Ms. Linda M. Barker | Member |
2. The applicant requests, in effect, that the Purple Heart (PH) and Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) be added to his record.
3. The applicant states, in effect, that he was awarded the two awards in question while in the hospital, but they were not included in his separation document (DD Form 214).
4. The applicant’s military records were not available to the Board for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. It is believed that the applicant’s records were lost in that fire. However, there were sufficient documents remaining on file for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.
5. The available evidence includes the applicant’s separation document
(DD Form 214). This document confirms that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 22 August 1951, and that he served on active duty until receiving a general, under honorable conditions discharge on 11 March 1954. At the time of his separation, he had completed a total of 1 year, 10 months, and
27 days of creditable active military service and he had accrued 233 days of time lost.
6. The applicant’s DD Form 214 also confirms that during his active duty tenure, he served as a member of the infantry branch. Item 29 (Wounds received as a result of action with enemy forces) contains an entry that shows that he received a wound to his left shoulder and left lower arm on 24 September 1952, while he was serving in combat in Korea.
7. Also on file is a military record finding report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dated 10 January 2003. This document contains information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) for the period 1950-1954. It indicates that while serving as a member of the infantry, the applicant was admitted to a treatment facility in Korea on 24 September 1952, for treatment of a penetrating missile wound that he received as a direct result of action against or by an organized enemy.
8. In addition to the NARA report, unit morning report enclosure extracts from the 121st and 25th Evacuation Hospitals confirm that the applicant, who at the time was serving as a private first class with Company L, 65th Infantry Regiment, Korea, was admitted for treatment of a wound that he received in action in Korea on 24 September 1952.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards. Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH. It states, in pertinent part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that a member was wounded or injured as a result of enemy action. The wound or injury for which the PH is being awarded must have required treatment by a medical officer, this treatment must be supported by medical treatment records that were made a matter of official record.
10. Chapter 8 contains guidance on awarding Badges and Tabs. Paragraph
8-6 contains the criteria for awarding the CIB. 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. The Board notes the applicant’s contention that he earned both the PH and CIB while serving in Korea and that these awards were erroneously omitted from his separation document, and it finds these claims have merit.
2. By regulation, in order to support awarding a member the PH, it is necessary to establish that a member was wounded in action, that the wound for which the award is being made required treatment by a medical officer, and that this treatment was made a matter of official record. The Board finds that the medical casualty record pertaining to the applicant provided by the OTSG and contained in the NARA report, coupled with the supporting morning report enclosure extracts, sufficiently satisfies the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the PH. Thus, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to add the PH to the applicant’s record at this time.
3. By regulation, a member must serve in an infantry specialty, serve in an infantry unit, and be personally present with this unit while it is engaged in action against the enemy in order to qualify for award of the CIB. The record confirms that the applicant satisfied all three of these requirements while serving in combat in Korea. Therefore, it concludes that it would also be appropriate to add the CIB to his record at this time.
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 awarding the individual concerned the Purple Heart for wounds he received in action on 24 September 1952, while serving as a private first class in Korea; by showing that he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge based on his combat service as an infantryman in an infantry unit during his combat tour in Korea; and by providing him a corrected separation document that reflects these awards.
BOARD VOTE:
__RJW__ __WDP _ __ LMB__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
_ Raymond J. Wagner ._
CHAIRPERSON
| CASE ID | AR2002082587 |
| SUFFIX | |
| RECON | |
| DATE BOARDED | 2003/03/04 |
| TYPE OF DISCHARGE | HD |
| DATE OF DISCHARGE | 1954/03/11 |
| DISCHARGE AUTHORITY | AR 615-360 |
| DISCHARGE REASON | ETS |
| BOARD DECISION | GRANT |
| REVIEW AUTHORITY | |
| ISSUES 1. 46 | 107.0000 |
| 2. 157 | 107.0111 |
| 2. 61 | 107.0015 |
| 4. | |
| 5. | |
| 6. |
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