RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        14 November 2006
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060007811


      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. Curtis Greenway               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Thomas Ray                    |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. Peguine Taylor                |     |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 correction of item 27 (Decorations, Medals,
Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or
Authorized) on his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces
of the United States) to show award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant states that while engaged in combat in Korea he was
wounded on 7 July 1952 and on 14 October 1952 by enemy fire and was awarded
the Purple Heart at that time.

3.  The applicant provides a Certificate of Service; an Honorable Discharge
Certificate from the Army of the United States; and a copy of his DD Form
214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 20 July 1953.  The application submitted in this case is dated
30 April 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 was inducted on 17 October 1951.  He served as an
infantryman in Korea and was released from active duty on 20 July 1953.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows the Combat Infantryman Badge, the
Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the United Nations
Service Medal, and one award of the Overseas Service Bar as authorized
awards.  Item 29 on his DD Form 214 shows the entries, "SFW [shell fragment
wounds] – Head & Back & Scalp Korea 7 Jul 52” and “SFW – Face & Shoulder
Korea 14 Oct 52.”
6.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized on 7 July 1952 and on 14 October 1952 in Korea for wounds
sustained as a direct result of enemy action.

7.  The Korean War Casualty Roster shows the applicant was wounded in
action on 7 July 1952 and on 14 October 1952.

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 states, in pertinent part, that the bronze oak
leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of
certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

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
in actual combat operations or in support of combat operations.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The medical evidence of record and the entries on the Korean War
Casualty Roster which show the applicant was wounded in action on 7 July
1952 and on 14 October 1952 in Korea are accepted as sufficient evidence on
which to base two awards of the Purple Heart and correction of item 27 on
his DD Form 214.
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 20 July 1953; therefore, the time for the applicant
to file a request for correction of any error expired on 19 July 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:

CG____  __TR____  __PT____  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 7
July 1952 in Korea;

      b.  awarding him the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster for
wounds received in action on 14 October 1952 in Korea; and

      c.  amending item 27 on his DD Form 214 to add the Purple Heart with
First Oak Leaf Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, and the ROK-
KWSM.


                            __Curtis Greenway_____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060007811                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20061114                                |
|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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