IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 2 September 2010
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100008999
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 two awards of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster).
2. The applicant states:
* In December 1950 he was wounded (artillery head wound), he spent
17 days on a Swedish ship, and he was sent back to the field
* In early 1951 he was too close to an incoming artillery round, he suffered extreme headaches, and he spent 13 days in an Army hospital in Korea
* He did not look at his discharge until he filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs for benefits
3. The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 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 in the Regular Army on 7 December 1948. He served as a construction specialist in Korea from 20 November 1950 through 23 October 1951 and he was honorably discharged on 6 December 1951.
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) on his DD Form 214 shows the entry "None."
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. The applicant's name does not appear on the Korean Casualty Roster.
6. Section 8 (Wounds Received Through Enemy Action) on the applicant's service record is blank.
7. 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. The regulation also states that the bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicant requests two awards of the Purple Heart for a head wound and extreme headaches he sustained in Korea.
2. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Korea. Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence to support award of the Purple Heart in this case.
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) AR20100008999
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100008999
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