RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        20 DECEMBER 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004283


      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 Hise                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Ronald Blakely                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette McCants              |     |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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he broke his ankle in Korea when he stepped on a
land mine while chasing a North Korean.  He states he now receives
disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for his
ankle wound which occurred while fighting in Korea.

3.  The applicant provides a witness statement and extracts from his
service medical records and Department of Veterans Affairs file in support
of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant’s military records are 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 or destroyed in that fire.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

2.  Documents available to the Board indicate the applicant served an
initial tour of active duty between 1949 and 1952 during which time he was
deployed overseas for approximately 12 months and awarded the Korean
Service Medal.  There is no evidence he was wounded as a result of hostile
action during his initial term of service and item 29 (wounds received as a
result of action with enemy forces) reflects "NONE."

3.  On 18 March 1953 he reenlisted and returned to active duty.  He was
again deployed overseas, this time for approximately 16 months.

4.  According to a 2 August 1954 medical treatment form, the applicant
fractured his right ankle on 2 August 1954 at approximately 0930 hours in
Korea.  The medical treatment document states the injury occurred when the
applicant fell off a bunker.  However, that same medical treatment document
contains the statement that the "pt [patient] states he injured ankle when
he stepped on a mine!"

5.  A 6 August 1954 clinical record brief also notes the ankle injury was
accidentally incurred (AI) and listed the injury as a NBI (non-battle
injury).

6.  Subsequent medical treatment document also indicate the applicant's
ankle injury was the result of falling off his bunker and hitting a rock,
although the applicant continued to relate to medical personnel that he had
stepped on a land mine.  He was ultimately evacuated from Korea as a result
of his ankle injury.

7.  In January 1955 a line of duty determination was requested by the
Chief, Medical Records and Reports Branch at Brooke Army Medal Center.
That request noted the applicant's "statement as to the cause of injury"
was that on
2 August 1954 he was in his company area and that he "alleges to have
sustained the…injury when he fell off bunker and hit a rock."  On that same
document the applicant has annotated that the statement was not true, that
he in fact stepped on a land mine and was carried to a road by another
Soldier.  He refers to that Soldier's statement.  The results of the line
of duty determination were not in documents available to the Board.

8.  The statement referred to by the applicant on the 1955 line of duty
request is likely the February 2005 statement signed by an individual who
identifies himself as having been with the applicant while they pursued a
North Korean who they did not locate and that while returning to their
camp, there was an explosive device behind the author of the statement and
"the [applicant's] ankle was damaged."  He indicated the applicant could
not use the ankle and as such he carried the applicant to a road where
medical people came to his aid.

9.  The applicant was released from active duty on 17 January 1955 and
transferred to the United States Army Reserve.  There is no evidence he was
ever awarded the Purple Heart.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for wounds 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 by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

11.  Information from the Center of Military History notes that an
armistice agreement was signed on 27 July 1953 and by its terms ended the
Korean War that same day.

12.  As a matter of information, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
the Korean War, the Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean
War Service Medal to pay tribute to eligible Korean War veterans for their
historic endeavors to preserve the freedom of the Republic of Korea and the
free world.  On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved
acceptance and wear of this foreign award to eligible United States
veterans of the Korean War, or their surviving next of kin.  The medal is
provided at no cost to the veterans.  The Department of Defense has
assigned responsibility to the Department of the Air Force for distribution
of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans or their surviving
next of kin.  To apply, veterans must provide a copy of their discharge
paper (Department of Defense Form 214) to the Awards and Decorations
Section, Headquarters, Air Force Personnel Center, 550 C Street West, Suite
12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 78150-4714.  A sample request form is
being provided to the applicant.  Once the Department of the Air Force has
authorized the Korean War Service Medal, the applicant may apply to the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records to add this foreign award to
his separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, there is not sufficient compelling evidence to conclude
the applicant is entitled to an award of the Purple Heart.  The statement,
provided in support of the applicant's request was rendered more than 50
years after the incident and does not indicate the date the injury
occurred.

2.  However, even if the statement did contain the date of the incident,
the medical evidence which is available suggests that the applicant's ankle
injury was accidentally incurred and that even medical personnel questioned
the applicant's claim that it resulted from stepping on a mine.

3.  The fact that he may be receiving disability compensation for the
injury is also not sufficiently compelling to warrant an award of the
Purple Heart.

4.  Additionally, it is noted that the injury occurred more than a year
after the cessation of hostilities in Korea.  As such, even if there were
medical evidence which confirmed that he had been injured by a mine, he
would not have met the qualification requirements for award of the Purple
Heart.

5.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in
error or unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would
satisfy that requirement.






BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__JH____  __RB ___  __JM ___  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 for correction of the
records of the individual concerned.



                                  _______James Hise_________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004283                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051220                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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