RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           7 October 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004100811


      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             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Walter T. Morrison            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul M. Smith                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Patrick H. McGann Jr.         |     |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, reconsideration of his request to be
awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant provides a request from a Member of Congress in support
of his application.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel, a Member of Congress, requests the applicant’s request for the
PH be reconsidered by the Board.

2.  Counsel states, in effect, that the applicant has provided two new
affidavits regarding the grenade explosion in which he received injuries to
his back and lower leg during the fight for Hill Number (#) 200 in Korea.

3.  Counsel provides a letter of a support and two third-party statements
in support of the application.

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
AR2002071840, on 14 November 2002.

2.  In connection with the Board’s original deliberation on this case, a
member of the Board staff researched the unit historical files of the
applicant’s unit (Company I, 7th Cavalry Regiment) that are maintained at
the National Archives. This search produced no evidence showing the
applicant was ever wounded/injured in action or awarded the PH.

3.  Further, the Board noted that based on an inquiry regarding the
applicant’s injury from a Member of Congress, personnel from the National
Personnel Records Center conducted a review of the unit morning reports and
sick reports of the applicant’s unit for the period 1 June through 15
September 1951.  This review produced no entries concerning the applicant.

4.  The applicant now provides two additional third-party statements in
support of his claim of entitlement to the PH.  The first statement is from
a fellow soldier who states that to the best of his knowledge, he and the
applicant served together with Company I, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry
Division.  He further states that he recalled that during the fight on Hill
# 200 the unit had quite a few casualties and it was his understanding that
the applicant received a wound to his leg as a result of a grenade
exploding.

5.  The second third-party statement provided by the applicant is also from
a fellow soldier who served with him in Korea.  This individual states that
after taking Hill #200, while they were preparing the area for occupation,
a grenade went off in the immediate area where he and the applicant were
working.  He further states the applicant was closest to the grenade and
was wounded in the foot as well as his back and left the area for medical
attention.

6.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The additional third-party statements and the letter of support from a
Member of Congress provided by the applicant were carefully considered.
However, neither third-party statement confirms the applicant’s injuries
were the direct result of or caused by enemy action.  The first statement
is not a first hand eyewitness account of the action that resulted in the
applicant being wounded/injured.  It only indicates that it is this
individual’s understanding that the applicant was injured as a result of a
grenade explosion.

2.  In the second third-party statement provided, the individual indicates
the applicant was injured as a result of a grenade explosion while they
were on a work detail after they had taken the hill.  It does not confirm
that the explosion that caused the applicant’s injuries was the direct
result of or caused by enemy action, as opposed to being accidental.
3.  By regulation, in order to support awarding the PH, there must be
evidence a member was wounded/injured in action, was treated for the
wound/injury by military medical personnel and a record of this medical
treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Absent any
evidence of record to corroborate the information contained in the third-
party statements and/or to confirm the applicant’s injuries were the direct
result of or caused by enemy action, the regulatory burden of proof
necessary to support award of the PH has not been satisfied in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

_WTM __  _PMS ___  _PHM___  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 AR2002071840, dated 14 November 2002.




            _WALTER T. MORRISON _
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004100811                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |2002/11/14 (AR2002071840)               |
|DATE BOARDED            |2004/10/DD                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |GD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1953/03/06                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-363-5                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  61   |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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