IN THE CASE OF:  

		BOARD DATE:  18 December 2014	  

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140007053 


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) to show:

* his component and branch as infantry vice signal
* the Purple Heart for frostbite 
* a service award

2.  The applicant states his original enlistment paperwork identifies him as being in a signal unit.  He adds: 

	a.  By way of explanation, after nearly one year in the service, he was separated and reassigned to a reserve unit due to a reduction in military forces and hardship.  This was an assignment to an infantry unit.  At the beginning of the Korean War, his unit was deactivated and he was ordered to serve in the 7th Infantry Division, not in the Signal Corps.  He was then sent to the hospital in Osaka, Japan and he was later honorably discharged.  His DD Form 214 continued to show him in the Signal Corps when his service should have been identified as Infantry. 

	b.  His separation papers also indicate he was due a service medal but he never received any.  From the beginning, doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs told him his diagnosed neuropathy was related to his frostbitten feet.  He lived through difficult circumstances during the Korean War and he had circulation and discoloration symptoms of frostbite.  Almost immediately upon entry into his tour in Korea, he was constantly exposed to sub-zero temperatures. Soldiers with direct combat wounds took preference over those with frostbite.  Little interest was ever paid to Soldiers suffering from frostbite. 

3.  The applicant provides:

* an article about the Korean War
* his DD Form 214 for the period ending 23 July 1951
* his WD AGO Form 53-280 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, Certificate of Service) for the period ending 22 October 1949

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 complete 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 WD AGO Form 53-280 shows: 

* he enlisted in the Regular Army for 3 years on 19 October 1948
* at the time of his separation, he was serving in the Signal Corps
* at the time of his separation, he was assigned as a student to a Signal Company that appears to have been at Fort Monmouth, NJ

4.  His WD AGO Form 53-280 further shows he was released from active duty on 22 October 1949 by reason of hardship, at Fort Monmouth, NJ.  He completed 1 year and 4 days of active service and he was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC) to complete his remaining service obligations. 

5.  His DD Form 214 shows he was called from inactive duty to active duty and entered active duty at Fort Hood, TX on 19 October 1950.  He was honorably released from active duty on 23 July “1951” (i.e., 1952) and was transferred back to the ERC.  At the time of his separation, he/his:

* was identified by his service number "ER 12XXXXXX" wherein ER stands for Enlisted Reserve
* Component and Branch as "ERC, Signal Corps" 
* held military occupational specialty 4745 (Automatic Rifleman)
* most significant duty assignment (i.e., last duty assignment) was with Company E, 32nd Infantry, 7th Division
* completed 1 year, 9 months, and 1 day of creditable active military service of which 6 months and 10 days was foreign service
* was awarded or authorized the Army of Occupation Medal and Korean Service Medal
* Item 26 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of shows the entry "None."

6.  His reconstructed records do not contain orders awarding him the Purple Heart.  Additionally, his medical records are not available for review with this case and his name is not shown in the Korean Casualty File.

7.  He provides a news article related to Korean War veterans.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states: 

	a.  The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 and 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 and 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 and 30 November 1995, and 11 September 2001 and a date to be determined.  

	b.  The United Nations Service Medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations during the period between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  Personnel awarded the Korean Service Medal automatically establish eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal.

	c.  The Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained in action against an enemy or 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 medical personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action; injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap; injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent; and injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire.

9.  Army Regulation 600-45 (Decorations), which governed the award of Army decorations until 23 August 1951, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the Purple Heart, a "wound" was defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An "element" pertained to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was authorized.

10.  While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  An Army historical document discussing the award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries makes clear numerous specific points including the following:  The term "element" (included from the beginning) meant weather.  The governing regulation and policy were not always the same.  Both policy and enforcement varied from time to time and place to place and were not consistently applied even in adjacent major European commands.  The regulation normally authorized the Purple Heart for frostbite while in combat and sometimes excluded the award for trenchfoot while in combat.  The Medical Department resisted administering a policy they could not control because initial diagnosis was very difficult yet the symptomatic development of individual conditions invited re-diagnosis; because the ultimate degree of permanent disability had virtually nothing to do with the initial cause; because training and enforcement of prevention rested with line commanders; and finally, because initial diagnosis, while extremely difficult, was almost always made by medical personnel who were intimately familiar with both the weather and the tactical situation, but rear echelon doctors tended to change the diagnoses for whatever reasons met their needs. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  With respect to the component or arm of service: 

	a.  During his initial enlistment, he was trained in a signal specialty.  His component and arm of service was "Signal Corps."  He was separated on 22 October 1949 and he was transferred to the ERC in this component and arm of service.  

	b.  He was recalled from the ERC to active duty on 19 October 1950.  It appears when his MOS was changed to infantry then his branch should have been also changed to infantry.  Therefore, item 4 should also change to show ERC INFANTRY 

2.  With respect to the Purple Heart for frostbite: 

	a.  The criteria for award of the Purple Heart requires the submission of substantiating evidence to verify the injury or wound was the result of hostile action, the injury or wound must have required treatment by personnel, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

	b.  A "wound" was defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An "element" pertained to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was authorized. 

	c.  There is no evidence in his reconstructed records and he did not provide any evidence that shows he was “severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat," was wounded or injured as a result of hostile action, treated for such wounds, or that his treatment was made a matter of official record

	d.  In the absence of documentary evidence that shows he was “severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat," wounded, or injured as a result of hostile action and treated for those wounds, regrettably, there is insufficient evidence upon which to base award of the Purple Heart.

3.  He served a qualifying period of service for award of the National Defense Service Medal.  Additionally, he was awarded the Korean Service Medal.  By regulation, personnel awarded the Korean Service Medal automatically establish eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show these awards.

4.  Although he did not request his separation date be corrected, it is clear that this date is in error.  He entered active duty on 19 October 1950 and completed  1 year, 9 months, and 1 day of active duty.  He was separated on 23 July 1952, not 1951.  Therefore, this date should also be corrected. 







BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

____X___  ____X___  ____X___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:

* deleting from item 4 of his DD Form 214 the existing entry and adding the entry "ERC INFANTRY"
* deleting from item 5 (Effective Date of Separation) of his DD Form 214 the entry 23 July 1951 and adding the entry 23 July 1952
* adding to item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) the United Nations Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to awarding him the Purple Heart.



      __________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)                                         AR20140007053





3


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140007053



2


ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


1