RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        22 December 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050004689


      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. Eric S. Moore                 |     |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 award of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star
Medal.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that the Purple Heart and Bronze Star
Medal should be awarded based on his combat experiences and injuries during
the Korean War.

3.  The applicant provides separate notarized letters in support of each
request and a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed
Force of the United States).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 21 October 1954, the date of his discharge from active duty.
The application submitted in this case is dated 14 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 were lost or destroyed in a
fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.  The records
available to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records were provide
in part by the applicant and also obtained from alternate sources.  The
primary records available to this Board is the applicant's DD Form 230
(Service Record) and     DD Form 214.

4.  Since there is no authority for award of the Bronze Star Medal in the
applicant's service personnel records, the applicant may request this award
under the provisions of Section 1130 of Title 10, United States Code.  The
applicant has been notified by separate correspondence of the procedures
for applying for this award under Section 1130 and, as a result, will not
be discussed further in this Record of Proceedings.


5.  The DD Form 214 issued to the applicant on the date of his discharge
shows that he enlisted into the service on 20 September 1951.  On 21
October 1954, he was honorably separated from active duty after 3 years of
active service.

6.  The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show in item 27 (Decorations,
Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or
Authorized) that he was awarded the Purple Heart and item 29 (Wounds) is
blank.

7.  There are no orders in the applicant's records that show he was awarded
the Purple Heart.  His DD Form 230 does not show any entry in Section 8
(Wounds received through enemy action) and does not list the Purple Heart
in Section 9 (Medals, Decorations, and Citations).  There are no entries in
the available medical records showing that the applicant was wounded in
action while in Korea.

8.  The applicant's name is not listed on the Korean Casualty Roster.

9.  The applicant submitted a notarized statement written by a retired
lieutenant colonel who relates that the applicant was wounded by fragments
in his legs and hand, while exposing himself to enemy artillery fire in
order to lay an emergency telephone wire, on or about 14 August 1952.
Because the applicant's wounds were treated by the company's medical aidman
and the applicant remained on duty with the team, no official record was
made.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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 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.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim of entitlement to the Purple Heart was carefully
considered.  However, there is insufficient evidence to support this
contention.  By regulation, in order to award the Purple Heart it is
necessary to establish that a Soldier was wounded in action, the wound
required treatment by a medical officer, and the treatment record must have
been made a matter of official record.


2.  The available records provide no confirmation that the applicant was
ever wounded/injured in action.  Section 8 of his DD Form 320 is blank.

3.  Further, the Purple Heart is not included in the list of authorized
awards on the applicant's DD Form 214, which he authenticated with his
signature.  His signature on the separation document indicates he verified
that the information it contained was correct.  Finally, his name is not
included on the Korean Casualty Roster.

4.  Although the veracity of the applicant's claim is not in question,
lacking any corroboration other then the statement he submitted, the
regulatory burden of proof necessary to support award of the Purple Heart
has not been satisfied.  As a result, his request for the Purple Heart must
be denied.

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 21 October 1954; therefore, the time
for the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or
injustice expired on         20 October 1957.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

___tsk  __  ___jbm__  __rld____  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.





                                  _____Ted S. Kanamine_______
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050004689                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |22 December 2005                        |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |MR CHUN                                 |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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