RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        8 February 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060010147


      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. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. Jeffrey C. Redmann            |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. David K. Hassenritter         |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Ronald D. Gant                |     |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, in effect, award of the Purple Heart (PH).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was wounded in action by an enemy
grenade near Chorwan, Korea, but his record does indicate he was awarded
the PH.

3.  The applicant provides the following documents in support of his
application:  Separation Document (DD Form 214); Authorization for Issuance
of Awards (DA Form 1577); Western Union Telegram; and Honorable Discharge
Certificates.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 4 December 1951, the date of his final separation.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 10 July 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 record shows he initially enlisted in the Regular Army
(RA) and entered active duty on 5 October 1946.  He served on active duty
for 1 year, 4 months, and 15 days until being honorably separated on 19
February 1948.  The separation document (WD AGO Form 53) he was issued at
the time shows he earned the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp
and World War II Victory Medal during this period of active duty service.

4.  On 13 October 1950, while serving as a member of the Enlisted Reserves,
the applicant was ordered to and entered active duty.  He held the military
occupational specialty 1745 (Infantryman), and the highest rank he attained
while serving on active duty was sergeant (SGT).

5.  The applicant's Service Record (WD AGO Form 24A) shows he served
overseas in Korea from 15 January 1951 through 12 November 1951, and that
he was assigned to Company A, 15th Infantry Regiment.
6.  Section 8 (Wounds Received Through Enemy Action) of the applicant's
WD AGO Form 24A contains an entry showing he received a fragmentation wound
to the chest in September 1951.

7.  A Casualty Report (AGO Form 241) on file confirms the applicant was
wounded in action in Korea on 29 September 1951, when he received a
fragmentation wound to his left chest from an enemy mortar shell during an
advance against the enemy.

8.  Medical treatment records on file confirm the applicant was treated for
his combat related fragmentation wound to the chest at the 8063rd Mobile
Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) on 29 September 1951, the 121st Evacuation
Hospital on 30 September 1951, and the 10th Station Hospital on 1 October
1951.

9.  On 4 December 1951, the applicant was honorably released from active
duty and returned to his Reserve unit after completing 1 year, 1 month, and
22 days of active military service during the period.  The DD Form 214 he
was issued shows, in Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations,
Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized), that he earned the
Combat Infantryman Badge and Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze service
stars.

10.  The applicant's record contains a DA Form 1577, dated 11 September
1970, which shows the Army issued the applicant the following awards:  PH;
Combat Infantryman Badge; Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp;
National Defense Service Medal; Korean Service Medal with 4 bronze service
stars; and United Nations Service Medal.  This document also indicated that
the applicant was authorized the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation.  Item 29 (Wounds Received As A Result of Action With Enemy
Forces) contains an entry showing he was wounded in action at Chorwon,
North Korea on 29 September 1951.

11.  The applicant provides a Western Union Telegram, dated 11 October
1951, which notified his wife that he had been seriously wounded in action
in Korea on 29 September 1951.

12.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff
reviewed the Korean War Casualty Roster.  This search revealed an entry
pertaining to the applicant that confirmed he was wounded in action in
Korea on 29 September 1951.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and
criteria concerning individual military awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the
regulatory guidance pertaining to award of the PH.  It states, in pertinent
part, that in order to award a PH there must be evidence that the wound for
which the award is being made was received as a result of enemy action, the
wound must have required medical treatment and the medical treatment must
have been made a matter of official record.

14.  Paragraph 2-10 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the
National Defense Service Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is
awarded for honorable active service for any period between 27 June 1950
and 27 July 1954, both dates inclusive.

15.  Paragraph 9-5 of the awards regulation contains guidance on the United
Nations Service Medal.  It states, in pertinent part, that to qualify for
this award, individuals must have been members of the Armed Forces of the
United States dispatched to Korea or adjacent areas for service on behalf
of the United Nations in the action in Korea.   It further stipulates that
personnel awarded the Korean Service Medal automatically establish
eligibility for the United Nations Service Medal.

16.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Campaign Participation
Credit Register) establishes the eligibility of individual members for
campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation
badges awarded during the Korean War.  This source confirms that during his
tenure of assignment, the applicant’s unit (17th Infantry Regiment)
received the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

17.  The Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service
Medal (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
KWSM.  To qualify for award of the 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 applicant's claim of entitlement to the PH was carefully considered
and found to have merit.  The evidence of record contains a records entry
in Section 8 of the applicant's Service Record that indicates he received a
fragmentation wound to the chest in September of 1951, while serving in
Korea.  It also contains a Casualty Report that confirms he was wounded in
action in Korea on 29 September 1951, when he received a fragmentation
wound to the chest from an enemy mortar shell and an entry in Item 29 of
his 4 December 1951 DD Form 214 that shows he was wounded in action at
Chorwon, North Korea on
29 September 1951.

2.  The fact that the applicant was wounded in action in Korea on 29
September 1951 is also corroborated by an entry on the Korean War Casualty
Roster, the official DA list of Korea battle casualties and the Western
Union Telegram provided by the applicant.  As a result, it would be
appropriate and served the interest of justice and equity to award the
applicant the PH at this time.

3.  The applicant's record also shows that based on his active duty service
and service in Korea, he is also entitled to the National Defense Service
Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation, Korean War Service Medal, and 4 bronze service stars with his
Korean Service Medal.  Therefore, it would also be appropriate to add these
awards to his record and separation document at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

___JCR _  __DKH__  __DRG__  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 being wounded in action in
Korea on 29 September 1951;

      b.  amending Item 27 of his 4 December 1951 DD Form 214 by deleting
the current list of awards and replacing it with the entry "National
Defense Service Medal, Purple Heart, Korean Service Medal with 4 bronze
service stars, United Nations Service Medal, Army of Occupation Medal with
Germany Clasp, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge,
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and Korean War Service Medal;
and

      c.  providing him a correction to his DD Form 214 that includes these
changes.




                            _____Jeffrey C. Redmann____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060010147                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2007/02/08                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1951/12/04                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-363-5                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Chun                                |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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