RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:

      BOARD DATE:
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050003458


      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. Stacy R. Abrams               |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Ms. Deborah Jacobs                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael J. Flynn              |     |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 to show
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that his records show he was wounded
in Muhak Korea and he never received his Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant further states that he never bothered to request his
Purple Heart because he wanted to get away from the war.

4.  The applicant provides a memorandum from the Office of Veterans
Administration, dated 15 May 1953.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 16 January 1953, the date of his separation from the Army.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 1 March 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 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 service personnel 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's DD Form 214 shows that he was inducted in the Army on
7 February 1951.  This record shows that, at the time of his separation, he
was serving in military occupational specialty 3835 (Records Clerk).  The
applicant was separated from active duty on 16 January 1953.

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

6.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of
the DD Form 214 contains the entry "LWA SFW - Back 29 Jul 1951 Muhak Korea"
[lightly wounded in action by a shell fragment to the back at Muhak, Korea,
29 July 1951].

7.  Information from the hospital admission cards of the Office of the
Surgeon General of the Army shows that the applicant was admitted on 29
July 1951 to an Army Medical Treatment Facility for "Wound penetrating,
missile with no nerve or artery involvement."  Records show that his wound
was classified as a "Direct result of action against or by an organized
enemy" and the causative agent is shown as " Explosive projectile shells
from gun, mortar, etc: Explosive projectile shells, unspecified, struck
while on land."

8.  The Korean War Casualty Roster shows the applicant's name.  The entry
confirms he was wounded or injured in action while serving in Korea on
29 July 1951.

9.  Army Regulation 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 states there is no stature of limitations governing request
for award of the Purple Heart.

10.  Review of the applicant's DD Form 214 indicates that he is entitled to
additional awards that are not shown on this form.

11.  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.  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.

12.  The applicant is advised that to apply for the Korean War Service
Medal, he 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.  A sample
request form is provided.  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.

13.  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.

14.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by the units
which served in the Korean conflict.  This document shows the unit, to
which the applicant was assigned, the 519th Engineer Base Depot Company,
was cited for award of the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for
actions during the period 1 January 1951 to 30 April 1954 by Department of
the Army General Orders Number 82-54.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends his DD Form 214 should be corrected to show
award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was lightly wounded with a shell
fragment to his back.  Hospital admission records show that the applicant
received medical treatment for wounds received as result of hostile action
on
29 July 1951. The applicant's name was also listed on the Korean War
Casualty File.

3.  The preponderance of evidence in this case shows that the applicant was
wounded as a result of hostile actions on 29 July 1951 in Korea.
Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 to
show award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he served a qualifying period for
award of the National Defense Service Medal.  Therefore, he is entitled to
have his records corrected to show award of the National Defense Service
Medal.

5.  General Orders awarded the applicant the Republic of Korea Presidential
Unit Citation.  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct his records
to show award of the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

6.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error of
injustice now under consideration on 16 January 1953; therefore, time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on
15 January 1956.  However, since there is no statute of limitations
governing award of the Purple Heart, it would be in the interest of justice
to excuse failure timely file in this case.

BOARD VOTE:

_DJ_____  _JS_____  _MJF___  GRANT FULL 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 showing award of the Purple Heart for
wounds received on 29 July 1951, the National Defense Service Medal and the
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.



                                          _John N. Slone____________
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050003458                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2005/08/11                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |                                        |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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