RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004204


      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. G. E. Vandenberg              |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Ted S. Kanamine               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert L. Duecaster           |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Jeanette B. McPherson         |     |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 that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that he received a wound on 10 December 1950 as
the result of enemy action, but his discharge does not reflect this wound.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of an Internet webpage printout from the
Korean War Project Database showing the applicant had been wounded on
10 December 1950 and a letter from the National Personnel Records Center,
St. Louis Missouri notifying the applicant that his personnel records were
not in their files.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 26 April 1952, the date of his release from active duty.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 11 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 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 is
sufficient documentation available for the Board to conduct a fair and
impartial review on this specific issue.

4.  The applicant served on active duty for the period from 12 July 1948
through 26 April 1952.

5.  His DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the
United States) indicates he served with B Battery, 31st Field Artillery
Battalion.  He had 3 years, 9 months, and 1 day of creditable service with
14 days of lost time and 2 years, 7 months, and 14 days of foreign service.
 It lists his awards as the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service
stars and the Army of the Occupation Medal with “Japan” clasp.

6.  In the development of this case a search of the health record research
project records, commonly referred to as the "SGO Files", was made.  These
records involved transposing the hospital admission card data from the
periods of World War II and the Korean conflict onto magnetic tape.  In
1988 the National Research Council made these tape files available to the
National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).  This information is a valuable
substitute for the records lost in the NPRC fire of 1973.  A search of
these files found that the applicant had received a compound fracture to
"Cranium, face & neck" as a direct result of action against an organized
enemy.  The reports indicate he was hospitalized for a 10 December 1950
injury and was still hospitalized at the end of February 1951.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy,
criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military
awards.  The following are pertinent to this case:

      a.  Paragraph 2-8 provides for award of the Purple Heart to an
individual who is wounded in action against an enemy of the United States,
the armed force of a foreign country which is or has been engaged, while
serving with a friendly foreign force against an opposing force even though
the U.S. is not engaged, as the result of any act of such enemy or opposing
force or as a result an act of any hostile foreign force.  Substantiating
evidence must be provided to verify that the wound was the result of
hostile action, the wound must have required treatment by a medical
officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official
record;

      b.  Paragraph 2-10 provides for award of the National Defense Service
Medal 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.
 This regulation also provides that the second and subsequent awards of the
National Defense Service Medal are denoted by a bronze service star affixed
to the National Defense Service Medal; and

      c.  Paragraph 9-12 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.

8.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1, Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register shows B Battery, 31st Field Artillery
Battalion was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

9.  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.

10.  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.  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.  The available records show the applicant was injured in action against
an enemy of the United States and that injury required treatment by a
medical officer.  The SGO report constitutes a finding that the treatment
was made a matter of official record.

2.  The applicant should be awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received on
10 December 1950.

3.  In addition to the awards listed on his DD Form 214, the applicant is
also authorized the National Defense Service Medal, the United Nations
Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.


BOARD VOTE:

__TSK___  __JBM _  __RLD___  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  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 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 awarding the applicant the
Purple Heart for wounds received on 10 December 1950.

2.  The Board further determined that, in addition to the awards listed on
his DD Form 214, the applicant is also authorized the National Defense
Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea
Presidential Unit Citation.



                            __     Ted S. Kanamine_________
                                      CHAIRPERSON

                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004204                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20051222                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |Grant                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107                                     |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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