RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           13 APRIL 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2004100878


      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. Roger W. Able                 |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert J. Osborn II           |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Yolanda Maldonado             |     |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).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests award of two Purple Hearts.

2.  The applicant states he was wounded twice while in Korea and was
awarded the Purple Heart for only one wound.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his separation document in support of
his request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an error which occurred on
6 November 1952.  The application submitted in this case is dated 22
October 2003.

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

4.  The applicant's separation document indicates that he entered active
duty on 7 February 1951 and served overseas for 5 months and 5 days where
he was awarded the Korean Service Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
The document indicates that he was assigned to the 7th Infantry while
overseas.  It also notes, in item 29 (wounds received as a result of action
with enemy forces) that the applicant sustained shell fragment wounds to
his right arm on 4 October 1951 and shell fragment wounds to his left leg
on 27 November 1951 while in Korea.  There is no indication that he was
awarded the Purple Heart for either incident.

5.  There were no medical records available to the Board.  A list of
individuals reported as combat casualties during the Korean War confirms
only the applicant’s 27 November 1951 wound.

6.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple
Heart is awarded for wounds sustained as a result of hostile action.
Substantiating evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the
result of hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

7.  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.

8.  A review of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and
Campaign Participation Credit Register) notes the applicant’s unit was
awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation during his tenure
with the organization.

9.  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 US 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 (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 separation
document.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Information contained on the applicant’s separation document and in a
list of individuals reported as combat casualties during the Korean War
confirms that the applicant was wounded on 27 November 1951.  While the
casualty list does not confirm the second wound in October 1951, the
individual preparing the separation document at the time of the applicant’s
separation apparently had sufficient evidence to enter the information on
the separation document.  As such, in the interest of justice and equity,
it would be appropriate to award the applicant a Purple Heart for that
injury as well.

2.  The evidence also shows that the applicant is entitled to the United
Nations Service Medal and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:

__RWA__  __RJO __  ___YM __  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant
a recommendation for 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 by:

      a.  awarding him two Purple Hearts; and


      b.  showing that he is entitled to the United Nations Service Medal
and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.





            ____ Roger W. Able______
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004100878                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20040413                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |