RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         6 April 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050012071


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Paul M. Smith                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Brenda K. Koch                |     |Member               |

      The Board considered the following evidence:

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, reconsideration of his request to be
awarded the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  In a letter to the Secretary of the Army, the applicant's children
request that the denial of the Board in the applicant's case be
reconsidered.  They object to the Board's characterization of a fellow
Soldier as a "war buddy", which they claim sounds like the Board was
accusing the applicant and his assistant platoon sergeant of lying, which
is an affront to their integrity and their service to the United States of
America.  They claim the applicant's wound was a battlefield wound to both
arms, the right arm was the most damaged.  The applicant chose not to go to
the hospital for treatment even though he could have.  They further
indicate that he was treated by a field medical corpsman (MEDIC) who
bandaged his arm, and he went back to the war.  They state that the
applicant was the platoon sergeant, and because the platoon leader
(lieutenant) was new to the battlefield, the applicant chose not to leave
his men, which was the act of a true hero.  They further indicate that two
medical professionals have attested to the wounds the applicant received.

3.  The applicant provides two medical statements as new evidence in
support of the reconsideration request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR2004105934, on 19 January 2005.

2.  During the original review of the case, it was concluded that absent
any evidence of record to corroborate the information contained in the
statement provided to the Board, there was an insufficient evidentiary
basis to support award of the PH in the applicant's case.

3.  The applicant provides two doctor's statements as new evidence.  The
first, dated 8 November 2004, is from a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  She indicates that she saw
the applicant during a clinic visit and could testify to the fact that the
scar on his right posterior forearm had an appearance consistent with
shrapnel injury.  She further states that the applicant indicated that he
sustained a shrapnel injury to the back of his right forearm on 20 April
1952; therefore, she agrees with his claim that the wound was sustained
during the his service in the Korean War.

4.  The second medical statement provided is from a United States Air Force
general surgeon.  He states that he examined the applicant's forearm scars
and found the scar on the right forearm the most pronounced, with the
clinical appearance of a healed shrapnel wound.

5.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the
regulatory guidance pertaining to awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent
part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that a member was
wounded or injured as a result of enemy action.  The wound or injury for
which the PH is being awarded must have required treatment by a medical
officer, this treatment must be supported by medical treatment records that
were made a matter of official record.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The new evidence submitted by the applicant was carefully considered.
However, by regulation, in order to support award of the PH there must be
evidence that the wound for which the award is being made was received as a
result of enemy action, that it required treatment by military medical
personnel, and a record of this medical treatment must have been made a
matter of official record.

2.  As pointed out in the original Record of Proceedings, the PH was not
included in the list of awards contained on the applicant's separation
document (DD Form 214), and Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action
with Enemy Forces) of the DD Form 214 contained the entry "None", which
indicates he was never wounded in action.  The applicant authenticated the
DD Form 214 with his signature on the date of his separation.  In effect,
this was his verification that the information contained on the separation
document, to include the list of awards and Item 29 entry, was correct at
the time the document was prepared and issued.  Further, as noted during
the original review, his name was not included on the Korean War Casualty
Roster, the official list of Korea battle casualties.
3.  The applicant provided a self-authored statement in support of his
original application that was also signed by a fellow Soldier.  The
veracity of the information contained in this statement, as well as the
information contained in the two statements now provided as new evidence is
not in question.  However, absent any evidence of record to corroborate the
information contained in these statements, or that confirms the applicant's
arm injuries were received as a result of enemy action, and were treated by
military medical personnel at the time, the regulatory burden of proof
necessary to support award of the PH has not been satisfied in this case.

4.  The applicant is advised that it was never the intent of the Board to
question his integrity, or the integrity of the former Soldier who signed
the statement he provided with his original application.  However, the
Board has the obligation to ensure the burden of proof necessary to support
the award of the PH has been met before it approves award of the PH in
every case.  To do otherwise, would be a disservice and unfair to all those
who served during the Korean War and who faced similar circumstances.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___PMS_  __CD ___  ___BKK _  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 to amend the decision of
the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR2004105934, dated 19 January 2005.




                                  _____Paul M. Smith______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050012071                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |2005/01/19  AR2004105934                |
|DATE BOARDED            |2006/04/06                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1953/04/18                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-362                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |Hardship                                |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.  61   |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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