IN THE CASE OF:
BOARD DATE: 12 February 2015
DOCKET NUMBER: AR20140011917
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 award of the Purple Heart (PH).
2. The applicant states:
* his records should contain medical information regarding injuries sustained during combat enemy engagement
* injuries sustained have not been acknowledged
* he should have been awarded the PH
* his medical information did not make it to his records
* his records were destroyed in the fire that ruined many records
* his medical card shows treatment for wounds sustained in combat and states his injuries were sustained as a result of an enemy mortar
3. The applicant provides copies of a medical card and his DD Form 214.
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 applicants complete military records are not available for review. A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members' records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, MO, in 1973. It is believed his records were lost or destroyed in that fire. This case is being considered using the documents the applicant provides, a reconstructed record provided by NPRC, and the Korean War Casualty File.
3. He was inducted in the Army of the United States on 12 November 1952.
4. The Korean War Casualty File shows he was wounded in action in Korea on 11 June 1953.
5. On 26 August 1954, he was honorably released from active duty and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. His DD Form 214 shows in:
* item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized)
* United Nations Service Medal
* National Defense Service Medal
* Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star
* Combat Infantryman Badge
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
* item 26 (Foreign and/or Sea Service) 1 year, 3 months, and 26 days
* Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) "NA"
6. The available records are void of documentation indicating he was awarded the PH.
7. The applicant provides a medical card showing he was wounded in action due to an enemy mortar on 11 June 1953.
8. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) states the PH 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.
9. A review of his record indicates he is entitled to an additional decoration not shown on his DD Form 214.
10. Army Regulation 600-8-22 states the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM) is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in Korea and adjacent waters between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953. The service must have been performed, in part, while on permanent assignment or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days within the territorial limits of Korea or the waters immediately adjacent thereto.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
1. The applicants medical card and the Korean War Casualty File confirm that he was wounded in action. This documentation is a sufficient basis for awarding him the PH and correcting his DD Form 214 to show the award and to show he was wounded in action.
2. Based on his service in Korea, he is eligible for the ROKWSM. He is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award.
BOARD VOTE:
____X____ ___X_____ ___X_____ GRANT FULL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF
________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING
________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:
The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by:
a. awarding him the PH for wounds he received in action on 11 June 1953;
b. deleting the entry "NA" in item 29 of his DD Form 214 and replacing it with the entry "Korea 11 June 1953"; and
c. adding to item 27 of his DD Form 214 the PH and ROKWSM.
____________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) AR20140011917
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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20140011917
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