RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         08 FEBRUARY 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040001772


      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:

|     |Ms. Margaret Patterson            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Shirley Powell                |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Susan Powers                  |     |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 his 1951 separation document be corrected
to reflect award of the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge.  He also
requests that his serial number be corrected to show that the last five
digits are 61373 vice 16373.

2.  The applicant states the awards are not reflected on his separation
document and that two of the digits on his serial number were transposed.

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

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
which occurred on 16 November 1951.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 7 May 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 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.  Documents available to the Board indicate that at the time of the
applicant’s honorable discharge in 1951 he had approximately 41 months of
military service for pay purposes and that he commenced his last period of
active duty in October 1950.

5.  His separation document indicates that he performed duties in specialty
4812 (heavy weapons infantryman), that he was awarded the Korean Service
Medal, and that he was assigned to the 38th Infantry Regiment.  The
separation document also confirms that he was wounded as a result of
hostile action on
18 May 1951 while in Korea.

6.  His separation physical examination, and files maintained by the Office
of the Surgeon General also confirm his combat wound.  There is, however,
no indication that he was ever awarded the Purple Heart.  The files of the
Office of The Surgeon General also show the applicant's unit of assignment
at the time of his combat injury as the 38th Infantry.

7.  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.

8.  There are basically three requirements for award of the Combat
Infantryman Badge.  The soldier must be an infantryman, assigned to an
infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground
combat, and must have actively participated in such ground combat.

9.  The applicant's 1950 payment voucher, his separation physical
examination, and the files maintained by the Office of The Surgeon General
all show the last five digits of his serial number as 61373 and not 16373,
as recorded on his separation document.

10.  The applicant's tour of duty in Korea is not reflected in the limited
documents available to the Board.  However, the CCF Spring Offensive
Campaign was underway on the date the applicant was wounded in action.
Bronze service stars on the Korean Service Medal reflect campaign
participation.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also states that the National Defense Service
Medal was awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27
June 1950 and 27 July 1954.  The applicant's separation document does not
reflect entitlement to the National Defense Service Medal.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 also states that personnel awarded the Korean
Service Medal automatically establishes eligibility for the United Nations
Service Medal.  That decoration was also omitted from the applicant's
separation document.


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the applicant was wounded as a result of
hostile action on 18 May 1951 while in Korea and as such, is entitled to an
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The evidence also shows that the applicant was an infantryman, that he
was assigned to an infantry element on the date he was wounded as a result
of hostile action, and that such information would confirm that he was
engaged with enemy forces.  As a result, he meets the eligibility
requirements for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the last five digits of
his serial number were 61373 vice 16373, as the applicant states, and it
would be appropriate to correct the entry on his separation document
accordingly.

4.  The evidence also shows that the applicant is entitled to an award of
the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and a
bronze service star on his Korean Service Medal to denote participation in
the CCF Spring Offensive Campaign.  His records should be corrected to
reflect those decorations.

BOARD VOTE:

___MP __  ___SP __  ___SP __  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL 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:

      a.  by awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds sustained on 18 May
1951, and the Combat Infantryman Badge;


      b.  by showing on his separation document that the last five digits of
his serial number are 61373 vice 16373 as currently shown; and


      c.  by showing that he is entitled to the National Defense Service
Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and a bronze service star on his
Korean Service Medal.





                            ____Margaret Patterson____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040001772                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050208                                |
|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.                      |                                        |


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