RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:          10 January 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20050007518


      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. Kenneth Wright                |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Dale DeBruler                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Qawiy Sabree                  |     |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.  He also requests, in
effect, that a service medical record, dated 29 September 1954, be
corrected to reflect he sustained a broken nose during the assault on 29
September 1954 in Korea.

2.  The applicant states, in effect, on 29 September 1954 while on guard
duty in Korea he was attacked by unknown assailants with baseball bats and
sustained a broken nose.  He contends that the doctor treating his injuries
told him that his nose was broken and failed to include that diagnosis on
the 29 September 1954 service medical record.  He also contends that errors
and omissions on this service medical record affected the rating he
received from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) in 1955.

3.  The applicant provides two letters, dated 11 April 2005 and 9 May 2005,
from his physicians; a confidential summary, dated 4 May 2005; two diagrams
of the applicant's compound at the time in question; service medical
records; a DVA Rating Sheet, dated 28 June 1955; and a copy of his DD Form
214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred
on
20 April 1955.  The application submitted in this case is dated 23 April
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 was inducted on 20 April 1953.  He served as a light
truck driver and supply clerk in Korea and was honorably discharged on 20
April 1955.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows the National Defense Service Medal,
the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the Good
Conduct Medal as authorized awards.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result
of Action with Enemy Forces) on the applicant's DD Form 214 shows the
entry, "None."

5.  There is no evidence in the available records which shows the applicant
was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Korea.
6.  Section 8 (Wounds Received Through Enemy Action) on the applicant's
Service Record is blank.

7.  The applicant’s name does not appear on the Korean War Casualty Roster.


8.  The applicant provided a service medical record, dated 29 September
1954, which states he was attacked by unknown person(s) while on guard duty
and sustained multiple scalp and forehead wounds and contusions, and a
simple skull fracture.  There is no evidence of record which shows these
injuries were the result of hostile action.  There is no evidence of record
which shows the applicant sustained a broken nose.

9.  The applicant provided a DVA Rating Sheet, dated 28 June 1955, which
states, in pertinent part, "He also had a deformity of nose, moderate due
to a fracture.  However, the service records do not reveal that he received
this fracture during service."

10.  The applicant provided a letter, dated 11 April 2005, from his
physician which states, in pertinent part, "I believe it is absolutely
certain that, in addition to your skull fracture, you also suffered a
significant fracture of your nose with the resultant deviation that has
already caused you to need one surgery.  He provided a second letter, dated
9 May 2005, from another physician which states, in pertinent part, "It is
my opinion that it is highly probable that you sustained significant nasal
injury to include nasal fracture when assaulted in 1954."

11.  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 have required
treatment, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.  The regulation also states that when contemplating an
award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into
consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury.

12.  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.

13.  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.  There is no evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded or
treated for wounds as a result of hostile action in Korea.  Regrettably,
there is insufficient evidence on which to base award of the Purple Heart
in this case.

2.  The Army has an interest in promoting the reliability of its medical
records.  Alteration of a diagnosis in those records after the fact may
lead to fundamental questions about the veracity of the record in this case
and in general.  For these reasons, the Board declines to alter a diagnosis
in the applicant's medical records.  The Secretary's interest is in
ensuring an orderly system in which a physician makes certain observations
and recording them faithfully in the medical records at the time.  It would
take an extraordinary showing for the Board to alter such a diagnosis.  In
this case, the applicant's physician made a diagnosis in good faith and
based upon accepted medical principles at the time.  That observation was
duly recorded in the applicant's medical records and he has not presented
sufficient reason to alter that observation.

3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged errors
now under consideration on 20 April 1955; therefore, the time for the
applicant to file a request for correction of any error expired on 19 April
1958.  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.
BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

KW_____  __DD___  _QS_____  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.




            ____Kenneth Wright____
                    CHAIRPERSON




                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20050007518                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20060110                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |124.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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