IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 5 June 2014
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20130017554
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 records to show he was wounded in combat and award of the Purple Heart.
2. He states:
a. During the first week of July 1951, he was serving as a runner for the 3rd Platoon, Company E, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in Korea. During a firefight with mortar support, he was wounded by a late-detonating mortar, and he received several pieces of shrapnel in his left knee. He was able to perform his duties for the rest of the day, but overnight his knee became stiff and swollen. His platoon leader sent him to battalion headquarters for medical attention.
b. Upon his arrival, a noncommissioned officer (NCO) picked some shrapnel from his knee and suggested waiting a few days to see what happens. The NCO said he was entitled to a Purple Heart, but the NCO was out of forms to submit his name for the award. The next day the mail clerk did not have the forms, but the mail clerk did have a request for refrigeration mechanics from the United Nations Military Cemetery at Pusan, Korea. He and another Soldier had the required military occupational specialty (MOS), and they were sent to the cemetery in Pusan where they completed their tour.
3. He provides certification of his completion of the Refrigeration Course and medical records.
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. On 20 June 1950, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Army.
3. He arrived in Korea on 22 March 1951 and departed on 17 April 1952. Section 6 (Original Assignment and Organizations to Which Subsequently Assigned during This Period of Service) of his WD AGO Form 24A (Service Record) shows that during his service in Korea he was assigned to:
* Company E, 9th Infantry Regiment from 28 March to 14 July 1951
* 114th Quartermaster Grave Registration Company from 15 July 1951 to 17 April 1952
4. Section 8 (Wounds Received Through Enemy Action) of his WD AGO Form 24A contains no entries.
5. On 29 January 1953, he signed a DD Form 667 (Claim for Combat Pay) requesting combat pay for the period March to July 1951. He marked the "NO" box for each of the following items:
* I was injured or wounded in action
* I was hospitalized as a result of being injured or wounded in action
* I was captured or missing in action
6. A Report of Medical History, dated 9 June 1953, was completed in conjunction with his separation medical examination. The form shows no entries indicating he had been wounded in action.
7. A Report of Medical Examination, dated 16 June 1953, shows his separation medical examination found no defects or diagnoses.
8. On 19 June 1953, he was honorably discharged. His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) does not show the Purple Heart, and it does not show that he was wounded as a result of action with enemy forces.
9. A review of his records revealed no documents indicating he incurred shrapnel wounds to his left knee in July 1951.
10. The applicant is not listed in the Korean War Casualty File maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration.
11. He provides, in part, medical records showing that, on 25 March 1997, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed considerable degenerative change in his left knee. These medical records show no evidence of retained shrapnel in his left knee.
12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states 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:
The applicant's military service records contain no evidence substantiating his claim that he was wounded during his service in Korea, and he has not provided such evidence. In the absence of official documentation verifying that he was wounded as a result of hostile action and that his wound required treatment by medical personnel, there is an insufficient basis upon which to correct his record to show he was wounded in action or to award him 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 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) AR20130017554
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20130017554
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