RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        31 August 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060000464


      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. Edmund P. Mercanti            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Karmin S. Jenkins             |     |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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that when he was in Korea, his unit got “hit.”  He
was evacuated to Japan for treatment.  In Japan, he was administered
electrical shock treatments to his brain by placing needles into his head
along with Sodium Ampithol injections periodically.  He was placed in a
padded cell during that time.

3.  He was not awarded the Purple Heart for his wound, and the Army doesn’t
have any records of his service from January to November 1951.

4.  The applicant does not provide any additional documentation.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 19 March 1971.  The application submitted in this case is dated
15 December 2005 and was received by the Board on 12 January 2006.

2.  Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1552(b), provides that applications for
correction of military records must be filed within 3 years after discovery
of the alleged error or injustice.  This provision of law allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on
10 November 1950.

4.  The applicant’s DA Form 20, Qualification Record – Enlisted Personnel,
shows that he was serving on an Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battery in
Korea.  On 17 July 1951, his principal duty changed from AAA Crewman to
Patient, and his organization changed from the AAA Battery to the US Army
Hospital in Tokyo, Japan.

5.  On 20 October 1954, the applicant was given a separation physical
examination.  When the applicant completed the Standard Form (SF) 89,
Report of Medical History, he denied having a history of being a patient,
of being hospitalized, or of receiving any other medical treatment.  The
applicant was determined to be medically qualified for retention without
any physical profile restrictions.

6.  On 22 October 1954, the applicant was honorably discharged for
immediate reenlistment.  The separation document he was issued shows in
Item 27, Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations and Campaign Ribbons
Awarded or Authorized, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean
Service Ribbon with 1 Bronze Service Star, and the United Nations Service
Medal.  In Item 29, Wounds Received As a Result of Action With Enemy
Forces, “NA” was entered.

7.  On 5 November 1965, a message was sent to the US Army Personnel Service
Support Center (PSSC), Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, asking for
verification that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  In that
message it was stated that the applicant claimed to have received the
Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the Korean Conflict, injuries
which resulted in his hospitalization from July 1951 to January 1952.  On 9
November 1965, the PSSC responded, stating that there was no record of any
orders being issued awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

8.  The applicant was medically boarded on 7 December 1970.  No mention was
made of the applicant being wounded in the Narrative Summary on his medical
board.

9.  On 19 March 1971, the applicant was honorably released from active duty
and placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL).

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence clearly shows that the applicant was medically evacuated
from an AAA Battery in Korea and hospitalized in Japan.

2.  However, there is no evidence or indication of what condition
necessitated the applicant’s medical evacuation and hospitalization.  Many
medical conditions which would not have been caused by a wound could have
caused that medical evacuation and hospitalization.
3.  In order to be authorized a Purple Heart, the applicant must provide
documentation to show that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.
He has not submitted any such documentation.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 19 March 1971.  Therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on 18 March 1974.  Although the applicant did not file
within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is appropriate to waive
failure to timely file in this case based on the fact there is no statute
of limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___jcr___  ___wdp__  ____kjs__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that it would be appropriate to excuse failure to
timely file because the applicant has requested the award of the Purple
Heart.

2.  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.




                            _________William D. Powers_____________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060000464                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060831                                |
|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.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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