RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:           4 October 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050002782


      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. Wanda L. Waller               |     |Analyst              |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Mark Manning                  |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Larry Bergquist               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Carmen Duncan                 |     |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, award of the Prisoner of War (POW)
Medal.

2.  The applicant states he was incarcerated as a POW for 35 days at the
Wonson North Korean prison camp in April 1953 and was released in a
prisoner exchange program.  He contends that he has no evidence because his
records were either lost or destroyed by fire in the records department at
St. Louis, Missouri.

3.  The applicant provides no evidence in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on
8 November 1985, the date the POW Medal was authorized.  The application
submitted in this case is dated 11 February 2005.

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.  The applicant was inducted on 18 January 1952.  He served in Korea and
was honorably discharged on 17 October 1953.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces
of the United States) shows the Korean Service Medal with two bronze
service stars and the United Nations Service Medal as authorized awards.

6.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant
was a POW.

7.  The applicant's name does not appear on the U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration Korean War Prisoner of War Data File.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides, in pertinent part,
for award of the POW Medal.  The regulation states that the POW Medal was
authorized on 8 November 1985 and is awarded to individuals who in past
armed conflicts were taken prisoner or held captive.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the National
Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service for any
period between 27 July 1950 through 27 July 1954, 1 January 1961 through 14
August 1974, 2 August 1990 through 30 November 1995 and 11 September 2001
to a date to be determined.

10.  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.


11.  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 being
provided to the applicant.  Once the Korean War Service Medal has been
authorized by the Department of the Air Force, 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.  Although the applicant contends that he was a POW for 35 days during
the Korean War, there is no evidence of record which shows he was a POW.
Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the
POW Medal in this case.

2.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the
National Defense Service Medal.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 8 November 1985; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 7
November 1988.  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.

4.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain an administrative
error which does not require action by the Board.  Therefore,
administrative correction of the applicant's records will be accomplished
by the Case Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as
outlined by the Board in paragraph 3 of the BOARD
DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section below.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

MM_____  LB______  CD_____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  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.

2.  As a result, the Board further determined that there is no evidence
provided which shows that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse
the applicant's failure to timely file this application within the 3-year
statute of limitations prescribed by law.  Therefore, there is insufficient
basis to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing or for
correction of the records of the individual concerned.

3.  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 records of the individual concerned to show
that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.




            __Mark Manning________
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR2005002782                            |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051004                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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