RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        26 APRIL 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040005930


      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. Kenneth H. Aucock             |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Karen Heinz                   |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Lawrence Foster               |     |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.  In effect, the applicant requests that his DD Form 214 (separation
document) be corrected to show that he was with the 187th Airborne
Division.

2.  The applicant states that he was with the 187th Airborne Division in
Japan and Korea and was in the front lines for over a year.  His DD Form
214 shows award of three battle stars and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  The applicant provided no evidence.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 25 March 1954.  The application submitted in this case
was dated     6 July 2004.

2.  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 allows the Army
Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse failure to file
within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines that it
would be in the interest of justice to do so.  In this case, the ABCMR will
conduct a review of the merits of the case to determine if it would be in
the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.

3.  The applicant’s military records are not available to the Board for
review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records
at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  It is believed that the
applicant’s records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  The documents
remaining are sufficient to  conduct a fair and impartial review of this
case.

4.  The applicant’s DD Form 214, which he has provided with his previous
requests to this Board, is only partially legible; however, it does show
that he entered on active duty on 12 January 1951 and was discharged from
the Army on 25 March 1954 at Fort Meade, Maryland.  He had 3 years and 1
day of service, of which 1 year, 4 months, and 28 days was overseas.  He
had 73 days of lost time.  He served in Korea, as evidenced by his award of
the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service stars, and the United
Nations Service Medal.  Item 28 of that form indicates that his most
significant duty assignment was with an artillery battery in Korea.

5.  A 7 November 1952 medical record shows that he was treated for
abdominal pain.  His unit on that record is shown as “L Co. 187.”

6.  A 7 February 1953 medical record shows that he was treated for trauma
to his right fist.  His unit is shown as “L Co 187.”

7.  The applicant has made previous applications to this Board, and has
requested assistance from a Member of Congress.  He has stated in one of
the previous requests that he was with the 187th Airborne Division and
jumped in Taegu, Korea with the 187th under General Westmoreland.  He
stated in one request that the error occurred [in his records] when “I left
the 187th Airborne Div and went with the 31st Field Arty 7th Div in 1953.”
This agency informed him that his records were unavailable, and
consequently, it was impossible for the Board to arrive at a fair decision
in his case.  He was also informed that because his      DD Form 214 was
only partially legible, a determination of which units he served in could
not be made, and that even if the document was legible it would only
confirm that he served in the unit or units listed therein.

8.  A biography of retired General William C. Westmoreland, prepared by the
Center for Military History, indicates that he commanded the 187th Airborne
Regimental Combat Team in operations in Korea in 1952-1953.

9.  Special Regulation 615-360-1 then in effect, provides instructions for
the preparation of the DD Form 214 and states in pertinent part that the
last unit, or similar element, to which assigned for duty rather than the
element of which the individual was a part while moving to a transfer
processing activity will be entered in item 28 on the DD Form 214.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s medical records indicate that he was assigned to the
187th in late 1952 and presumably continuing at least until February 1953.
In this respect, the applicant’s contention that he served with the 187th
in Korea is valid.

2.  Nevertheless, as indicated by his DD Form 214 he continued his service
until his discharge from the Army on 25 March 1954, and his most
significant duty assignment shown on his DD Form 214, although barely
legible, does show that it was with an artillery battery in Korea.  He
himself in a previous request to this Board indicated that he went with the
31st Field Artillery 7th Division in 1953, apparently the last unit to
which he was assigned for duty prior to his discharge in 1954.  Regularity
in the preparation of his DD Form 214 is thus presumed.

3.  Consequently, there is no injustice done to him or any error in his
record.  Thus, his request to correct his DD Form 214 is not granted.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 25 March 1954; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on         23 March 1957.  However, the applicant did not file
within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling
explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice
to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MM___  ___KH __  ___LF___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that 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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.




                                  ______Melvin Meyer_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040005930                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050426                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |110.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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