IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  2 June 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100027332 


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 two Purple Hearts.

2.  The applicant states he received a letter from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) that shows his records were destroyed.  He believes this is why there are no records concerning his wounds.  He asks that he be sent to a doctor for an examination if the evidence he submitted is not sufficient to grant his request.

3.  The applicant provides a letter from the NPRC, dated 7 January 2011, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Progress Notes, all of which were reviewed by the previous Board except the Progress Note dated 1 October 2010.

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 AR20100009237, on 24 August 2010.

2.  The VA Progress Note, dated 1 October 2010, is new evidence which requires the Board to reconsider the applicant's request.

3.  The available evidence shows the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army on 2 January 1951.  
4.  He served in Korea from on or about 15 June 1951 to 21 March 1952.  He was assigned to Company L, 32nd Infantry Regiment.

5.  On 1 October 1952, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps to complete his remaining service obligation in the rank of sergeant.

6.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars, and the United Nations Service Medal.

7.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of his DD Form 214 shows the entry "None."

8.  Item 5 (Qualifications) shows his specialty as a cook.

9.  Section 8 (Wounds Received through Enemy Action) of his WD AGO 
Form 24A (Service Record) is blank and section 21 (Medals, Decorations, and Citations) of this form does not reflect the Purple Heart.

10.  The available evidence does not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart and his name is not shown in the Korean Casualty File.

11.  The available evidence shows:

	a.  He was hospitalized on 21 July 1952 for hemorrhoids at Camp Roberts, California, as he was experiencing vague pains and discomfort associated with brief periods of paralysis of his right leg.  The onset of his hip and leg complaints began shortly after entry on active duty.  He related this to catching cold while on bivouac during basic training.  His first attack of paralysis of his leg came at about the time of his marriage and occurred while exiting a taxi in front of his home to be with his wife.

	b.  On 22 July 1952, while at Camp Roberts, he underwent a psychiatric evaluation that diagnosed him with an emotional condition.

	c.  He completed a Standard Form 89 (Report of Medical History) on 1 October 1952 and indicated he had partial paralysis from his left hip down and that he felt sharp pain just before this occurred.


	d.  A Standard Form 88, dated 1 October 1952, which recorded his separation physical examination, noted he had scars on both hands, but otherwise he was qualified for release from active duty.  There is no mention in the physical examination of him being wounded.

12.  The VA Progress Note, dated 1 October 2010, that the applicant provided indicates he showed the physician a medical record that stated he had no scars and tattoos in December 1950.  He also showed the physician a xeroxed medical record, dated 28 March 1951, which indicated he had an old scratch on the "volar surface" of the left arm with secondary infection.  During his conversation with this physician he showed him three linear scars on his left forearm and indicated the scars were fragment wounds that he received in Korea due to an explosion.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The new evidence the applicant provided indicates he showed a VA physician a military medical record which indicated he had no scars and tattoos, and a xeroxed medical record which indicated he had an old scratch on the "volar surface" of the left arm with secondary infection.  During his conversation with this physician he showed him three linear scars on his left forearm and indicated the scars were fragment wounds that he received in Korea due to an explosion.

2.  Whether or not the applicant sustained his scars while on active duty (or even in Korea) is not the issue in this case.  What the applicant must prove to be awarded the Purple Heart is evidence that shows:

* he was wounded while in action against an enemy or as a result of hostile action
* the wound required treatment
* the medical treatment was made a matter of official record

3.  It is true that documents pertaining to the applicant may have been destroyed in the fire at the Records Repository in 1973.  However, the applicant's separation physical examination was available for review and it did not mention the applicant being wounded.
4.  A physician can only confirm the applicant has scars.  The fact that he has scars has been established by the medical records he submitted.  What a physician cannot determine is how the scars were incurred, and this is the crux of the applicant's case.  To be entitled to the Purple Heart he must submit evidence to verify that his scars were due to hostile action by enemy forces.

5.  The applicant has established no basis to be sent to a doctor for a physical examination, nor would the Army send him to a doctor for this reason in any case.  The applicant has not provided sufficient evidence to show he was wounded as a result of hostile action; therefore, the available evidence is not sufficient for award of 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 AR20100009237, dated 24 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)                                         AR20100027332



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100027332



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