RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


	IN THE CASE OF:	  


	BOARD DATE:	  3 July 2007
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20070001120 


	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.


Ms. Catherine C. Mitrano

Director

Ms. Wanda L. Waller

Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:


Mr. Eric Andersen

Chairperson

Mr. Scott Faught

Member

Ms. Ernestine Fields

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, as the son of a service member (SM), requests, in effect, that his father be awarded the Purple Heart. 

2.  The applicant states that his father has shrapnel in his left knee suffered during the Korean Conflict.   

3.  The applicant provides a letter, dated 19 January 2007, from a Member of Congress; a Power of Attorney; an email (eyewitness statement); a copy of the SM’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States); a letter, dated 10 October 2006, from the applicant to a Member of Congress; three photographs of Soldiers; a letter, dated 14 July 2006, from the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri; a letter, dated 29 August 2006, from the Military Awards Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command; a Department of Veterans Affairs Rating Decision, dated 7 August 2006; a Compensation and Pension Exam Report; two letters from the SM’s physicians; and medical documentation pertaining to x-rays.  

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which occurred on 10 January 1952.  The application submitted in this case is dated 13 December 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 SM’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 SM’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.  

4.  The SM enlisted on 6 January 1949.  He served in Korea and was honorably discharged on 10 January 1952.
5.  The SM's DD Form 214 shows the Korean Service Medal with five bronze service stars as an authorized award.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) on his DD Form 214 shows the entry, "NONE.” 

6.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows the SM was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Korea.

7.  The SM’s name does not appear on the Korean War Casualty Roster.

8.  In support of his claim, the applicant provided an email, dated 26 May 2006, from a fellow Soldier at the time in question.  He states that the “reds hit us pretty hard and that’s when he [the SM] was hit.”  The applicant provided medical documentation which states the SM has a foreign body in his left knee consistent with shrapnel.  

9.  The applicant also provided a Compensation and Pension Exam Report, dated 24 January 2002, which states, in pertinent part, that “I do not see anything from his medical records stating that he [SM] had injury or treated injury in his left knee.”  Also, “The patient states that he did not claim this while he was in the service, but he stated that he suffered a shrapnel wound in 1951 during mortar fire.  He was a Medic in the service and he treated himself by putting a bandage on it.”

10.  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, and the medical 
treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.  Award of the Korean Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for award of the United Nations Service Medal.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 to a date to be determined.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22, in pertinent part, authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of the regulation and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.  This regulation provides that a silver service star is authorized in lieu of five bronze service stars.

14.  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.  There is no evidence of record which shows that the SM was wounded as a result of hostile action in Korea.  In the absence of orders or other evidence of record showing that the applicant was injured or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action, the documentation provided by the applicant is not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.  

2.  Based on award of the Korean Service Medal, the SM is entitled to award of the United Nations Service Medal.  

3.  The SM served a period of qualifying service for award of the National Defense Service Medal and the ROK-KWSM.

4.  The SM’s DD Form 214 shows the Korean Service Medal with five bronze service stars as an authorized award.  However, the governing regulation states that a silver service star is authorized in lieu of five bronze service stars. Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show the Korean Service Medal with one silver service star.

5.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative errors which do 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.
6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now under consideration on 10 January 1952; therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 9 January 1955.  Although the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is appropriate to waive failure to timely file 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

EA_____  __SF____  __EF____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  The Board determined that administrative errors in the records of the individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the individual concerned to add the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal,  the ROK-KWSM, and the Korean Service Medal with one silver service star.




___Eric Andersen______
          CHAIRPERSON




INDEX

CASE ID
AR20070001120
SUFFIX

RECON

DATE BOARDED
20070703
TYPE OF DISCHARGE

DATE OF DISCHARGE

DISCHARGE AUTHORITY

DISCHARGE REASON

BOARD DECISION
DENY
REVIEW AUTHORITY

ISSUES         1.
107.0015
2.
107.0000
3.

4.

5.

6.