IN THE CASE OF:	

		BOARD DATE:	  23 October 2008

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20080014918 


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, through his brother and elected representative, reconsideration of the Board’s denial of his request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, through his brother and elected representative, that the Military Awards Branch (MAB) awarded the Army Commendation Medal to the eyewitness to the applicant’s wounding for his heroic actions on 20 April 1952 during an enemy attack.  The elected representative continues that the MAB confirmed that the applicant sustained wounds from the attack and received treatment for those wounds by the following wording on the award citation: “Although his fellow Soldier [the applicant] sustained injuries, [the eyewitness] quickly alerted a medic who was then able to provide first aid to his wounded comrade.”

3.  The elected representative concludes that while he understands the necessity of verifying that injuries were received during combat prior to awarding the Purple Heart, the MAB has already verified that the applicant received injuries while in combat.  As such, the elected representative believes that the MAB’s finding is more than sufficient to warrant awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant does not provide any additional documents in support of his request.




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 AR2004105934 on 19 January 2005.

2.  In this 2005 review of the applicant’s case, the Board found that the applicant’s records were not locatable and were presumed to have been destroyed in the fire at the records repository at St. Louis, Missouri in 1973.  The Board found that the applicant had stated that he was assigned to Company M, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division when he received wounds to both his arms at a location called “Bloody Ridge.”  The Board found that Special Orders confirmed that the applicant was assigned to the 27th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division while in Korea.  However, the Board found no evidence that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that he was wounded.  The applicant’s name was not listed on the Korean Casualty File and his DD Form 214, Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) had “None” entered.  The Board concluded that without corroborating evidence, the eyewitness statement was insufficient to award the applicant the Purple Heart.

3.  On 6 April 2006, the Board reconsidered the applicant’s request.  In this 2006 request the applicant’s children stated that the applicant chose not to go to the hospital for treatment after he was wounded because he was the platoon sergeant and the platoon leader (an officer) was new.  Therefore, he was treated in the field by a medic.  The applicant’s children submitted contemporary medical statements saying that the applicant had scars which were consistent with shrapnel wounds.  The Board concluded that since the applicant’s name was not on the Korean Casualty File and since he authenticated his DD Form 214 which stated that he had not been wounded, the eyewitness statement was insufficient in and of itself to warrant awarding the applicant the Purple Heart.

4.  In a statement notarized on 19 March 2001 and signed by his eyewitness, the applicant stated that he and the eyewitness were on top of a seven or eight foot high boulder when he was hit by the eyewitness sending him off the boulder and falling on top of the eyewitness.  The applicant stated further that he had a “slightly wound right forarm and hit by hot rocks left arm.  They were bleeding.”  The applicant contended that the eyewitness saved his life.  The applicant makes no mention of medical treatment.


5.  In his 2004 statement the eyewitness said that the he and the applicant were fighting the enemy in an intense battle at “Bloody Ridge” on 20 April 1952.  The eyewitness stated that the applicant was on top of a large boulder in order to locate expected enemy position when the eyewitness saw a flash from an enemy tank cannon.  The eyewitness jumped up and yanked the applicant off the boulder but not before shrapnel from the exploding cannon shell wounded the applicant in both arms.  The eyewitness continues that a field medic treated the applicant because the applicant wouldn’t leave the combat area for further medical care because he had a new platoon leader.

6.  In an excerpt from Headquarters, 27th Infantry, Narrative of Tactical Operations, it was stated that “from 15 to 26 April [1952] remote patrols and listening posts continued to maintain their posts without contact” (emphasis added).

7.  A review of the 27th Infantry Regiment’s Casualty Roster for the month of April 1952 fails to identify the applicant as being a casualty.

8.  The Battle of Bloody Ridge was a ground combat battle that took place during the Korean War from August 18 to September 5, 1951.  Located in hills north of the 38th parallel north in the central Korean mountain range, the battle was fought between the communist North Korean forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and United Nations (UN) forces consisting of Republic of Korea Army (ROK) units and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division.  By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong.  The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran (with many twists and turns along the way) from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel.  UN and communist forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles.  Bloody Ridge began as an attempt by U.N. forces to seize a series of hills forming a ridge which they believed were being used as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road.  The 36th ROK Regiment made the initial attack.  It succeeded in capturing most, but not all, of the ridge after a week of fierce fighting that at times was hand to hand.  It was a short-lived triumph, for the following day the North Koreans recaptured the mountain in a fierce counterattack.  The next U.N. assault was made by the 9th Infantry of the 2nd Division.  The battle raged for ten days, as the North Koreans repulsed one assault after another by the increasingly exhausted and depleted U.S. forces.  After repeatedly being driven back, the 9th succeeded in capturing one of the hill objectives after two days of heavy fighting.  The weather then turned to almost constant rain, greatly slowing the attacks and making operations 

almost impossible because of the difficulty in bringing supplies through "rivers of mud" and up steep, slippery slopes.  Fighting continued, however, and casualties mounted.  The 2nd Division's 23rd Infantry Regiment joined the attack on the main ridge while the division's other infantry regiment, the 38th, occupied positions immediately behind the main ridge which threatened to cut off any North Korean retreat.  The combination of frontal attacks, flanking movements and incessant bombardment by artillery, tanks and airstrikes ultimately decided the battle.  Finally, on September 5, the North Koreans abandoned the ridge after UN forces succeeded in outflanking it.  The American soldiers called the piece of terrain they had taken "Bloody Ridge", which indeed it was: 2,700 U.N. and perhaps as many as 15,000 communists were casualties, almost all of them killed or wounded with few prisoners being taken by either side.  (Wikipedia)

9.  On 22 August 2005, the applicant submitted a recommendation for award for the Bronze Star Medal for the eyewitness to his wounding.  In that recommendation he said that on 20 April 1952, his eyewitness jumped from atop a large bolder pulling behind him (himself) after seeing an enemy tank fire on their position.  He continues that he was wounded as the two escaped.  The MAB awarded the eyewitness the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement on 20 April 1952.  In the Army Commendation Certificate, the MAB paraphrased the applicant’s account of what occurred on the day in question, which included him getting medical treatment for his wounds.

10.  On 17 October 2005, the applicant’s brother submitted the applicant for the award of the Purple Heart.  In that recommendation the applicant’s brother quoted the eyewitness’ statement concerning the applicant being wounded during the Battle of Bloody Ridge on 20 April 1952.  

11.  In a letter to the applicant’s elected representative, the MAB explained the criteria for award of the Purple Heart, stated that it had checked the applicant’s unit’s records and hospital records without evidence that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart, and that the applicant’s name wasn’t among the list of battle casualties in the Republic of Korea.  The MAB added that treatment provided by medics and combat lifesavers do not meet the criteria for treatment for award of the Purple Heart.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for wounds 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.  Both the applicant and his eyewitness state that the applicant was wounded on 20 April 1952 during the battle of Bloody Ridge while assigned to the 27th Regiment, 25th Division.

2.  In this regard, the Battle of Bloody Ridge was fought from 18 August to 5 September 1951 by the 2nd Infantry Division.

3.  The 27th Infantry, Narrative of Tactical Operations, records that the applicant’s unit had no contact with the enemy from 15 to 26 April 1952.

4.  The 27th Infantry Regiment’s Casualty Roster for the month of April 1952 fails to identify the applicant as being a casualty.

5.  While the MAB accepted the applicant’s statement and paraphrased that statement on the eyewitness’ Army Commendation Medal Certificate, there is no evidence that the MAB verified the information contained in that statement.  To the contrary, there is no corroborating evidence in any available military record; and the dates and accounts of the incident, combined with historical records pertaining to the 27th Infantry, raise question about the stated events.

6.  There is no evidence that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or that treatment for any wounds was recorded; the applicant’s name is not listed on the Korean Casualty File; and his DD Form 214, Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) has “None” entered.  

7.  The only new evidence supporting the applicant’s claim is the two award recommendations and the citation on the eyewitness’ Army Commendation Medal certificate.  In this regard, it is noted that the award recommendation for the eyewitness was written by the applicant himself and that the Army Commendation Medal Certificate’s wording is taken directly off the applicant’s award recommendation for his eyewitness.  Additionally, the award recommendation for the applicant was submitted by the applicant’s brother and was based solely on statements from the applicant’s eyewitness.

8.  As such, there is still insufficient evidence in which to grant the applicant’s request.





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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2004105934 dated 19 January 2005.



      __________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)                                         AR20080014918



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20080014918



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