RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        12 OCTOBER 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060002600


      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. John Infante                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Gerald Purcell                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Karmin 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 award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded in Korea on 13 September 1950 and
notes his separation document does not reflect entitlement to the Purple
Heart.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document 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.  The applicant's separation document notes he served on active duty
between 5 January 1949 and 23 October 1950.  During that period he served
overseas for approximately 17 months where he was awarded an Army
Occupation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  Item 29 (wounds received as a result of action with enemy forces)
contains an entry indicating the applicant sustained a shrapnel wound to
his right thigh on
13 September 1950 while in Korea.  However, the applicant's name is not
among a list of individuals who were reported as combat casualties during
the Korean War and information maintained in the files of the Office of The
Surgeon General (commonly referred to as the SGO Files) indicates the
applicant was hospitalized on 14 September 1950 for abdominal pain that was
reported as a "non-battle" casualty.

4.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards), as amended, provides that
the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service
between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954.
6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the
Korean Service Medal.  In pertinent part, the regulation states that the
Korean Service Medal is awarded for qualifying service in the theater of
operations between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the
United Nations Service Medal.  In Pertinent part, the regulation states
that the period of eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal was
between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  The regulation provides that this
service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United
States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United
Nations.

8.  The Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service
Medal (ROK-KWSM) 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.  The Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of the
ROK-KWSM.  To qualify for award of the ROK-KWSM, the veteran must have
served between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953 and been on permanent
assignment for 30 consecutive days, or on temporary duty for 60 non-
consecutive days, within the territorial limits of Korea, in the waters
immediately adjacent thereto, or in aerial flight over Korea participating
in actual combat operations or in support of combat operations.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  In the absence of more compelling medical evidence that the applicant
was in fact wounded as a result of hostile action and based on the fact
that the applicant's name is not among a list of individuals reported as
combat casualties during the Korean War and information maintained in the
SGO File indicating the applicant was hospitalized for abdomen pain, it
would be inappropriate to conclude that an award of the Purple Heart was
warranted based solely on the entry in item 29 on the applicant's
separation document.

2.  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.





3.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant’s records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

___JI ___  ___GP   _  ___KJ___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  Notwithstanding the staff DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS above, the Board
unanimously determined during their review that the evidence presented was
sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  The applicant’s DD Form
214, Item 29, reflects shrapnel wound as a result of enemy action, with a
specific date and location.  Under the presumption that the DD Form 214 is
accurate and was prepared based on fact, this should suffice and the
Soldier should be awarded the Purple Heart.  The basis is that the entry
requirements on the DD Form 214 match those for the award.  As a result,
the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the
individual concerned be corrected by awarding him the Purple Heart for a
wound received in Korea on 13 September 1950.

2.  The Board also determined that administrative error in the records of
the individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board recommends
correction of the records of the individual concerned to show entitlement
to the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National
Defense Service Medal, and the Korean War Service Medal.




                                  ______ John Infante________
                                            CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060002600                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061012                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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