IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 12 April 2012
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20110019935
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) for the period ending 5 February 1954 to show his award of the Purple Heart.
2. The applicant states:
* He got hurt in combat in Korea in 1951
* He was awarded the Purple Heart but it is not shown on his DD Form 214
3. In an undated statement, the applicant states he was driving a 2 1/2 ton truck hauling ammunition in a black out and a "ten ton brigs truck" ran him off a cliff and he broke his back in 1951.
4. The applicant provides:
* DD Form 214 for the period ending 5 February 1954
* Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) letter, dated 9 January 2001
* DVA Hospital Summary, dated 22 July 1973
* DA Form 1577 (Authorization for Issuance of Awards), dated 22 June 1988
* Letter, dated 18 February 1971, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars
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 (RA) on 6 February 1951 for a period of 3 years. He served as an infantryman in Korea and he was honorably discharged on 5 February 1954.
3. The DD Form 214 he was issued at the time does not show the Purple Heart as an authorized award. Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) shows the entry "None."
4. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
5. Section 8 (Wounds Received Through Enemy Action) of his DA Form 24 (Service Record) is blank.
6. His name does not appear on the Korean casualty roster.
7. A service medical record, dated 11 September 1953, shows he was diagnosed with back pain resulting from an automobile accident in January 1953 in Korea. An x-ray of his lumbosacral spine was taken and the results stated:
a. the vertebral bodies of T-12, L-1, 2 & 3 show slight anterior wedging and some wavy irregularity of the vertebral plates.
b. these changes are considered the residuals of an old juvenile epiphysitis rather than on a traumatic basis.
c. except for the above minimal changes the lumbosacral spine is normal.
8. He subsequently again served in the RA and in the Army National Guard.
9. On 17 June 1959 and 5 November 1959, he underwent separation physical examinations which make no mention of any injuries or wounds sustained as a result of hostile action in Korea. Item 38 (Spine, Other Musculoskeletal) of his Standard Form (SF) 88 (Report of Medical Examination), dated 17 June 1959, shows he was rated normal.
10. He provided a DVA Hospital Summary, dated 22 July 1973, that states, "Patient has a history of a spinal fracture secondary to a war injury which occurred in 1951 and is presently 100% disabled for employment due to his condition."
11. 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 the wound was the result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by military personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. He contends he got hurt in combat in Korea in 1951 and he received the Purple Heart. He also contends he was driving a 2 1/2 ton truck hauling ammunition in a black out and a "ten ton brigs truck" ran him off a cliff and he broke his back in 1951.
2. Army Regulation 600-8-22 establishes basic requirements for the Purple Heart and all other awards. The Purple Heart requires:
* that the wound was the result of hostile action
* treatment of the wound by military medical personnel
* documentation of the wound in official records
3. There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records. There is no evidence of record and he provided no evidence that shows he was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action in Korea. Regrettably, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support adding the Purple Heart to his DD Form 214.
4. In view of the foregoing, 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) AR20110019935
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20110019935
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