RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 December 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060006739


      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. John Slone                    |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Lester Echols                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Michael 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:

The applicant, in effect, defers to counsel.

COUNSEL'S REQUEST, STATEMENT AND EVIDENCE:

1.  Counsel requests that the applicant be awarded the Purple Heart.

2.  Counsel states, in effect, that the applicant served in combat in Korea
with an infantry unit and was wounded in action on 4 April 1951 as a result
of enemy artillery or mortars.

3.  Counsel provides a copy of the applicant’s DD Form 214 (Report of
Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States); a letter, dated 18
April 2006, from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis,
Missouri; an Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List; documentation
pertaining to the applicant’s application for disability benefits with the
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA); and statements in support of the
applicant’s DVA claim.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 18 June 1953.  The application submitted in this case is dated
5 May 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 6 June 1950 for a period of 3 years.  He
served as an infantryman in Korea and was honorably discharged on 18 June
1953.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows the Korean Service Medal with one
bronze service star, the United Nations Service Medal, the Combat
Infantryman Badge, and the Bronze Star Medal as authorized awards.  Item 29
(Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) on his DD Form
214 shows the entry, "None.”

6.  There are no orders for the Purple Heart in the available records.
However, the Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the
applicant was hospitalized on 4 April 1951 in Korea for wounds to his ear
sustained as a direct result of enemy action.

7.  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.

8.  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.

9.  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
in actual combat operations or in support of combat operations.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The medical evidence of record which shows the applicant was wounded in
action on 4 April 1951 in Korea is 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.  The applicant served a period of qualifying service for award of the
National Defense Service Medal and the ROK-KWSM.
3.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 18 June 1953; therefore, the time for the applicant
to file a request for correction of any error expired on 17 June 1956. 
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:

JS______  _LE_____  __MF___  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
4 April 1951 in Korea;

      b.  deleting the entry, “None” in item 29 on his DD Form 214;

      c.  adding the entry, “4 April 1951, Korea” in item 29 on his DD Form
214; and

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




                            ___John Slone_________
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060006739                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061214                                |
|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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