IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 3 June 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090020384
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 correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states he was wounded in combat. He further states he was shot by enemy fire, the shrapnel entered his arm, and the blast ruptured his ear drum.
3. The applicant provides his DD Form 214.
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'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. The following information was derived from documents furnished by the applicant and obtained through other sources available to the ABCMR.
3. The applicant's military records show he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 13 November 1952. While it is not clear what military occupational specialty he was awarded, it appears he served as an infantryman. The highest rank he held during his tenure of service was corporal.
4. The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was released from active duty on 12 November 1954 and transferred to the Army Reserve after completing 2 years of active service. Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of this form shows he was awarded the Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, United Nations Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal.
5. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of the applicant's DD Form 214 contains the entry, "None."
6. The applicant's name is not listed on the Korean Casualty File.
7. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides 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. There is no available evidence which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, that he was treated for such wounds by medical personnel, or that such treatment was made a matter of official record.
2. In the absence of evidence that the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart. As a result, the regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart has not been satisfied in this case. Therefore, there is no basis for granting the applicant's requested relief.
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) AR20090020384
3
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090020384
2
ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
1
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140016278
The applicant's complete military records are not available to the Board for review. There is no evidence in his reconstructed records and he did not provide any evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wounds, or that his treatment was made a matter of official record. In the absence of documentary evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, regrettably, there is insufficient...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2015 | 20150001813
This provision of law also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant's 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. The FSM's complete military records are not available to the Board for review. The ABCMR will decide cases on the evidence of record.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2014 | 20140011287
The applicant's complete military records are not available to the Board for review. There is no evidence in his reconstructed records and he did not provide any substantiating evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wounds, or that his treatment was made a matter of official record. In the absence of documentary evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, regrettably, there...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090008248
The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States), dated 16 August 1952, in support of his request. The applicants military records are not available to the Board for review. Although the applicant may have been beaten by his captors and was possibly injured during captivity, regrettably, absent evidence which conclusively shows that the applicant sustained wounds or injuries as a result of hostile action, and that he was...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100010970
The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review. It was awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces or any civilian national of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, died or sustained wounds as a result of hostile action. In the absence of documentary evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2010 | 20100026852
The applicant states he was wounded in the head while on guard duty during the Korean War. He also states that the incident occurred on 29 July 1953, he was assigned to the 289th Tank Battalion, and that he was transported to the hospital with no memory of how he got there. The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110009364
The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review. There are no service personnel records for the applicant which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. awarding him the Purple Heart for injuries received in action on 25 October 1952; b. amending item 27 of his DD Form 214 for the period ending 16 October 1953 to add: * Purple Heart *...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2011 | 20110015789
The applicant's military records are not available to the Board for review. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of his DD Form 214 shows "None." Notwithstanding his sincerity, in the absence of official documentary evidence to corroborate the events that led to his alleged injury, or additional documentation that conclusively shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, there is insufficient evidence upon which to...
ARMY | BCMR | CY2012 | 20120019235
The applicant requests correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show a second award of the Purple Heart. The applicant's complete military records are not available to the Board for review. There is insufficient evidence to support a second award as there is no record of the injury or its treatment.
ARMY | BCMR | CY2009 | 20090016779
The applicants military records are not available to the Board for review. His wound was never recorded. Award of the Purple Heart requires a Soldier to having been injured or wounded by hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by medical personnel, and the medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.