IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 14 April 2011
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20100024638
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 reconsideration of his request for award of the Purple Heart and correction of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) to show the award.
2. The applicant states he knows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) did its best in reviewing his original application; however, he now would like to tell his side of the story.
a. Upon arriving in Korea he performed duty as a field wiremen. He was later assigned to duty in a heavy bunker as a switchboard operator.
b. In February 1953, the enemy launched a heavy mortar attack. Several mortars hit on top of the bunker and one hit the door. The switchboard fell on his legs and pinned him down. Then the bunker collapsed and the other Soldiers in the bunker were crushed.
c. Days later he was medically evacuated to Japan for additional treatment. He was reassigned back to Korea; however, he was physically unable to perform combat duties as a tanker and he was sent to the rear to guard prisoners of war.
d. After he was discharged from the Army he started to drink heavily to avoid having nightmares about his combat experiences. He signed himself in to the Veterans hospital in Biloxi, MS, where he got some help. However, he continued to have bad dreams.
e. Since his discharge he has had a difficult time socializing with others and holding a job. Award of the Purple Heart will help him obtain medical treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs for his post-traumatic stress disorder.
3. The applicant provides no additional documentary evidence in support of his request for reconsideration.
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 ABCMR in Docket Number AR20100008726, on 17 August 2010.
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 his 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 DD Form 214 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army and he entered active duty on 21 March 1952 for a period of 3 years. He was discharged under honorable conditions on 14 April 1954. He had completed 2 years and 24 months of net active service and 1 year, 6 months, and 26 days of foreign service.
a. Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) does not show the Purple Heart.
b. Item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment) shows Company B, 6th Tank Battalion [Korea].
c. Item 29 (Wounds Received As a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) shows the entry "None."
4. There are no orders or other evidence in the available military service records that shows the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.
5. A review of the Korean casualty roster confirmed the applicant's name is not listed on the roster.
6. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides the policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning military awards and decorations. The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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 that his request for award of the Purple Heart should be reconsidered because he was wounded in action in Korea when the bunker he was in came under an enemy mortar attack and a switchboard fell on his legs.
2. The applicant's claim to the Purple Heart was carefully considered.
a. The sincerity of the applicant's claim is not in question. However, in order to support awarding a member the Purple Heart, it is necessary to establish that the wound for which the award is being made required treatment by medical personnel and the medical treatment for the wound or injury received in action must have been made a matter of official record.
b. There is no evidence in the applicant's available military service records to satisfy the strict requirements for award of the Purple Heart. In addition, the applicant's name is not listed on the Korean casualty roster and there is no evidence the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.
c. Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there is insufficient evidence to support the applicant's claim to 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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20100008726, dated 17 August 2010.
____________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) AR20100008726
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ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20100024638
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