RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 22 February 2007
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060006783
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.
Director
Analyst
The following members, a quorum, were present:
Chairperson
Member
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 for award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant essentially states that he was participating in heavy combat in Korea when he and the men he was serving with took a hard hit from an incoming mortar round that landed about 60 feet away from the vehicle they were hooking up to a 155-millimeter Howitzer artillery piece. He also states, in effect, that when the round hit, it caused the men who were hooking up the Howitzer to drop it, which injured his toe. He concluded by essentially stating that he feels that his was a result of an act of enemy forces and not just an accidental injury.
3. The applicant provides a self-authored letter, dated 2 May 2006, his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation From the Armed Forces of the United States, information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, from 1951, and five pages of the criteria for award of the Purple Heart in support of this 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 AR20050008027, on 16 February 2006.
2. The applicant provided information from hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, from 1951. This document essentially shows, in pertinent part, that the applicant sustained a fracture toe while handling an artillery piece. The Surgeon General Office (SGO) file code of 02 essentially indicated that this injury was considered a non-battle injury. As mentioned in the previous record of proceedings, the applicants name is not listed on the Korean War Casualty Roster.
3. The applicant essentially stated that he feels his injury occurred as a result of actions by enemy forces and that it was not just an accidental injury. However, he did not provide any evidence which shows that his injury to his toe was caused by enemy action.
4. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. An example of an injury or wound which clearly does not qualify for award of the Purple Heart is accidents, to include explosive, aircraft, vehicular, and other accidental wounding not related to or caused by enemy action.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests reconsideration of his request for award of the Purple Heart.
2. While it is clear that the applicant sustained a fractured toe while handling a piece of artillery, the information from the hospital admission cards created by the Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, from 1951, indicates this was a non-battle injury. The applicant did not provide any evidence which conclusively shows that the injury to his toe was caused by enemy action.
3. While the Board does not doubt the veracity of the applicants claim to entitlement to award of the Purple Heart, absent conclusive evidence which proves that he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, which required treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record, there is insufficient basis for granting award of the Purple Heart to the applicant in this case.
BOARD VOTE:
________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
___MM__ ___JM __ __QS___ 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 AR20050008027, dated 16 February 2006.
______Mark Manning________
CHAIRPERSON
INDEX
CASE ID
AR20060006783
SUFFIX
RECON
YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED
20070222
TYPE OF DISCHARGE
(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE
YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY
AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY
AR 15-185
ISSUES 1.
107.0015.0000
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6.
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