RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:        31 May 2007
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20060016942


      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      |
|     |Mrs. Nancy L. Amos                |     |Analyst              |

      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Mr. William F. Crain              |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. Donald L. Lewy                |     |Member               |
|     |Mr. Roland S. Venable             |     |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 award of the Purple Heart, the Combat
Infantryman Badge, the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp, the Korea
Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations “Korean
War” [medal] (presumably, the United Nations Service Medal), the “Army
Korean Presidential Unit Citation,” the “Republic of Korea Korean Service
[medal]; the Presidential Unit Citation; and the “American Military Service
in Korea [medal].

2.  The applicant states he received stitches on his finger while on duty
in Korea. He was treated at the Division Artillery Headquarters.  He was
attached to the 14th Infantry Regiment as liaison (forward observer) from
the 69th Field Artillery Battalion.  He resided with 24th Infantry Regiment
units.  He was offered the Purple Heart at the time of treatment, but he
refused because it required notification to his parents.  He also states he
was stationed in Japan from            5 December 1951 until, in effect, he
went to Korea in April 1952.

3.  The applicant provides a listing of casualties from the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division; a photograph of himself with
his finger bandaged; and his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the
Armed Forces of the United States).

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant is requesting correction of alleged errors which occurred
on    22 April 1953.  The original application submitted in this case was
dated 20 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, to include
his service medical records, for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial
review of this case.
4.  The applicant was inducted into the Army on 5 June 1951.  Item 4
(Component and Branch or Class) of his DD Form 214 shows his branch as
Artillery.  Item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment) shows his last unit
of assignment was Headquarters Battery, 69th Field Artillery Battalion.
Item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) contains
the entry, “NONE.”

5.  The applicant’s name is not listed on the Korean War Casualty Roster.

6.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 22 April 1953.
 His DD Form 214 shows he was awarded the Korean Service Medal with two
bronze service stars and the United Nations Service Medal.

7.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) provides for award of the
Purple Heart 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 by a
medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of
official record.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Combat Infantryman
Badge to a Soldier who is an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry
duties, who is assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is
engaged in active ground combat, and who actively participates in such
ground combat.  Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award
of the CIB.

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign
Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units
serving in the Korean War.  This document does not show that the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion (or the 25th Infantry Division) was given occupation
credit for Japan.  It does not show that the 69th Field Artillery Battalion
was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (designated, until 1966, as the
Distinguished Unit Citation).  It does not show that the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion was awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation during a period the applicant contends he was with the unit in
Korea.

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 shows that the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for the period
14 March 1952 through 5 May 1953 by Department of the Army General Orders
Number 38, dated 1957.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides for award of the Korea Defense
Service Medal to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who have
served on active duty in support of the defense of the Republic of Korea.
The period of eligibility is 28 July 1954 to a date to be determined by the
Secretary of Defense.

12.  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.

13.  Army Regulation 600-8-2 provides for award of the National Defense
Service Medal for honorable active service for any period between 27 June
1950 and    27 July 1954, both dates inclusive, between 1 January 1961 and
24 August 1974, both dates inclusive, between 2 August 1990 and 30 November
1995, both dates inclusive, and between 11 September 2001 to a date to be
determined.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the applicant contended he was treated by a medic, one of the
criteria for award of the Purple Heart is that the medical treatment must
have been made a matter of official record.  The applicant did not explain
how he injured his finger and there is no evidence to show he was wounded
as a result of hostile action.  His name is not listed on the Korean War
Casualty Roster, and his DD Form 214 does not show that he was wounded.
Regrettably, there is insufficient evidence to show he met the eligibility
criteria for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  There is no evidence available to show the applicant was attached to
the 14th Infantry Regiment.  However, even if his assertion is accepted,
his DD Form    214 shows he was an artilleryman, not an infantryman.  One
of the three basic criteria for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge is to
be an infantryman.  There is insufficient evidence that would warrant
awarding the applicant the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 does not show that the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion was credited with occupation duty in Japan; therefore,
there is insufficient evidence that would warrant awarding the applicant
the Army of Occupation Medal with Japan clasp.

4.  The applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria for award of the
Korea Defense Service Medal as he departed Korea before 28 July 1954.  He
does, however, meet the eligibility criteria for award of the Republic of
Korea - Korean War Service Medal.  The Republic of Korea - Korean War
Service Medal should be added to his DD Form 214.

5.  The Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal are
already listed on the applicant’s DD Form 214.

6.  The applicant requested award of the “Army Korean Presidential Unit
Citation” and the “Republic of Korea Korean Service [medal].”  By these two
awards, he presumably meant the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit
Citation.  However, Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 does not show
that the 69th Field Artillery Battalion was awarded this foreign unit award
during a period the applicant contends he was with the unit in Korea.

7.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 does not show that the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (or the
Distinguished Unit Citation, as it was designated at the time).

8.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 does show, however, that the 69th
Field Artillery Battalion was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for the
period 14 March 1952 through 5 May 1953.  The fact the applicant’s last
unit of assignment before he separated in April 1953 was the 69th Field
Artillery Battalion is accepted as sufficient evidence to show he was
assigned to the unit when it was awarded this unit award.  It should be
added to his DD Form 214.

9.  It cannot be determined what the applicant meant when he requested the
“American Military Service in Korea [medal].  However, he did meet the
eligibility criteria for award of the National Defense Service Medal.

10.  Evidence shows that the applicant’s records contain administrative
errors which do not require action by the Board.  Therefore, administrative
correction of the applicant’s records will be accomplished by the Case
Management Support Division (CMSD), St. Louis, Missouri, as outlined by the
Board in paragraph 2 of the BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION section
below.

11.  Records show the applicant should have discovered the alleged error or
injustice now under consideration on 22 April 1953; therefore, the time for
the applicant to file a request for correction of any error or injustice
expired on           1 January 1950 (3 years after the Board was
established on 2 January 1947.
Although the applicant did not file within the 3-year statute of
limitations, it would be appropriate to waiver failure to timely file based
on the fact there is no statute of limitations on requests for award of the
Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__wfc___  __dll___  __rsv___  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented does not demonstrate
the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board
determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis
for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board determined that administrative errors in the records of the
individual concerned should be corrected.  Therefore, the Board requests
that the CMSD-St. Louis administratively correct the records of the
individual concerned by adding the Navy Commendation Medal, the Republic of
Korea - Korean War Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal to
his DD Form 214.




                                  __William F. Crain____
                                            CHAIRPERSON



                                    INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20060016942                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |                                        |
|DATE BOARDED            |20070531                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |                                        |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |                                        |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |DENY                                    |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |Mr. Schwartz                            |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.0015                                |
|2.                      |107.0111                                |
|3.                      |110.04                                  |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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