IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  
		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080009332 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant, as the spouse, requests, in effect, that her husband, a deceased former service member (FSM) be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action.  

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the FSM’s records should be corrected to show he was wounded in action and that he should be awarded the Purple Heart. She also states that she has a magazine article stating her spouse, the FSM, was admitted to the hospital in January 1952 for being wounded during Christmas 1951.  

3.  The spouse of the FSM provided a copy of the FSM’s DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), a copy of the FSM’s Death Certificate, and a copy of a magazine and newspaper article.  The applicant indicates a copy of a letter from the FSM was included in support of her request; however, the letter was not attached to the application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The FSM's military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and show he entered active duty on 13 October 1950.  He was trained as a Light Weapons Infantry Leader, in military occupational specialty (MOS), 1745.  He completed 10 months and 15 days of foreign service.  He was promoted to sergeant first class (SFC) on 31 July 1952.  He continued to serve until he was released from active duty on 11 September 1952.
2.  The FSM's DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Korean Service Medal, with two bronze service stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.  His DD Form 214 does not show any additional awards.  

3.  Item 4 (Component and Branch or Class), of the FSM's DD Form 214, shows AUS (Army of the United States) Unasgd (unassigned) and item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment), shows the entry, Co (Company) A, 7th Inf (Infantry) Regt (Regiment).

4.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces), of the FSM's DD Form 214, shows the entry "None."

5.  The FSM's name does not appear on the Korean War Casualty File. 

6.  There are no orders in the FSM's reconstructed service personnel records which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no evidence in his records that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action while serving in Korea.

7.  The applicant provided a copy of a magazine article, dated March 1952, titled "L_____ is Wounded on Korean Front."  The article states that the FSM, a former Alves Service Transportation driver, was reported wounded in action on the Korean fighting front.  Seriousness of the injury was not revealed.  However, it was disclosed that the FSM was hospitalized for a short period.  It also states that the FSM received basic training at Fort Ord, California.  He landed in Korea about mid-December 1951.  He was wounded around Christmas and was in a hospital on New Year's Day, 1952.

8.  The applicant provided a copy of an undated newspaper article titled, "Lonely Hours Music Supplied."  The newspaper article elaborated on how music was supplied to the Soldiers of Company A, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division, in Korea, during those long and lonely hours by the FSM and another Soldier.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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 military medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record. 





DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  To be awarded the Purple Heart, substantiating evidence must be presented to show that the Soldier was wounded as the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

2.  There are no orders awarding the FSM the Purple Heart, he is not listed on the Korean War Casualty File, and there are no medical records available to show that the FSM was treated for a wound that he may have received as a result of hostile action.  Therefore, there is an insufficient basis upon which to approve award of the Purple Heart to the FSM.

3.  The applicant claims that the FSM records should be corrected to show he was wounded in action and that he was awarded the Purple Heart; however, she has provided no evidence that the FSM was wounded as a result of enemy activity.  The applicant provided no evidence, medical or otherwise, to support her claim.  The applicant is therefore not eligible to have the FSM's records corrected to show award of the Purple Heart or to have it added to the FSM's DD Form 214.

4.  The Board considered the magazine article presented by the applicant which indicates that the FSM was wounded in action on the Korean fighting front, that the seriousness of the injury was not revealed, and it was disclosed that the FSM was hospitalized for a short period.  The article whose source cannot be attributed to an "official" Army source indicates that the FSM landed in Korea about mid-December 1951, was wounded around Christmas, and was in the hospital on New Year's Day, 1952.  The newspaper article was also considered.  However, the magazine and newspaper articles are not sufficient by themselves as a basis for award of the Purple Heart.  Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support the award of the Purple Heart to the FSM.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___x____  ____x___  ____x___  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.



      _________x_____________
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080009332



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080009332



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