RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        26 October 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060005025


      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:

|     |Ms. Marla Troup                   |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Robert Rogers                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. John Heck                     |     |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.

2.  The applicant states that he was wounded by high explosives in combat
in Korea but was never presented with the Purple Heart.  He contends that
he has been receiving service connected disability compensation for these
wounds since 1952.

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation
from the Armed Forces of the United States); an Honorable Discharge
Certificate; and a letter, dated 14 August 1952, from the Veterans
Administration.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 18 June 1952.  The application submitted in this case is dated
28 March 2006.

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
were sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board
to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.

4.  The applicant enlisted on 7 February 1949.  He served as an infantryman
in Korea and was honorably discharged on 18 June 1952.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows the Combat Infantryman Badge, the
Korean Service Medal with four bronze service stars, and the Parachutist
Badge as authorized awards.  Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action
with Enemy Forces) on his DD Form 214 shows the entry, "Shrapnel Wounds Arm
& Leg 23 Mar 51.”
6.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
However, the Korean Casualty Roster shows he was wounded in action on 23
March 1951.

7.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized on 23 March 1951 in Korea for arm and thigh wounds sustained
as a direct result of enemy action.

8.  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.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 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.

10.  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.

11.  The Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service
Medal (ROK-KWSM) 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.  The Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of the
ROK-KWSM. To qualify for award of the ROK-KWSM, the veteran must have
served between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953 and been on permanent
assignment for 30 consecutive days, or on temporary duty for 60 non-
consecutive days, within the territorial limits of Korea, in the waters
immediately adjacent thereto or in aerial flight over Korea participating

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The medical evidence of record and the entry on the Korean Casualty
Roster which show the applicant was wounded in action on 23 March 1951 in
Korea are accepted as sufficient evidence on which to base award of the
Purple Heart.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to award of the Purple
Heart and correction of his DD Form 214 to show this award.

2.  Based on award of the Korean Service Medal, the applicant is entitled
to award of the United Nations Service Medal.

3.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the
National Defense Service Medal and the ROK-KWSM.

4.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 18 June 1952; therefore, the time for the applicant
to file a request for correction of any error expired on 17 June 1955.
Although the applicant did not file within the ABCMR's statute of
limitations, it is appropriate to waive failure to timely file based on the
fact there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the Purple
Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

MT____  _RR_____  _JH_____  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:

      a.  awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds received in action on
23 March 1951 in Korea; and







      b.  amending his DD Form 214 to add award of the Purple Heart, the
United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the
ROK-KWSM.



                            ____Marla Troup______
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060005025                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061026                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT                                   |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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