RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        7 JULY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040008438


      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             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin Meyer                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric Andersen                 |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol Kornhoff                |     |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 award of an “award for valor under fire.”

2.  The applicant states that he has been attempting for several years to
secure an award for his actions on 20 and 21 July 1952 while performing
duties that went beyond his assigned duties as the Division Movie
Photographer.  He states it was the intention of the officer he was working
with for him to receive an award but did not realize that the
recommendation had to come from the officer’s unit.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of a 3 August 1952 letter from an officer
who outlines the actions of the applicant on 20 and 21 July 1952 and
several statements, which the applicant authored detailing his attempts to
secure a valor award and citing his actions.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

2.  The applicant’s separation document indicates that he entered active
duty on 29 June 1949 and served approximately 19 months overseas where he
was awarded several decorations, including the Korean Service Medal, a
Silver Star for his heroic actions between 16 May and 26 May 1951, and a
Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 20 May 1951.  He was honorably
discharged on
18 November 1952.

3.  The August 1952 statement submitted by the applicant, from the officer
he states intended to recommend him for an award, notes that the element
the applicant was with on the night of 20-21 July 1952 was receiving
intense enemy artillery and that the applicant “with complete disregard for
his safety” volunteered to act as the element’s “runner” in delivering
messages to the squad leaders.  The officer noted that the applicant’s
assigned duties were as the “Division Movie Photographer.”  The officer
noted that in one instance, due to the loss of a squad leader, the
applicant directed the squad into position and that in all instances the
applicant acted with “conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of
his duties as the Division Movie Photographer.”

4.  In response to the applicant’s August 2003 application to the Board for
a valor award, he was told to submit his request via his congressional
representative to the Secretary of The Army for consideration under the
provisions of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1130.

5.  In the processing of his current request, an advisory opinion was
obtained from the Army’s Military Awards Branch.  That office indicated
that the applicant’s request for a valor award had been considered by the
Army’s Decoration Board under the provisions of the above cited law, on 9
September 2004, and denied.  In denying the recommendation it was noted
that the “documentation provided did not contain sufficient evidence of
specific valorous acts required for approval of a valor award.”

6.  When given an opportunity to respond to the advisory opinion the
applicant again recounted his actions and regretted that he was unable to
locate the officer who initially submitted the recommendation.

7.  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 award to eligible United States
veterans of the Korean War, or their surviving next of kin.  The medal is
provided at no cost to the veterans.  The Department of Defense has
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 provide a copy of their discharge
paper (Department of Defense 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 separation document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence available to the Board confirms that the applicant’s
request for award of a valor decoration was processed to conclusion under
the provision of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1130.  The fact that
he was not successful in his quest to receive a valor decoration is not
evidence that any error or injustice occurred.
2.  The statement submitted by the applicant in support of his request from
the officer he maintains wanted him to have a valor decoration, and his own
statements, do suggest that the applicant did serve admirably in what may
have been difficult circumstances.  However, the applicant has presented no
additional evidence beyond that already considered by the Army’s Decoration
Board which shows that an error or injustice occurred in the processing of
his award request.

3.  In order to justify correction of a military record the applicant must
show, or it
must otherwise satisfactorily appear, that the record is in error or
unjust.  The applicant has failed to submit evidence that would satisfy
that requirement.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___MM__  ___EA __  ___CK  __  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.





                                  ______Melvin Meyer________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040008438                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050707                                |
|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.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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