IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	21 August 2008  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080010667 


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 requests reconsideration of the Board’s denial of his request to award him the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant also requests that both his DD Forms 214 be corrected to show his correct date of birth (DOB), service number (SN), military training, and combat wound from Korea.

3.  The applicant states when he returned to the United States from Korea, he showed a doctor the scab from his wound and was told that the scab would fall off and the wound would heal.  After all these years, the wound still hasn’t healed.

4.  He was then assigned as a medic at a range but was told he had been absent without leave (AWOL) for the time he served in that position (19 days).  He was then given the choice to either reenlist or be discharged.  He opted to be discharged.  He believes that he was erroneously carried AWOL because of an error in his SN.

5.  The applicant provides Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records which show that the applicant has two pieces of shrapnel in his calf.





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 AR20070018409 on 6 May 2008.

2.  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 (NPRC) in 1973.  It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  This case is being considered using a reconstructed record and the separation documents provided by the applicant.  

3.  The applicant was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 8 February 1946.  On 2 April 1947 the applicant was honorably released from active duty.  The separation document (WD AGO Form 53-55) he was issued at that time shows he was assigned an SN of 40 *** *** and his DOB was listed as 23 November 1927.  

4.  Item 34 (Wounds Received in Action) of the applicant's WD AGO Form 53-55 contains the entry “None,” and the applicant authenticated this document with his signature in Item 56 (Signature of Person Being Separated) on the date of his separation.   

5.  The applicant was issued a WD AGO Form 38, Report of Physical Examination of Enlisted Personnel Prior to Discharge, Release from Active Duty or Retirement, in which his SN is listed as 43 *** ***.  On this form the applicant stated “No history of malaria, syphilis or dysentery.  No illnesses, injuries, operations or hospitalizations IMS.  No physical complaints.”

6.  The applicant was also issued a WD AGO Form 100, Separation Qualification Record, which shows his SN as 43 *** *** and his DOB as 23 November 1927.

7.  A corrected copy of the applicant’s WD AGO Form 53-55 was published on 28 June 1949 in which the applicant’s SN was changed from 40 *** *** to 
43 *** ***. 

8.  On 10 January 1949, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army and reentered active duty.  He served on active duty for 3 years, 5 months, and
19 days in MOS 1123 (Chief Medical Technician), of which 2 years, 2 months, and 19 days was foreign or overseas service.  The applicant was discharged under honorable conditions and issued a General Discharge Certificate on 
17 December 1952.  The separation document (DD Form 214) he was issued has the entry “None” in Item 29 (Wounds Received As a Result of Action with Enemy Forces).  The applicant’s SN is listed as 43 *** *** and his DOB is listed as 23 March 1927.

9.  The reconstructed records pertaining to the applicant contains no orders, or other documents that indicate the applicant was ever recommended for, or awarded the Purple Heart.  It is also void of any medical treatment records or an Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) Hospital Admission Record showing that the applicant was ever treated for a combat-related wound while serving on active duty.  

10.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff reviewed the Department of the Army (DA) Korean War Casualty Roster.  There is no entry pertaining to the applicant on this roster.  

11.  Army Regulations in effect then and now state that you enter the military training which was completed during the period of service covered by the separation document being issued.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  While the applicant has documentation to show that he has shrapnel wounds to his calf, there is no evidence to show that he sustained these wounds while on active duty.  

2.  While shrapnel wounds are predominantly incurred during combat, they are also experienced in civilian life.  Since shrapnel wounds are not exclusively combat incurred, without clear evidence to show that the applicant sustained shrapnel wounds as the result of enemy action, there is insufficient evidence in which to award him the Purple Heart or to correct his records to show he was wounded.

3.  The applicant’s SN is listed as the same number in all available documents with the exception of his initial WD AGO Form 53-55.  However, a corrected copy of this document was published.  As such, that error has already been corrected.  Since there are no other documents which reflect the erroneous SN, it would not appear an incorrect SN would cause the applicant to be falsely carried AWOL.




4.  As for the applicant’s DOB, his DOB is listed as 23 November 1927 on all available documents with the exception of his 17 December 1952 DD Form 214, which lists his DOB as 23 March 1927.  While no source documents exist, it would appear that the applicant’s DD Form 214 lists an incorrect DOB and it would be in the interest of justice to now correct that error. 

5.  The applicant has not submitted any documentation to show that he completed any military training during the period 10 January 1949 to 17 December 1952.  As such, there is no basis for adding any military training to his DD Form 214 for the period ending 17 December 1952.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___X____  ___X____  ___X___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a partial amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20070018409 on 6 May 2008.  As a result, the Board recommends that the DD Form 214 dated 17 December 1952 of the individual concerned be corrected by showing his DOB as 23 November 1927.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to awarding him the Purple Heart, showing he was wounded in action, correcting his SN, and listing his military training.



      __________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)                                         AR20080010667



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080010667



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