IN THE CASE OF:	  

		BOARD DATE:	       9 JULY 2009

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20090004014 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, spelling corrections to his DD Form 214 (Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States) and that an additional bronze service star be added to his Korean Service Medal (KSM).

2.  The applicant states, in effect, that he would like misspellings on his DD Form 214 corrected and for it to show he received a total of three bronze service stars with his KSM.

3.  The applicant provides his DD Form 214 in support of his application.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  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 also allows the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) to excuse an applicant’s failure to timely file within the 3-year statute of limitations if the ABCMR determines it would be in the interest of justice to do so.  While it appears the applicant did not file within the time frame provided in the statute of limitations, the ABCMR has elected to conduct a substantive review of this case and, only to the extent relief, if any, is granted, has determined it is in the interest of justice to excuse the applicant’s failure to timely file.  In all other respects, there are insufficient bases to waive the statute of limitations for timely filing.

2.  The applicant's military record is not available to the Board for review.  A fire destroyed approximately 18 million service members’ records at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in 1973.  It is believed that the applicant's records were lost or destroyed in that fire.  However, there were sufficient documents on file for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  This case is being considered using reconstructed records, which primarily consist of the applicant's DD Form 214, various documents remaining in the NPRC file, and the documents provided by the applicant.

3.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 shows he was inducted into the Army of the United States and entered active duty on 15 February 1952.  The selective service board town name entered in item 14 (Selective Service Local Board Number (City, County, State)) is listed as "Ceterville."

4.  Item 22 (Net Service Completed for Pay Period this Period) shows he completed a total of 1 year, 9 months, and 6 days of active military service and item 25 (Foreign and/or Sea Service) shows he completed 11 months and 19 days of overseas service.  There is no specific entry confirming the exact dates of his service in Korea.

5.  Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of his DD Form 214 shows he earned the following awards:  National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, and United Nations Service Medal.

6.  The entry in item 29 (Wounds Received as a Result of Action with Enemy Forces) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 lists the location he received his wounds as "Heat Bleak Ridge, Kumhwa, Valley" and the entry in item 42 (Main Civilian Occupation) is "Caprtenter App."  Item 28 (Most Significant Assignment) contains the entry for "Company E, 223rd Infantry."

7.  During the processing of this case, a member of the Board staff reviewed the Korean War Casualty Roster.  The applicant’s name was not included on this list.

8.  A review of an Internet site listing of towns in Michigan confirms "Centreville" is a village in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

9.  A review of the history of the 40th Infantry Division confirms the division, of which the 223rd Infantry Regiment was a part, participated in the major battles of Korea which included Heartbreak Ridge, Sandbag Castle, and the Punchbowl and that they were based in the vicinity of the Kumhwa Valley.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s contention that there are misspelled words in items 14, 29, and 42 of his DD Form 214 was carefully considered and found to have merit.  A check of State records confirms the spelling of the town/village location of the applicant’s selective service board in St. Joseph County, Michigan, was "Centreville" and not "Ceterville" as is currently listed in item 14.  In addition, the entry in item 42 was obviously supposed to be "Carpenter’s Apprentice" and that the current entry "Caprtenter App" was the result of an administrative error in the spelling of the word "Carpenter" and the use of an unclear abbreviation of "App" to denote the word "Apprentice."  Therefore, it would be appropriate to correct the entries in items 14 and 42 accordingly.

2.  There is no entry pertaining to the applicant on the Korean War Roster and his military service records are not available.  Therefore, it is impossible to determine the exact location he was wounded in action.  However, it is clear, given there was no battle or action named "Heat Bleak" Ridge during the Korean War, this portion of the entry in item 29 was the result of an administrative error in the spelling of "Heartbreak" Ridge and it would be appropriate to correct that portion of the entry accordingly.  The lack of records or additional evidence renders further correction of item 29 inappropriate given the lack of a sufficient evidentiary basis to support the action.

3.  Further, absent any records confirming the applicant’s actual dates of service in Korea, it is impossible to determine what actual number of campaigns the applicant should be credited with participating in.  As a result, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to support adding a third bronze service star to his KSM at this time.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

___X_____  ___X_____  ____X____  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION


BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for partial relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his DD Form 214 as follows:  item 14 - delete the word "Ceterville" and replace it with the word "Centreville"; item 29 - delete the words "Heat Bleak" and replace them with the word "Heartbreak"; and provide him with a correction to his DD Form 214 that includes these changes.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result, the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to further correction of item 29 or to award of an additional bronze service star.



      ___________XXX______________
                 CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004014



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20090004014



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