RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         12 JULY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040008887


      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. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Stanley Kelley                |     |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 that item 26 (foreign and/or sea service) on his
1952 separation document be corrected to show that he served overseas.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his separation document shows
award of the Army of Occupation Medal for Japan, the Korean Service Medal
with two bronze service stars and an Arrowhead.  He states that he was told
that the medals and the arrowhead are proof of his overseas service.

3.  In response to an August 2004 letter from the Board, which informed the
applicant that the Board was unable to act on his original application
because of insufficient records, the applicant noted that he could not
remember the dates of his assignment overseas but did indicate that he was
part of the 187th Regimental Combat Team at Fort Campbell and was assigned
to Korea as part of the 2021st Airborne Air Supply and Packaging Company
which was subsequently redesignated as the Airborne Air Supply and
Packaging Company 8081st Army Unit.

4.  The applicant provides no evidence in support of his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 3 April 1952.  The application submitted in this case is
dated
10 October 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.  In December 2003 the applicant submitted an application to the Board
requesting that item 26 on his 1952 separation document be corrected to
show his overseas service.  In response to that application, the Board’s
staff informed the applicant’s that because his military records were not
available, and because his application did not contain enough information
for the Board to make a determination, his application was closed
administratively.  That same letter also informed the applicant about his
possible entitlement to the Korean War Service Medal and the requirements
for obtaining that decoration.

4.  The applicant’s military records continue to be unavailable.  However,
the applicant’s service medical records and his separation document do
provide sufficient information to partially reconstruct information
associated with his military service, which enables the Board to conduct a
fair and impartial review of this case.  Based on that reconstructed
information, the following is known:

      a.  The applicant’s separation document indicates that he entered
active duty in July 1949, after approximately 1 year of prior service.  His
separation document indicates that he was trained as a parachute packer and
that in January 1950 he completed airborne training.

      b.  Documents from his service medical records indicate that as of
late October 1950 the applicant was still assigned to the 2348th Airborne
Air Supply and Packaging Company, which earlier medical documents indicate
was at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

      c.  His separation document notes that in July 1951 he was awarded an
arrowhead on his Korean Service Medal.


      d.  His service medical records confirm that he was hospitalized
overseas in August 1951 for bursitis and in September 1951 for a
tonsillectomy.  Those medical treatment forms show that he was assigned to
the 8081st Army Unit.


      e.  In October 1951 he was in a stockade.  His separation document
indicates 86 days of lost time.


      f.  In January 1952 he was seen by medical officials for “soreness in
rt [right] knee” and returned to duty.  That medical document indicates
assignment to the “QM [Quartermaster] Airborne Air Supply and Pkg
[Packaging] Co. [Company], Japan.”


      g.  By April 1952 he had returned to the United States and was
released from active duty on 3 April 1952.  Item 26 on his separation
document reflects no overseas service.


      h.  His separation document confirms that his most significant duty
assignment was with the Quartermaster Airborne Air Supply and Packaging
Company, 8081st Army Unit.

5.  While Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) does confirm that elements of the 187th
Regimental Combat Team were deployed to Korea and that several received
assault credit for assault landings in October 1950 (Sukchon) and March
1951 (Munsan-ni), none received assault credit in July 1951.  The
Regimental Combat Team did include an element titled “Quartermaster
Parachute Maintenance Detachment” which participated in the October 1950
and March 1951 assault landing.  Unfortunately, none of the applicant’s
other units (2348th, 2021st, or 8081st) are noted in the pamphlet.

6.  That same pamphlet notes that there were multiple campaign periods
designated during the Korean War, including six between October 1950, when
the applicant’s service medical records suggest that he was still at Fort
Campbell, Kentucky, and January 1952 when it appears he was in a stockade
in Japan.

7.  Information from the Army’s Quartermaster Museum at Fort Lee, Virginia
contains documents which note that the 8081st Army Unit, whose full
designation was Quartermaster Airborne Air Supply & Packaging Company
arrived in Japan in September 1950 and by 20 October 1950 it was directly
supporting the 187th Regiment Combat Team in its airborne assault on
Sukchon, North Korea.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) as amended provides that the
National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for
any period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954.

10.  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.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Unfortunately, the absence of the applicant’s military personnel file
still makes it impossible to determine exactly how much time the applicant
served overseas. What is known is that he was overseas between July 1951,
when he was awarded an arrowhead for an assault landing and January 1952
when the available medical records indicate that he was in a stockade in
Japan.

2.  Based on the fact that there is no indication in the Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register that an assault landing occurred in
Korea in July 1951 it is probable that the applicant did participate in the
assault landing in March 1951 rather than the one that occurred in October
1950, at which time his service medical records suggest he was still at
Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

3.  Based on the foregoing it would be reasonable to conclude that the
applicant’s overseas service spanned between March 1951 and January 1952
and that correcting item 26 to show 10 months of overseas service would be
in the interest of justice and equity.

4.  Because the evidence does confirm that the applicant did serve overseas
and that he was awarded the Korean Service Medal he is also entitled to the
United Nations Service Medal.

5.  The evidence also shows that he is entitled to the National Defense
Service Medal.

6.  The applicant is reminded that before the Korean War Service Medal can
be added to his Army separation document, he must secure authorization for
the award from the United State Air Force.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

__JS  ___  __SP ___  __SK ___  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant a recommendation for partial relief and to excuse failure to timely
file.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army
records of the individual concerned be corrected:

      a.  by showing in item 26 on his 1952 separation document that he
served overseas for 10 months; and


      b.  by showing that he is entitled to the United Nations Service Medal
and the National Defense Service Medal.


2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
adding the Korean War Service Medal to his separation document at this
time.




                            _______John Slone________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040008887                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050712                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |110.00                                  |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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