IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	    23 February 2012

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20110016278 


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 for shrapnel wounds.  

2.  He states he received shrapnel wounds from a mortar attack in Korea in 1952.  

3.  He provides medical Progress Notes from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

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 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.  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 applicant’s 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.  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 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 9 December 1952.  He served in Korea and completed 1 year, 4 months, and 20 days of foreign service.  

4.  He was discharged on 4 November 1954.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 does not show award of the Purple Heart.  

5.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of his DD Form 214 shows the entry “None.”  His name is not listed on the Korean Casualty Roster.  His reconstructed record does not include orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  

6.  Information from the Hospital Admission Cards Created by the Office of The Surgeon General shows he was admitted into the hospital in March 1954 in Korea.  He was diagnosed with neoplasm or a tumor in his forehead and frontal region and gynecomastia.

7.  He provided Progress Notes, dated 28 November 2005 and 1 August 2007, from a VA physician which stated:

   a.  the applicant was known to have old shrapnel wounds and he had some fragments of shrapnel in his body.  
   
   b.  the applicant had multiple medical problems and he had been suffering with low back pain and pain on the right side of his chest due to old trauma.  He was unable to perform any activity without pain and discomfort.
   
   c.  the applicant’s left knee was also giving out, his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, chronic pain, diabetes with associated complications like peripheral neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and impaired ambulation were affecting his mental and physical function.
   
   d.  the applicant was totally disabled to do any job and it was permanent based on the opinion of the physician.

8.  He also provided a statement he submitted to the VA.  He stated he sustained shrapnel wounds to his back during his tour in Korea.  After he returned to base camp, he asked for a first aid kit to treat his shrapnel wounds.  They wanted to take him to the hospital but he was unable to make the 30-mile trip.  He treated himself to prevent infection.  To date, he still has shrapnel in his body and x-rays show it was moving towards his liver.  

9.  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:

1.  The applicant contends he received shrapnel wounds from a mortar attack in Korea in 1952.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support his claim.  

2.  His reconstructed record does not include orders which authorized him award of the Purple Heart.  His name is not listed on the Korean Casualty Roster and no medical documents are available which show he sustained an injury or wound as a result of hostile action in Korea.  

3.  The statement from the VA physician is acknowledged.  However, this statement alone is insufficient as a basis to grant him award of the Purple Heart in this case.  He acknowledges that he was not treated by medical personnel, that he treated himself.

4.  In the absence of evidence to show he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart in this case.  Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Purple Heart or correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award.

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)                                         AR20110016278



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20110016278



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