IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	  23 April 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20140014690 


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, in effect, correction of his records to show he was a prisoner of war (POW) and awarded the POW Medal and the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant states he was assigned overseas and arrived in the Republic of Korea (ROK) in January 1964.

   a.  A few months later, while on ground maneuvers, he and two other Soldiers were confronted by North Koreans and held captive as POWs for seven days.

   b.  He was repeatedly hit in the head with weapons and sustained head trauma.  He also received injuries to both knees from attacks with swords.

   c.  He, states, "[w]hen I was released I was treated at the 121st Evacuation Hospital."  He was then airlifted to Bein Hoa Air Base in Vietnam and later returned to the ROK.

   d.  He was given pictures of his captivity by Officer E____ and told that he might need them someday.  He adds that he still suffers from severe headaches and pain in both knees.

3.  The applicant provides copies of seven photographs.


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 enlisted in the Regular Army on 17 September 1963 for a period of 3 years.  He was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 64A (Light Vehicle Driver).

3.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows in –

* item 31 (Foreign Service), he served in Korea from 7 January 1964 through 5 January 1965
* item 38 (Record of Assignments):  Light Vehicle Driver, 121st Evacuation Hospital, from 12 January 1964 through 4 January 1965
* item 40 (Wound) is blank (no entries)
* item 41 (Awards and Decorations) does not list the PH or the POW Medal
* item 42 (Remarks) is blank (no entries)

4.  A review of the Standard Form (SF) 89 (Report of Medical History) and SF 88 (Report of Medical Examination), prepared by the applicant and the examining physician to document the applicant's separation physical examination on 
13 July 1966, failed to show any evidence of injury or wound to the applicant's head or knees.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) shows he was honorably released from active duty on 
16 September 1966 and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve Control Group (Reinforcement).  He had completed 3 years of total active service this period.

   a.  Item 26 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) does not list the PH or the POW Medal.

   b.  Item 27 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) shows the entry "None"

	c.  Item 32 (Remarks) does not show any information pertaining to POW status.

6.  In support of his application he provides copies of seven photographs

* five of the photographs appear to have been taken in an Asian environment and have two "post-it" notes indicating they show the applicant "prior to" and while being "held captive as POW" in "1964"

* two of the photographs show an American Soldier

* standing in front of a building sheathing a sword; the lettering painted on the building apparently not written in Hangul
(i.e., Korean)
* sitting on the front porch of the building and relaxing

* one of the photographs shows an Asian man holding a raised sword with another man standing nearby and an indistinguishable individual inside a bell-shaped restraining device

* the two remaining photographs each show a bruised (scarred) knee with a "post-it" note indicating they show the applicant's knees (July 2014)

7.  The Korean Conflict commenced on 25 June 1950 and lasted through 27 July 1953 when the Armistice was signed.  (The period of the Vietnam Conflict was from 15 March 1962 through 28 January 1973.)

8.  A review of the Korean Conflict Casualty Roster failed to show the applicant's name listed as being captured by the enemy.  In addition, a review of the Vietnam Conflict Casualty Roster failed to reveal the applicant's name.

9.  A search of the National Archives and Records Administration, Access to Archival Databases, Korean Conflict POW/Missing in Action (MIA) Data File, failed to show the applicant's name.

10.  A search of the Department of Defense, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency website, failed to reveal the applicant's name.


11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning military awards and decorations.

   a.  The POW Medal is awarded to individuals who in past armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive after 5 April 1917.  The POW Medal is to be issued only to those U.S. military personnel and other personnel granted creditable U.S. military service that were taken prisoner and held captive

* while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States
* while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
* while serving with friendly forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the U.S. is not a belligerent party
* by foreign armed forces that are hostile to the United States, under circumstances which the Secretary concerned finds to have been comparable to those under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict

	b.  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.  When contemplating an award of the PH the key issue commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.

12.  Executive Order 11016, dated 25 April 1962, provided more latitude with respect to award of the PH to POWs, as well as the authority to award the decoration to wounded Soldiers even in the absence of a formal declaration of war.  

13.  Section 521a of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 authorized award of the PH to any former POW who was wounded before 25 April 1962 while held as a POW or while being taken captive, in the same manner as a former POW who was wounded on or after that date.  Section 521b specifically stated that award of the PH for POWs under Section 521a shall be made in accordance with the standards in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act to persons wounded on or after 25 April 1962.


14.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents), now in effect, establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing discharge documents.  It directs that, in the case of POWs, the unit of assignment, country, and dates of capture and release will be entered in the "Remarks" section of the discharge document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that his records should be corrected to show his POW status and that he was awarded the POW Medal and the PH.

2.  The applicant's request and evidence he provided was carefully considered.

   a.  The photographs offer insufficient evidence to support the applicant's claim that he was a POW.

   b.  The applicant's military service records fail to show he was held POW.

   c.  The applicant does not provide any contemporaneous medical records that show he was treated for injuries or wounds that were the result of a hostile act of the enemy or opposing force while he was serving in the ROK (e.g., that would support his contention that he was treated at the 121st Evacuation Hospital).
   
   d.  There are no orders or any other evidence that shows he was awarded the PH.

   e.  The applicant's name does not appear on any of the pertinent casualty rosters or POW databases.

3.  Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to grant the applicant's request.

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)                                         AR20140014690



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20140014690



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