RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 09 SEPTEMBER 2004
DOCKET NUMBER: AR2004100623
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 |
| |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley | |Senior Analyst |
The following members, a quorum, were present:
| |Mr. James Vick | |Chairperson |
| |Mr. James Anderholm | |Member |
| |Ms. Linda Simmons | |Member |
The Board considered the following evidence:
Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.
Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).
THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:
1. The applicant requests, in effect, that his previous request for award
of the Purple Heart be reconsidered.
2. The applicant states that he was granted “service connection for left
eye that still has a scar in it” and that he had shrapnel removed from his
right hand at a Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital after he retired.
3. The applicant provides a photograph showing a man with a patch over his
left eye, statements from several individuals, a 1997 “Compensation and
Pension Examination Request Worksheet,” and his 2003 Department of Veterans
Affairs rating decision.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2001056083, on 16 August 2001.
2. In May 2002 the Director, ABCMR, responded to an inquiry from the
applicant regarding witness statements he believes supported his request
for award of the Purple Heart. That letter informed the applicant that
witness statements had not been obtained and suggested that the applicant
secure the statements and provide them to the Board. The applicant has now
submitted the referenced statement and as such, his request is now being
reconsidered in light of those statements.
3. Three of the four statements, submitted by the applicant in support of
his request, were authored in 1995 and the fourth statement was authored in
1997. All of the statements appear to have been rendered in support of the
applicant’s claim for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. Two of the
statements confirm the authenticity of the photograph and indicate they
were members of the same convoy as the applicant when the convoy was fired
on in Korea in 1951. Individuals who stated they were not with the
applicant at the time of the incident but were either told, or saw the
applicant after the incident authored the other two statements.
4. The 1997 “Compensation and Pension Examination Request Worksheet” from
the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office, Philadelphia, noted
that the applicant related that he was “hit in left eye by glass or other
foreign object after artillery explosion in Korea” and that a 1981
examination “found corneal opacity.” The remarks section of the document
also contained the entry “frag wound, right index finger” but the source of
that information was not identified.
5. In July 2003 the Department of Veterans Affair declined to change the
rating percentage for the applicant’s “residuals, laceration of the right
index finger” and “corneal opacity, left eye.”
6. The applicant’s name was not among a list of individuals reported as
combat casualties during the Korean War.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. There continues to be no compelling medical evidence which establishes
that the applicant was wounded as a result of hostile action during the
Korea War. In the absence of such evidence, there is no basis for an award
of the Purple Heart.
2. The statements, rendered more than 40 years after the alleged incident
as part of a Department of Veterans Affairs rating action, are not
supported by any extant medical documentation. The Korean War era medical
documents, which are available, indicate that the applicant was treated for
multiple abrasions sustained on 7 July 1951 that were accidentally incurred
when a prime mover overturned.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___JV___ ___JA __ ___LS __ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable
error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall
merits of this case are insufficient as a basis to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2001056083, on 16 August 2001.
______James Vick_________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
|CASE ID |AR2004100623 |
|SUFFIX | |
|RECON |YYYYMMDD |
|DATE BOARDED |20040909 |
|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. | |
-----------------------
[pic]
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 20040001288C070208
The applicant requests correction of his military records to show award of the Purple Heart. Once the Korean War Service Medal has been 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 award to his DD Form 214. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by showing award of the Purple Heart 1st Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120019829
The applicants state the FSM should be awarded the Purple Heart for a wound he incurred to his right eye when he was gassed in the Meuse-Argonne campaign in 1918. A Federal Board for Vocational Education Survey, dated 18 April 1921, shows he reported "defective sight in right eye and nervousness caused by gassing in action." Although the VA was unable to establish that his eye condition was connected to military service, medical research has since shown that the long-term effects of...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | AR20060016141C071029
The available records indicate that the applicant was in Korea on 26 November 1950, when he was treated by physicians for fractures of his right 3rd and 4th fingers after a tank hatch fell on his hands. Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative error which does not require action by the Board. Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to show his entitlement to the Army Good Conduct Medal,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2005 | 20050017127C070206
The applicant states the former service member (FSM) was wounded in Korea and received the Purple Heart. His military records, including his DD Form 214, properly document his wounds, medical retirement, and award of the Purple Heart. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding the FSM the Good Conduct Medal for the period from 26 February 1951 through 31 May 1952; and b. by showing that in addition to...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090004398
The applicant's WD MD Form 52 (Medical Report), dated 4 December 1953, shows the applicant suffered aphakia to his right eye following extra-capsular lens extract performed on 10 November 1953 at the U.S. Army Hospital, for relief of traumatic cataract to his right eye that occurred in 1951 while he was in POW status when the wire clothes line he was fixing pierced the globe of his right eye. As he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge on 31 October 1950, was wounded on 6 September 1950,...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2007 | AR20070002531C071029
The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for review. In accordance with the applicable regulation, it would be appropriate to correct his records to show that he was wounded in action and to award him the Purple Heart. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. publishing orders awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action against enemy forces on 26 May 1951, while serving...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060003779C070205
The applicant requests that he be awarded the Purple Heart and that his report of separation (DD Form 214) be corrected to reflect his time as a Prisoner of War (POW). Medical documents prepared at the time of his repatriation on 15 August 1953 clearly indicate that the applicant was wounded on the date of his capture by enemy forces in Korea on 27 April 1951. After carefully examining the applicant’s record of service, the Board has determined that the applicant should have received the...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2002 | 2002077309C070215
12) A 15 July 2002 letter from the Army Board for Correction of Military Records denying reconsideration of the applicant's request to correct his records to promote him to the rank of first sergeant, pay grade E-8, or to chief warrant officer four (CW4). EVIDENCE OF RECORD : The applicant's military records show: The medical board records on 22 October 1952, show that the applicant was a SGT.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2006 | 20060014210
The applicant provides service medical records; service personnel records; and records pertaining to his Physical Evaluation Board. 8009th Army Unit General Orders Number 75, dated 16 February 1951, show the applicant received the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on 12 February 1951 in Korea. The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the National Defense Service Medal and the ROK-KWSM.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2004 | 20040002865C070208
The applicant requests that his records be corrected to note that he was twice wounded in action during the Korean War. The applicant states that he was wounded in action in Korea on 3 September 1951 and again on 8 October 1951, but only the 8 October 1951 wounding is annotated in the records. Once the Korean War Service Medal has been 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 award to his...