RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         7 July 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040007037


      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. David S. Griffin              |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Melvin H. Meyer               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Eric N. Andersen              |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carol A. 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 the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he received a flash burn eye
injury during combat due to an exploding hand grenade while in a foxhole in
Korea.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of:

      a.  his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from Active Duty) with an
effective date of 12 October 1954; and

      b.   a copy of Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Rating Decision,
dated
26 July 2004, which shows the applicant was granted service connection for
a flash burn eye injury with an evaluation of 10 percent.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or
injustice, which occurred on 12 October 1954, his date of separation from
active service.  The application submitted in this case is dated 30 August
2004 and was received on
13 September 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 service personnel records were lost or destroyed in a
fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records
available to the Army Board For Correction of Military Records were
provided by the applicant.
The primary record available to this Board is the applicant’s DD Form 214.


4.  The available record shows that the applicant was inducted on 27
October 1952 and entered active service on that date.  He was released from
active duty on 12 October 1954.  He had served 1 year, 11 months and 16
days of active service.  The DD Form 214 shows that he served 1 year, 3
months, 25 days foreign and/or sea service.

5.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and
Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214,
authenticated in his own hand, does not show award of the Purple Heart.

6.  Item 27 of the applicant's DD Form 214 shows that the applicant earned
the Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star and the Combat
Infantryman Badge for his service in Korea.

7.  The applicant's service medical records were not available for review.

8.  The records available do not contain orders for award of the Purple
Heart.

9.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Korean War Casualty Roster.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent
part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.  This regulation also provides that there is no statute of
limitations on requests for award of the Purple Heart.

11.  Title 38, United States Code, permits the DVA to award compensation
for a medical condition which was incurred in or aggravated by active
military service.  The DVA, in accordance with its own policies and
regulations, awards compensation solely on the basis that a medical
condition exists and that said medical condition reduces or impairs the
social or industrial adaptability of the individual concerned.

12.  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.

13.  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 has
been provided to the applicant.  Once the Department of the Air Force has
authorized the Korean War Service Medal, 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.  The applicant contends that he should have been awarded the Purple
Heart for a flash burn eye injury he sustained in Korea.

2.  The applicant signed his DD Form 214, which does not show that he was
authorized or awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  There are no military records, which show that the applicant was
wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action during the
Korean War.

4.  In the absence of military records, which show the applicant was
wounded or injured or treated for wounds or injuries as a result of hostile
action, there is insufficient basis for award of additional Purple Hearts
in this case.

5.  While the DVA has determined the applicant's eye injury was related to
his military service, the DVA does not make a determination as to whether a
medical condition was as a result of hostile action.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 12 October 1954, the date of his
separation.  Therefore, the time for the applicant to file a request for
correction of any error or injustice expired on 11 October 1957.  Although
the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of limitations, it is
appropriate to waive failure to timely file in this case based on the fact
there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple
Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__MHM__  __CAK__  __ENA __  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that it is appropriate to waive failure to timely
file in this case.

2.  The Board determined that 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 H. Meyer___
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040007037                           |
|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          |(NC, GRANT , DENY, GRANT PLUS)          |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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