IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  4 November 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080014019 


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, in effect, reconsideration of his request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was wounded in combat on 1 June 1951 while serving as a machine gunner with the 2nd Platoon, Company F,
31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division in Korea.  He also states that his injury occurred when he took shrapnel on the right front of his neck while his unit was taking Hill 300.  

3.  The applicant provides copies of charred documents from his military service records that appear to be page 1 of the Report of Medical History for his Entrance Medical Examination, undated; 2 pages of the Report of Medical History for his Final Type Physical, undated; DPRB FL 1-471, dated 25 February 1953; Request for Medical Records with a review date of 6 June 1953; and a Dental Survey Chart, dated 30 August 1951, in support of his 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 AR20070012773, on 23 October 2007.


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 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.

3.  The applicant’s military service records contain a DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), with an effective date of 27 August 1952, and DD Form 215 (Correction to DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), dated 8 July 2008.  These documents show the applicant was inducted and entered active duty on 25 November 1950, awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 1745 (Infantryman), and served in Korea for 11 months and 14 days.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), as corrected by the DD Form 215, shows the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, and
1 Overseas Service Bar.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) contains the entry “NONE.”  The DD Form 214 also shows the applicant was honorably released from active duty on 27 August 1952 and transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps to complete his remaining service obligation.  He was credited with completing 1 year, 9 months, and 3 days net active service during this period.

4.  A review of the applicant’s available military service records revealed there is no medical documentation that shows he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action and there are no orders in the applicant’s records that show he was awarded the Purple Heart.  In addition, a review of the Korean War Casualty Roster confirmed that the applicant’s name is not listed on the roster.

5.  In support of his request for reconsideration, the applicant provides the following partially burned documents.

     a.  Page 1 of the Report of Medical History for his Entrance Medical Examination, undated.  This document offers no pertinent evidence pertaining to the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart.

     b.  Two pages of his Report of Medical History for Final Physical Examination, undated.  On the first page, the item “Examinee’s Present Health in Own Words” contains a typed entry that appears to read “Hearing since duty in Korea” and “Shrapnel in neck.”  The second page contains, in pertinent part, Item 39 (Have you ever received, is there pending, have you applied for, or do you intend to apply for pension or compensation for existing disabilities? (If yes, specify what kind, granted by whom, and what amount, when, why.)).  The document also contains a typed entry that reads “39.  Will apply if hearing does not improve.  Also if shrapnel gives me trouble.”

     c.  DPRB FL 1-471, dated 25 February 1953, and Request for Medical Records, with a review date of 6 June 1953.  These 2 documents indicate the applicant initiated a claim with the Veterans Administration (VA) based upon, in pertinent part, shrapnel wounds to his shoulder, arm, and neck sustained on 1 June 1951 and treated at the Company F, 31st Regiment Aid Station in Korea, and also indicate he was treated for blood poisoning in September 1951 at the 7th Division Hospital in Korea.

     d.  Dental Survey Chart, dated 30 August 1951.  This document offers no pertinent evidence pertaining to the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart.

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

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends, in effect, that his request for award of the Purple Heart should be reconsidered based on new evidence he provides concerning shrapnel wounds he sustained in combat on 1 June 1951 while serving as a machine gunner with the 2nd Platoon, Company F, 31st Infantry Regiment,
7th Infantry Division in Korea.
  
2.  In the applicant’s original request for award of the Purple Heart he provided, in pertinent part, a statement from Master Sergeant (MSG) Pat N. W_______ (U.S. Army, Retired) and 2 General Orders.

     a.  In his statement, MSG W_______ stated he was the applicant’s platoon sergeant while serving in Korea on 1 June 1951 (i.e., the date in question). While MSG W_______ did not offer first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s wound, he stated “I met [the applicant] on the way back down [the Hill].  [The applicant] had bandages on his neck or shoulder but was sent back to his unit.”

     b.  The General Orders that were provided pertain to award of the Silver Star to MSG W_______ for his gallantry in action on 1 June 1951 and award of the Purple Heart to MSG W_______ for wounds received as a result of enemy action on 1 June 1951 in Korea.

3.  In the applicant’s request for reconsideration of award of the Purple Heart he provides the following additional evidence.

     a.  The Report of Medical History for his Final Type Physical that shows, in pertinent part, at the time of his separation physical examination in 1952, the applicant documented having shrapnel in his neck and that he might pursue a claim for the disability.  In addition, the typed entries on this charred document, particularly the fade-out in the bottom portion of the letter “p” on both the first and second pages of the document, are consistent and tend to lend support to the authenticity of the typed entries on the original of the document.

     b.  A Request for Medical Records, with a review date of 6 June 1953, that shows the applicant initiated a claim with the VA on 7 January 1953 indicating, in pertinent part, he sustained shrapnel wounds to his shoulder, arm, and neck in Korea on 1 June 1951 and that he was treated at the Company F, 31st Regiment Aid Station (Korea).

4.  It is noted that the evidence provided in the applicant’s original request for award of the Purple Heart offered insufficient evidence to support his claim.  That evidence indicated the applicant sustained a shrapnel wound on 1 June 1951, was treated at the battalion aid station, and returned to his unit; however, it offered no official medical evidence documenting the wound.  The additional evidence provided shows that it is documented in the applicant’s Final Type Physical examination that he sustained a shrapnel wound in his neck while serving in Korea.

5.  The evidence of record also shows the applicant’s former platoon sergeant (now a retired master sergeant) was awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry in action on 1June 1951 and the Purple Heart for wounds he sustained in that action.  In this regard, it is reasonable to conclude that this U.S. Army, retired, master sergeant, would not willingly lessen the prestige associated with award of the Purple Heart by submitting a statement in support of a former Soldier’s claim for award of the Purple Heart, if he was not certain the former Soldier was wounded in the same action as him and entitled to the award.  Thus, it is concluded that the additional documentary evidence submitted, coupled with the original evidence of record, offers sufficient evidence to support the applicant’s claim to the Purple Heart in this case.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his records to show award of the Purple Heart.
BOARD VOTE:

____X____  ___X____  __X____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR20070012773, dated 23 October 2007.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

     a.  awarding the applicant the Purple Heart for wounds received as a result of hostile action in the Republic of Korea on 1 June 1951;

     b.  adding to Item 27 of his DD Form 214 the “Purple Heart”; and

     c.  adding to Item 29 of his DD Form 214 the entry "Korea, 1 June 1951."



      __________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)                                         AR20080014019



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080014019



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