RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2009-02549
            INDEX CODE:  107.00
            COUNSEL:  NONE
            HEARING DESIRED:  NO

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His record be corrected to show he received the following awards:

      1.  The Purple Heart (PH)

      2.  The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR)

      3.  The Good Conduct Medal (GCM)

      4.  The Korean Defense Service Medal (KDSM)

      5.  The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM) (Entitlement verified  –  will
be administratively corrected).

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

The applicant’s  contentions  are  unclear;  therefore,  the  following  was
extracted from his letter to the VA.

His denial was not justified based on the fact that all his  statements  are
true.  His prisoner of war (POW) status was never documented because all  of
his records were lost.   He  served  57  days  in  Korea  and  his  PTSD  is
absolutely connected to his combat assignments.  He  was  a  radio  operator
attached to many different divisions and his records were  transferred  four
or five different times.

He received a wound during a bombardment of the  area  he  was  assigned  in
Taegu, Korea.  In a letter dated 3 Nov 08, a  doctor  states  he  removed  a
piece of shrapnel from his right knee.

In support of the application, the applicant submits a letter from  the  VA,
a personal statement  to  the  VA,  copies  of  a  letter  from  a  civilian
physician, a medical report,  a  claim  acknowledgement,  a  support  letter
(unsigned), his DD Form 215, Correction  to  DD  Form  214,  Certificate  of
Release or Discharge from Active Duty, and a newspaper article.

The applicant's complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.
_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 1 Dec 48, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force at the  age  of
18.  On 29 Mar 50, he received a  summary  court-martial  for  being  absent
without leave from 2 Mar 50 to 27 Mar 50.  For this offense, he was  reduced
to the grade of private, confined to hard labor for 30 days, and ordered  to
forfeit fifty dollars.

On 1 Sep 52, he was honorably discharged  in  the  grade  of  airman  second
class, effective and with a date of 15 Jun 51.  He served 3 years, 7  months
and 12 days on active duty.

In a VA Rating Decision dated 27 May 09,  his  claim  for  compensation  was
denied for service-connection  for  healed  scar,  right  knee  (claimed  as
residuals of shrapnel wound); malaria, and  PTSD  because  no  corroborating
documentation could be found in his records.

The remaining relevant facts pertaining to this application, extracted  from
the applicant’s military records, are contained in the  letter  prepared  by
the appropriate office of the Air Force at Exhibit C.
_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPSIDR recommends denial.

DPSIDR states the PH is awarded for wounds received as a  direct  result  of
enemy action.  In  addition,  the  wound  must  have  required  or  received
treatment by medical personnel.  Indirect injuries do not meet the  criteria
for award of the PH.

The CAR is awarded to members assigned with the  US  Army,  US  Navy  or  US
Marine Corps.  DPSIDR was unable to verify the applicant’s service with  the
aforementioned services; therefore, he is ineligible for this award.

The GCM is awarded to enlisted men who have honorably  completed  three  (3)
continuous years  of  active  military  service  and  recommended  by  their
commanding  officers  for  exemplary  behavior,  efficiency  and   fidelity.
Service members awarded this medal must have had  character  and  efficiency
ratings of excellent or higher throughout the qualifying  period  and  there
must have been no convictions by  court  martial.   The  applicant’s  record
shows he was convicted by Summary Court Martial on 29 Sep 50; therefore,  he
is ineligible to receive the GCM.

The KDSM is awarded as recognition for military service in the  Republic  of
Korea and the surrounding waters after 28  Jul  54  and  ending  on  such  a
future date as determined  by  the  Secretary  of  Defense.   The  applicant
served on active  duty  from  1  Dec  48  to  2 Sep  52;  therefore,  he  is
ineligible to receive the KDSM.

The complete DPSIDR evaluation is at Exhibit C.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

In a letter dated 27 Oct 09, the applicant states he understands the  denial
of his request for the CAR, GCM, and KDSM;  however,  he  cannot  understand
denial of the PH.  He reiterates many of his earlier contentions and  states
his wound was a direct attack by  enemy  fire.   North  Korean  shells  were
being fired at him and a piece of exploding  shell  hit  him  in  the  right
knee.  The timeframe was between 25 and 27 Aug 50.  The two  people  closest
to him when he was hit was an army soldier (he knows  only  his  last  name)
and the other a war correspondent, now deceased.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit E.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided  by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest  of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.  Insufficient relevant evidence has been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice regarding the applicant’s request for  award
of the PH, CAR, GCM, and KDSM.  Based on  our  review  of  the  evidence  of
record and the established award criteria, the applicant does not  meet  the
established criteria  and  is  therefore  not  eligible  for  the  requested
awards.  In view of the above, we find no basis to favorably  consider  this
portion of his application.   Therefore,  we  agree  with  the  opinion  and
recommendation of the Air Force office of primary responsibility  and  adopt
its rationale as the basis for our determination  that  relief  beyond  that
already granted administratively is not warranted.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only  be
reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant  evidence  not
considered with this application.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members  of  the  Board  considered  AFBCMR  BC-2009-02549  in
Executive Session on 20 Apr 10, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

      Panel Chair
      Member
      Member

The following documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 15 Jul 09, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, HQ AFPC/DPSIDR, dated 17 Sep 09.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 9 Oct 09.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 27 Oct 09.





                                   Panel Chair