PROCEEDINGS


         IN THE CASE OF:
        

         BOARD DATE: 3 July 2003
         DOCKET NUMBER: AR2002081014


         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. Richard P. Nelson		Analyst

The following members, a quorum, were present:

Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor		Chairperson
Ms. Kathleen A. Newman		Member
Mr. Patrick H. McGann		Member

         The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

         The Board considered the following evidence:

         Exhibit A - Application for correction of military
records
         Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including
         advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS :

1. The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

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2. 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 Silver Star and the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device.

3. The applicant states that he was awarded the Silver Star but the award is not reflected on his DD Form 214. He further states that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and his DD Form 214 shows award of the Bronze Star Medal, but not the “V” Device. In support of his request, the applicant has submitted a copy of a Silver Star certificate, dated 21 July 1952. He has also submitted a copy of his DD Form 214 and a copy of Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division General Orders Number 60, dated 11 February 1952.

4. The applicant’s military records were lost or destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. Records available to the Board were obtained from alternate sources and consist of his DD Form 214 and copies of information from the hospital admission cards of the Office of The Surgeon General, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files.”

5. The available records show that the applicant entered active duty on 6 January 1951. He completed basic and infantry advanced individual training and was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 4745 (Light Weapons Infantryman). He served overseas for 3 months and 1 day. He was wounded, as a result of enemy action, on 31 October 1951, while assigned as a rifleman with Company F, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was honorably separated from the Army on 2 August 1952 after completing 1 year, 6 months, and 17 days of creditable service with no lost time, as a result of wounds sustained in combat. Block 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows award of the following: the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star.

6. Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division General Order Number 60, dated 11 February 1952, shows the applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device for heroism on 31 October 1951.

7. The applicant has submitted a copy of a Silver Star certificate, dated 21 July 1952, for gallantry in action on 31 October 1951, near Pokkae, Korea. There are no general orders awarding the Silver Star to the applicant. Block 27 of the applicant’s DD Form 214, authenticated in the applicant’s own hand, does not show award of the Silver Star.

8. A staff member of the Army Review Boards Agency conducted a review of unit records maintained at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Review of these records did not reveal any General Orders authorizing the applicant award of the Silver Star.
9. Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part, that the Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action against the enemy. The required gallantry (spirited and conspicuous acts of heroism and courage) must have been performed with marked distinction. As with all personal decorations, formal recommendations, approval through the chain of command, and announcement in orders are required.

10. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/Records) prescribes the policies governing the Official Military Personnel File, the Military Personnel Records Jacket, the Career Management Individual File, and Army Personnel Qualification Records. In pertinent part, this regulation states that for U.S. military decorations the only acceptable source documentation is the order, letter, or memorandum which awards the decoration. Award certificates, citations, or separation certificates alone will not be the basis for entry of a decoration.

11. Block 27 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 shows award of the Bronze Star Medal and cites Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division, General Orders Number 60, dated 11 February 1952, as the authority for the award.

12. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. That paragraph states that there are basically three requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. The soldier must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat, and he must actively participate in such ground combat. Specific requirements state, in effect, that an Army enlisted soldier must have an infantry or special forces specialty, satisfactorily performed duty while assigned or attached as a member of an infantry, ranger or special forces unit of brigade, regimental, or smaller size during any period such unit was engaged in active ground combat. A recipient must be personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry or special forces primary duty, in a unit actively engaged in ground combat with the enemy.

13. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Good Conduct Medal is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service. This period is 3 years except in those cases when the period for the first award is less than 3 years, but more than 1 year, for service ending on or after 27 June 1950. Although there is no automatic entitlement to the Good Conduct Medal, disqualification must be justified.

14. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14 August 1974, 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995 and 11 September 2001 to a date to be determined.

15. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the United Nations Service Medal. In pertinent part, the regulation states that the period of eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal was between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954. The regulation provides that this service medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas on behalf of the United Nations. Award of the Korean Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for award of the United Nations Service Medal.

16. Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the foreign unit awards received by units serving in Korea. This document shows that the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division was cited for award of the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece, during the period of the war in Korea, by Headquarters, Department of the Army General Orders (DAGO) Number 2, dated 1956.

17. As a matter of information, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, the Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service Medal to pay tribute to eligible Korean War veterans for their historic endeavors to preserve the freedom of the Republic of Korea and the free world. On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of this foreign service award to eligible US veterans of the Korean War, or their surviving next of kin. The medal is provided at no cost to veterans.

18. The Department of Defense assigned responsibility to the Department of the Air Force for distribution of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans or their surviving next of kin. To apply, veterans must submit a copy of their discharge paper (DD Form 214) to the Awards and Decorations Section, Headquarters, Air Force Personnel Center, 550 C Street West, Suite 12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 78150-4714. A sample request form is being provided to the applicant. Once the Korean War Service Medal has been authorized by the Department of the Air Force, the applicant may apply to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to add this foreign award to his DD Form 214.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. The Board considered the applicant's request to correct his DD Form 214 to show award of the Silver Star. The Board notes the copy of the award certificate submitted by the applicant which shows he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 31 October 1951. However, there are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel record which show that he was awarded the Silver Star. In the absence of general orders awarding the applicant the Silver Star, it appears to the Board that the applicant may have been recommended for award of the Silver Star and that the recommendation was downgraded and approved as a Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device. This is evidenced by Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division General Orders Number 60, dated 11 February 1952, awarding the applicant the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device for heroism in action on 31 October 1951, near Pokkae, Korea. Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the Silver Star, but is entitled to correction of his records to show the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device.

2. The Board noted the absence of the Combat Infantryman Badge in the applicant’s personnel record. Evidence of record shows that the applicant served in an infantry MOS in an infantry company during the Korean War and was wounded in action during that service. Therefore, the applicant is entitled to award of the Combat Infantryman Badge and correction of his records to show this badge.

3. The Board noted the absence of the Good Conduct Medal in the applicant’s personnel record. The applicant is entitled to the first award of the Good Conduct Medal for the period 16 January 1951 through 2 August 1952 based on completion of a period of qualifying service ending with the termination of a period of Federal military service. There is no evidence the applicant was disqualified by his unit commander for award of the Good Conduct Medal. There is no indication of indiscipline in his service personnel record and there is no evidence that the applicant had any lost time while on active duty. Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show this award.

4. The Board noted the absence of the National Defense Service Medal in the applicant’s personnel record. The applicant's service during the Korean War entitled him to award of the National Defense Service Medal. Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show this decoration.

5. The Board noted the absence of the United Nations Service Medal in the applicant’s personnel record. Evidence of record shows that the applicant received the Korean Service Medal. As a result, the applicant is entitled to award of the United Nations Service Medal and correction of his records to show this service medal.

6. The Board noted the absence of unit awards in the applicant’s personnel record. Department of the Army General Orders Number 2, dated 1956, shows that, at the time of the applicant’s assignment to the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, the unit was cited for award of the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece. Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show this foreign unit award.

7. In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1. That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece unit award.

2. That so much of the request as pertains to award of the Silver Star is denied.

BOARD VOTE:

__KAN__ __RVO__ __PHM__ GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION




                  ______________________
                  CHAIRPERSON

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INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002081014
SUFFIX
RECON	YYYYMMDD
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .
DISCHARGE REASON
BOARD DECISION	GRANT
REVIEW AUTHORITY	130
ISSUES 1.	107.0007.0000
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.