IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 7 April 2009
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20080018417
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 award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states that he was wounded in the right hand by shrapnel from Chinese artillery in Korea and that he had to be treated by a doctor for his wound.
3. The applicant provides a photograph of a Soldier with a bandage on his right hand and a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) in support of his application.
CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:
1. 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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicants failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so. While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicants failure to timely file. In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.
2. The applicant enlisted on 28 September 1950 for a period of 3 years. He served as an infantryman in Korea from 24 April 1952 to 22 April 1953 and was honorably discharged on 27 September 1953.
3. The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of his DD Form 214 shows the entry, "NONE."
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. On 25 September 1953, the applicant underwent a separation physical examination which states, in pertinent part, that he fractured his right hand when he was hit with a mortar round in Korea in November 1952 and that he spent one week in an Army hospital in Korea.
6. The applicants name does not appear on the Korean War Casualty Roster.
7. The applicant's service personnel records contain a Veterans Administration (VA) Form 3101 (Request for Army Information), dated 16 October 1953, which states, in pertinent part, that the applicant injured his right hand while "stoking motor" in November 1952.
8. 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:
There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. Although the applicant's separation examination states that he fractured his right hand when he was hit with a mortar round in Korea in November 1952, 1953 VA documentation states that he injured his right hand while "stoking motor" in November 1952. In the absence of orders, the entry on the applicant's separation examination is not sufficient as a basis for award of the Purple Heart. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to amend his DD Form 214 to show the Purple Heart.
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.
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