RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        13 March 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060012256


      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. Gerard W. Schwartz            |     |Acting Director      |
|     |Mr. Joseph A. Adriance            |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William D. Powers             |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Paul M. Smith                 |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Jerome L. Pionk               |     |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, that the Purple Heart (PH) he was
awarded be added to his record and separation document (DD Form 214).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, he was wounded in action in Korea on
24 October 1952, but the PH is not included in the list of awards contained
in
Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign
Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214.

3.  The applicant provides a PH Certificate in support of his application.


CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of an alleged error or injustice
that occurred on 20 January 1954, the date of his separation.  The
application submitted in this case is dated 16 August 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.  This case is being
considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consists of the
applicant's DD Form 214 and the PH Certificate he provided.

4.  The applicant's DD Form 214 shows he was inducted into the Army and
entered active duty on 29 January 1952.  Item 27 shows that during his
active duty tenure, the applicant earned the Korean Service Medal with 1
bronze service star, National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service
Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge.
5.  Item 29 (Wounds Received As A Result of Action With Enemy Forces) of
the applicant's DD Form 214 contains an entry that indicates the applicant
received a fragmentation wound to the neck on 24 October 1952, in Korea.

6.  On 28 January 1954, the applicant was honorable separated, in the rank
of private/E-2, after completing 2 years of active military service.  There
is no derogatory information or unit commander disqualification in the
applicant's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) file that would have
precluded him from receiving the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM).

7.  The applicant provides a PH Certificate that shows he was awarded the
PH for being wounded in action in Korea on 24 October 1952.

8.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff
reviewed the Department of the Army Korean War Casualty Roster.  This
roster contained an entry on the applicant, which showed he was wounded in
action in Korea on 24 October 1952.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy,
criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military
awards.  Paragraph 2-8 contains the regulatory guidance pertaining to
awarding the PH.  It states, in pertinent part, that the PH is awarded to
any member of an Armed Force who is wounded or killed in action.

10.  Chapter 4 of the awards regulation prescribes the policy for award of
the
AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that the AGCM is awarded to
individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and
fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service.  This
period is 3 years, except in those cases when the period for the first
award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service, in
which case a period of more than 1 year is a qualifying period.  Although
there is no automatic entitlement to the AGCM, disqualification must be
justified.

11.  The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (ROKPUC) is issued by
the Government of South Korea to Korean military and foreign units.  The
last major issuance of the decoration was during the Korean War.  By order
of the Korean Government, the award was retroactively authorized to every
unit of the United States Army that was deployed to Korea between 1950 and
1954.

12.  The Republic of Korea- Korean War Service Medal (ROK-KWSM) was
approved by the ROK to pay tribute to eligible Korean War veterans, and the
Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of the ROK-KWSM.  To
qualify for this award, a veteran must have served in the territorial
limits of Korea for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days during the
period between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's claim of entitlement to the PH was carefully considered
and found to have merit.  The evidence confirms the applicant was wounded
in action in Korea on 24 October 1952, and that he was awarded the PH as a
result.  This is evidenced by an entry in Item 29 of his DD Form 214, an
entry on the Korean War Casualty Roster, the official DA list of Korea
casualties, and the PH Certificate provided by the applicant.  Therefore,
it would be appropriate to add the PH to the list of awards contained in
Item 27 of his DD Form 214.

2.  Lacking any derogatory information or a formal unit commander
disqualification, it is concluded that the applicant completed a period of
qualifying honorable service that entitles him to receive the AGCM.
Therefore, he should be awarded the AGCM for his qualifying honorable
period of active duty service from 29 January 1952 through 28 January 1954.


3.  The evidence also confirms that based on his service in Korea, he is
entitled to the ROKPUC and the ROK-KWSM.  Therefore, it would also be
appropriate to add these awards to his separation document at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

___WDP   __PMS__  __JLP  __  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 Army Good Conduct Medal for his qualifying
period of honorable active duty service from 29 January 1952 through 28
January 1954;

      b.  amending Item 27 of his DD Form 214 by adding the Purple Heart,
Army Good Conduct Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and
Republic of Korea-Korean War Service Medal; and

      c.  providing him correction to his separation document that includes
these changes.




                            _____William D. Powers_____
                                      CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060012256                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |2007/03/13                              |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |HD                                      |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |1954/01/28                              |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR 615-365-5                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |ETS                                     |
|BOARD DECISION          |GRANT PLUS                              |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schwartz                            |
|ISSUES         1.  46   |107.0000                                |
|2.                      |                                        |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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