RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           19 May 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040005881


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Raymond J. Wagner             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Barbara J. Ellis              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne M. Douglas            |     |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, in effect, that Item 28 (Most Significant Duty
Assignment) of his separation document (DD Form 214) be corrected.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his most significant duty
assignment was in fact the 25th Infantry Division in Korea.  He claims that
when the Korean War started, he departed Japan with his unit, the 25th
Infantry Division and arrived in Korea on 13 July 1950.  He states that his
DD Form 214 shows that he earned the Korean Service Medal and the Republic
of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, which was awarded in August 1950.

3.  The applicant provides 25th Infantry Division club cards for the months
of January through July 1950 and a local newspaper article that contains a
letter from him outlining his service in Korea in support of his
application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 24 September 1952.  The application submitted in this case
is dated 11 August 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.  However, there
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records that primarily consist of the
applicant’s DD Form 214.

4.  The applicant’s separation document confirms that he enlisted in the
Regular Army and entered active duty on 11 August 1949.  This document
further shows that he served overseas for 1 year, 11 months and 14 days,
and Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and
Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) shows he earned the following
awards during his tenure on active duty:  Korean Service Medal, Army Good
Conduct Medal and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.  Item 28
contains an entry indicating that the applicant’s most significant duty
assignment was Headquarters, 8th Army, Japan.

5.  On 24 September 1952, the applicant was honorably separated, in the
rank of sergeant, after completing 3 years, 1 month and 14 days of active
military service during the period documented by the DD Form 214.

6.  The applicant provides copies of Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division
Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Club Cards that cover the period between
January 1950 and July 1950.  These cards show that the applicant was
assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 25th Infantry
Division.  He also provides a copy of a newspaper article which contains
excerpts from one of his letters from Korea, in which he describes his
service in Korea.

7.  Special Regulation (SR) 615-360-1 (Separation of Enlisted Personnel),
in effect at the time of the applicant’s separation, established the
procedures to be followed in the separation of enlisted personnel from
active military service and described the proper method of execution and
disposition of the various forms, records and reports required.

8.  Paragraph 14 of SR 615-360-1 contained item-by-item preparation
instructions for the DD Form 214.  The instructions of Item 28 stated to
enter the last unit, or similar element, to which assigned for duty rather
than the element to which an individual was a part of the movement to a
separation activity.  It further stated that assignment to units for the
purpose of transfer to the United States were also considered part of the
movement to a separation activity.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes the Army’s awards
policy.  Paragraph 9-12 contains guidance on award of the United Nations
Service Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that it was awarded for
service within the territorial limits of Korea during the period 27 June
1950 through 27 July 1954.  It further stipulates that personnel awarded
the Korean Service Medal automatically establish eligibility for this
award.

10.  On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved acceptance and
wear of the Korean War Service Medal (KWSM) to eligible US veterans of the
Korean War, or their surviving next of kin.  Responsibility for
distribution of the KWSM was given to the Department of the Air Force.  In
order to apply, the applicant should submit a copy of his 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.  Once the Korean War Service Medal has been authorized by the
Department of the Air Force, the applicant may apply to this Board to add
this foreign award to his DD Form 214.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that Item 28 of his separation document
incorrectly listed a unit in Japan was carefully considered and found to
have merit.  The regulation, in effect at the time, indicated that the last
primary unit of assignment and not units to which members were assigned for
the purpose of movement to the United States would be entered in Item 28.

2.  The awards listed in the applicant’s DD Form 214 corroborate his claim
that his overseas service was performed in Korea and not Japan.  Further,
the independent evidence he provides shows that while serving in Korea, he
was assigned to HHC, 25th Infantry Division.

3.  In view of the facts of this case, it is concluded that the unit
currently listed in Item 28 of the applicant’s DD Form 214 was likely a
unit the applicant was assigned to for the purpose of movement to the
United States.  Thus, it would be appropriate to grant the requested relief
in this case.
BOARD VOTE:

___RJW_  ___BJE__  ___LMD_  GRANT 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 by amending his 24 September 1952 DD Form
214 by adding the United Nations Service Medal to Item 27; by deleting the
current entry in Item 28 and replacing it with the entry “HHC, 25th
Infantry Division, Korea”; and by providing him a corrected separation
document that includes these changes.




            ____Raymond J. Wagner____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040005881                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/05/19                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1952/09/24                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-360                              |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  1021 |100.0000                                |
|2.  46                  |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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