RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        18 January 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060010170


      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. Jeffrey Redmann               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Rodney Barber                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. David Tucker                  |     |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 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 he was injured in the Korean War and that
even though item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy
Forces) on his DD Form 214 shows that he sustained shrapnel wounds to his
face it does not reflect the Purple Heart in item 27 (Decorations, Medals,
Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or
Authorized).

3.  The applicant provides a copy of his DD Form 214.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error which
occurred on 21 June 1952.  The application submitted in this case is dated
11 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 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 March 1949.  He served as an infantryman in
Korea and was honorably discharged on 21 June 1952.

5.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows the Combat Infantryman Badge, the
Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars, the Bronze Star
Medal, and the Distinguished Unit Citation as authorized awards.  Item 29
on his DD Form 214 shows the entry, "SFW [shell fragment wounds] (Both
sides of face)
20 Apr 51.”

6.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List shows the applicant was
hospitalized on 22 December 1950 in Korea for frostbite (foot).

7.  The Office of The Surgeon General Hospital List also shows the
applicant was hospitalized on 24 April 1951 in Korea for face and chin
wounds and hospitalized on 26 June 1951 in Korea for a concussion and ear
wound, both injuries were the 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.  While award of the Purple Heart for frostbite injuries is currently
prohibited, such injuries were previously a basis for the award.  Until 23
August 1951, Army Regulation 600-45, which governed the award of Army
decorations, stated that for the purpose of considering an award of the
Purple Heart, a “wound” is defined as an injury to any part of the body
from an outside force, element, or agent sustained while in action in the
face of the armed enemy or as a result of a hostile act of such enemy.  An
“element” pertains to weather and the award of this decoration to personnel
who were severely frostbitten while actually engaged in combat is
authorized.

10.  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.

11.  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.

12.  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.

13.  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 diagnosed
with frostbite on 22 December 1950 in Korea and wounded as a result of
hostile action on 24 April 1951 and on 26 June 1951 in Korea are accepted
as sufficient evidence on which to base three awards of the Purple Heart
and correction of items 27 and 29 on his DD Form 214.

2.  Although item 29 on the applicant’s DD Form 214 shows that he sustained
shrapnel wounds to his face on 20 April 1951, medical evidence of record
shows he sustained face and chin wounds on 24 April 1951.  Based on the
foregoing, the medical evidence of record is sufficient as a basis for
amending item 29 on his DD Form 214 to show he was wounded in action on 24
April 1951.

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

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

5.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error now
under consideration on 21 June 1952; therefore, the time for the applicant
to file a request for correction of any error expired on 20 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:

JR_____  _RB_____  __DT___  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
22 December 1950 in Korea;

      b.  awarding him the Purple Heart with First Oak Leaf Cluster for
wounds received in action on 24 April 1951 in Korea;

      c.  awarding him the Purple Heart with Second Oak Leaf Cluster for
wounds received in action on 26 June 1951 in Korea;

      d.  amending item 27 on his DD Form 214 to add the Purple Heart with
Second Oak Leaf Cluster, the United Nations Service Medal, the National
Defense Service Medal, and the ROK-KWSM;

      e.  deleting the entry in item 29 on his DD Form 214; and

      f.  adding the entry, “Korea, 22 December 1950, 24 April 1951, and
26 June 1951” in item 29 on his DD Form 214.




                            ___Jeffrey Redmann____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060010170                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070118                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0000                                |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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