RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:            OCTOBER 26, 2004
      DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2004100043


      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. Luis Almodova                 |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Curtis Greenway               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Eloise Prendergast            |     |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 his DD Form 214, Report of
Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States, be corrected by
giving him the correct number of bronze service stars to denote the actual
number of campaigns that he participated in during the Korean War and, that
he be awarded the Purple Heart and two Presidential Unit Citations.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his separation record was never
correct.

3.  The applicant submitted a form apparently used to request issuance of
medals earned and a hand-written summary of the actions for which he
believes he is entitled to two Presidential Unit Citations, in support of
his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of errors that occurred on 20
December 1956.  The application submitted in this case is dated 12 December
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 records show that he enlisted in the Regular Army on 7
March 1950.

4.  The DD Form 214 he was issued, with an effective date 7 March 1953,
shows, in Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations
and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), that he was awarded the Korean
Service Medal, with three bronze service stars; the Bronze Star Medal; and
the United Nations Service Medal.

5.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action With Enemy Forces) shows
the entry, "None."
6.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows entitlement to the Korean Service
Medal with three bronze service stars, to denote his campaign
participation.

7.  While in Korea, the applicant participated in the following five
campaigns:  the UN (United Nations) Defensive, which extended from 27 June
through 15 September 1950; the UN Offensive, which extended from
16 September through 2 November 1950; the CCF (Chinese Communist Forces)
Intervention, which extended from 3 November 1950 through 24 January 1951;
the First UN Counteroffensive, which extended from 25 January through 21
April 1951; and the CCF Spring Offensive, which extended from 22 April
through 8 July 1951.

8.  The applicant was honorably separated, in the rank of Corporal, at the
expiration of his term of service, on 7 March 1953.

9.  The applicant reenlisted on 21 December 1953.  He was honorably
discharged on 20 December 1956 in the grade of Specialist Second Class.
The DD Form 214 he was issued shows that he was awarded the National
Defense Service Medal.

10.  AR 600-8-22, in pertinent part, provides for award of a bronze service
star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in its Appendix
B and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the
appropriate service medal, in this case, the Korean Service Medal.  The
regulation further provides that a silver service star is awarded in lieu
of five bronze service stars.

11.  AR 600-8-22 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:  (a) the wound was
the result of hostile action; (b) the wound required medical treatment; and
(c) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  Award of
the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently prohibited; however,
until 23 August 1951, AR 600-45, which governed the award of Army
decorations, defined a “wound” as an injury to any part of the body from an
outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action against an armed
enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An “element” was
further defined as weather and the award of the Purple Heart to personnel
who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat was
authorized.

12.  The National Archives and Records Administration's Korean Conflict
Casualty File, 1 January 1950 through 7 February 1957, was searched for
evidence that the applicant was wounded in action against a hostile enemy
while he was in Korea.  No evidence was found.

13.  AR 600-65, in effect at the time of the applicant's separation
provides that the Good Conduct Medal is awarded to individuals who
distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a
qualifying period of active duty enlisted service.  This period is 3 years
except in those cases when the period for the first award ends with the
termination of a period of Federal military service.  Although there is no
automatic entitlement to the Good Conduct Medal, disqualification must be
justified.  To be eligible for award of the Good Conduct Medal, soldiers
must meet all of the following criteria:  all conduct (character)
and efficiency ratings must be recorded as "Excellent" except that ratings
of "Unknown" for portions of the period under consideration are not
disqualifying.  Service school efficiency ratings based upon academic
proficiency of at least "Good" rendered subsequent to 22 November 1955 are
not disqualifying.

14.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register, dated 6 July 1961, shows that the applicant
was assigned to Company B (14 July 1950 – 31 January 1951) and to Company D
(1 February 1951 through 31 May 1951), 2nd Engineer Battalion (Combat),
2nd Infantry Division, while he served in Korea.  The 2nd Engineer
Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the period 16
through 22 May 1951, by Department of the Army General Orders (DAGO) 72,
dated 1951, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for the
period 16 September 1950 through 26 October 1953 by DAGO 10, dated 1954.
The Korean government awards the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation.

15.  AR 670-1, chapter 29, prescribes policy and guidance for wear of U.S.
and foreign unit awards.  This regulation states that a soldier may wear
the unit award permanently if the individual was assigned to, and present
for duty with the unit any time during the period cited; or was attached by
competent orders to, and present for duty with the unit during the entire
period, or for at least 30 consecutive days of the period cited.

16.  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
heroic 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
provided.  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 have it added to his DD Form 214.

17.  The handwritten summary provided by the applicant in which he believes
he is entitled to award of two Presidential Unit Citation has been noted,
however, this information cannot be verified by official Army records.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant participated in five campaigns of the Korean War.  The
applicant's DD Form 214, with an effective date of 7 March 1953, in Item
27, shows he is entitled to the Korean Service Medal, with three bronze
service stars.  The entry is incorrect and should be corrected to read,
"Korean Service Medal, with one silver service star."

2.  The applicant served in a unit, the 2nd Engineer Battalion (Combat),
2nd Infantry Division, which was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and
the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation; at the time he was a
member of the unit.  He is entitled to these unit awards.  It would be
appropriate to add these unit awards to his DD Form 214, with an effective
date of 7 March 1953, at this time.

3.  There is no evidence to support the applicant's contention that he is
entitled to have two Presidential Unit Citations [awarded by the United
States] added to his DD Form 214.  Official Army records do not corroborate
the handwritten summary that the applicant provided.

4.  There is no evidence, and the applicant provided none, to show that he
was wounded in action while he served in Korea.  He is therefore not
eligible for award of the Purple Heart and to have it added to his DD Form
214 at this time.
5.  Insufficient evidence is available upon which a recommendation for
award of the Good Conduct Medal can be made for the applicant's first
period of active duty service; however, the applicant's DA Form 24, Service
Record, shows that the applicant consistently received "excellent" conduct
and efficiency ratings throughout the period of his second enlistment, 21
December 1953 through 20 December 1956.  The applicant is therefore
entitled to award of the Good Conduct Medal and to have it added to his
separation document for this period of service.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

js   _____  ep______  cg______  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 by:

      a.  deleting the Korean Service Medal, with three bronze service
stars, and adding the Korean Service Medal, with one silver service star to
the DD Form 214 with an effective date of 7 March 1953;


      b.  adding the Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea
Presidential Unit Citation to the applicant's DD Form 214 with an effective
date of 7 March 1953;


      c.  awarding the applicant the Good Conduct Medal, for the period
21 December 1953 through 20 December 1956; and adding this award to the
applicant's DD Form 214 with an effective date of 20 December 1956.
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
award of the Purple Heart to the applicant at this time.




            ______John Slone______
                    CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR                                      |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20041026                                |
|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.       |Decorations and Awards                  |
|107.0000                |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |



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