RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        JANUARY 19, 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2004106347


      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. Bernard P. Ingold             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry C. Bergquist            |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Delia R. Trimble              |     |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 discharge papers reflect
that he was wounded in combat and that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he was serving in an attached
unit in combat.  He was wounded, sent to a medical unit (established in a
combat zone), his wounds were treated, wrapped, and he was sent back to the
combat zone.

3.  The applicant submitted no documentary evidence in support of his
request.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 28 August 1959.  The application submitted in this case is
dated15 March 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 were lost or destroyed in the National
Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.  Information herein was obtained
from reconstructed records and from alternate sources.

4.  The available military records show that the applicant enlisted in the
Regular Army for 3 years on 19 June 1948.  Following completion of basic
combat and advanced individual training, he was awarded the primary
military occupational specialty 3795, Tank Crewman.

5.  A NME Form 113 and a DD Form 113, Military Pay Record, show that the
applicant arrived in Korea on 1 January 1951 and was assigned to the Heavy
Tank Company, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

6.  On 14 August 1951, the applicant was discharged in the grade of
Sergeant, at the expiration of his term of service.  On the following day,
15 August 1951, the applicant reenlisted for 3 years while he was stationed
in Korea.  He was discharged from this enlistment on 14 August 1954 at Fort
Knox, Kentucky, in the rank of Private First Class.

7.  After a break in service, the applicant reenlisted, for 6 years, in the
Regular Army on 22 September 1954.  He was discharged, in the rank and pay
grade, Private, E-1, on 28 August 1959.

8.  The DD Form 214, Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the
United States, with an effective date of separation of 14 August 1951,
shows that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and the
Korean Service Medal, with four bronze service stars.  The Purple Heart is
not shown as an authorized award.

9.  The DD Form 214, with an effective date of separation of 14 August
1954, shows that the applicant was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge;
the Korean Service Medal, with four bronze service stars; and the National
Defense Service Medal.  The Purple Heart is not shown as an authorized
award.

10.  The DD Form 214, with an effective date of separation of 28 August
1959, shows that the applicant received no awards or decorations during
this period of service.  The Purple Heart is not shown as an authorized
award.

11.  Item 26 (Foreign and/or Sea Service), of the applicant's DD Form 214,
with an effective date of 14 August 1951, shows the applicant had 10 months
and 29 days foreign and or sea service.

12.  Item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment) of the applicant's DD Form
214, with an effective date of 14 August 1951, shows his most significant
assignment was Tank Company, 65th Infantry.

13.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces), of
the applicant's DD Forms 214, with effective dates of 14 August 1951 and 14
August 1954, show the entry, "None."

14.  Item 27 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces), of
the applicant's DD Form 214, with an effective date of 28 August 1959,
shows the entry, "None."

15.  The Hospital Admission Card Data File created by the Office of The
Surgeon General, Department of the Army, and made available to the National
Personnel Records Center, by the National Research Council, was reviewed
for any information that the applicant was wounded in action during the
Korean War.  No record that he was wounded in action was found; however,
there is evidence that the applicant, while an occupant of a tank,
sustained a contusion to the hand in a motor vehicle accident, on 18 April
1951, in Korea.  The applicant was returned to duty after spending five
days, "sick in quarters."

16.  Army Regulation (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 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.

17.  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 a unit, Heavy Tank Company, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd
Infantry Division, which was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential
Unit Citation for the period 18 April 1951 through 11 May 1951 by
Department of the Army General Order (DAGO) Number 20, dated 1953, and the
Bravery Gold Medal of Greece, during the period of the war in Korea, by,
DAGO 2, dated 1956.

18.  AR 600-8-22 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.

19.  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.

20.  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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence does not support the applicant's contention that he was
wounded in action while he served in Korea during the Korean War.

2.  Each of the applicant's DD Forms 214 shows the entry "none" for wounds
received as a result of action with enemy forces.

3.  The applicant's name appears on the Hospital Admission Card Data File
created by the Office of The Surgeon General; however, the treatment he
received was for a contusion he sustained to the hand, as an occupant of a
tank, which was involved in a motor vehicle accident.

4.  Based on the available evidence, there is no basis upon which to base
award of the Purple Heart to the applicant and to reflect in his records
that he was wounded in combat.

5.  The applicant earned the Korean Service Medal.  This award
automatically entitles him to award of the United Nations Service Medal.
This medal does not appear on the applicant's DD Form 214.  It would be
appropriate to add this award to his DD Form 214 with an effective date of
separation of 14 August 1954.

6.  The applicant served with a unit at the time it was cited for award of
the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and the Bravery Gold Medal
of Greece.  He is therefore entitled to have these unit awards added to his
DD Form 214.

7.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 28 August 1959; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on 27 August 1962.  However, the applicant did not file
within the 3-year statute of limitations and has not provided a compelling
explanation or evidence to show that it would be in the interest of justice
to excuse failure to timely file in this case.

8.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
error that does not require action by the board.  Therefore, the Case
Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, will accomplish
administrative correction of the applicant's records as outlined by the
Board in paragraph 2 of the Board Determination/Recommendation section
below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

lcb____ _  drt  _____  bpi  _____  DENY APPLICATION
BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.

2.  The Board determined that administrative error in the records of the
individual should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests that the
CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the applicant's DD Form 214, with
an effective date of 14 August 1954, to show that the applicant was awarded
the United Nations Service Medal, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation, and the Bravery Gold Medal of Greece.




                                  ____Bernard P. Ingold___
                                            CHAIRPERSON


                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2004106347                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |                                        |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.  61                  |107.0015                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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