BOARD DATE:	  15 May 2014

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20130015594 


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 reconsideration of his request to correct his 
DD Form 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge) to show his overseas service in Korea during 1955 to 1956 and to show he attended the I Corps Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Academy.

2.  He states the 7th Infantry Division was part of the 8th Army whose Headquarters was in Japan, but the 7th Division was in Korea from September 1950 to March 1971.  He adds that he does not know the exact dates of his service in Korea because all reassignment orders he received were turned in to the unit's command office and he did not keep any copies of those orders.  

3.  He provides:

* Self-authored statement
* Thanksgiving Menu 
* Armed Forces of the United States Identification Card
* Group Photograph
* Certificate
* Internet Article "History of the 7th Infantry Division - Bayonet"

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number AR20120019131, on 16 May 2013.

2.  The applicant provides new evidence that was not previously considered.

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's DD Form 214 shows he enlisted in the Regular Army on 15 February 1954.  On 14 February 1957, he was honorably released from active duty and credited with completing 3 years of active duty service.

5.  His DD Form 214 shows in:

* item 24c (Foreign and/or Sea Service) "1  03  20"
* item 28 (Service Schools or Colleges, College Training, Courses and/or Post-Graduate Courses Successfully Completed) the entry "None"
* item 29 (Other Service Training Courses Successfully Completed) the entry "None"

6.  The applicant's Thanksgiving menu, photograph, certificate, and History of the 7th Infantry Division - Bayonet article were not previously considered by the Board.

   a.  The Thanksgiving menu was from the Armed Forces Far East and the Eighth United States Army Korea (1955). 

	b.  The article on the "History of the 7th Infantry Division - Bayonet" stated that the Bayonet or the 7th Infantry Division, as it was officially known, continued to stand guard in Korea, manning their outpost line in strife-ridden Korea until 1971 when the division was returned to U.S. soil for the first time since 1943.

	c.  The certificate indicated that on 1 May 1955, the applicant was on a Navy ship and initiated into the "Mystic Order of the Golden Dragon."  

	d.  A group photo with the sign that reads "I Corps (Group) NCO Academy" in the left corner.  The applicant circled a picture which he maintains is a graduation picture of himself. 

7.  The applicant's records are void of orders, record of assignment history, or any type of documentation to verify his assignment in Korea and his attendance at the NCO Academy.  

8.  Army Regulation 635-5 (Separation Documents) establishes the standardized policy for preparing and distributing the DD Form 214.  It states that the
DD Form 214 is a synopsis of the Soldier's most recent period of continuous active duty.  It provides a brief, clear-cut record of active Army service at the time of release from active duty, retirement or discharge.  The version in effect at the time did not provide for identifying a Soldier's specific overseas location.  However, it stated for:

	a.  item 28, enter service schools, including dates and major courses that were successfully completed.  This entry also includes military-sponsored courses completed in civilian schools and colleges during the period covered by the DD Form 214 being prepared.

	b.  item 29, enter installation training courses (qualification courses), military correspondence courses, and off-duty courses the enlisted person has completed successfully during the period covered by the DD Form 214 being prepared.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence and the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to show he was assigned and/or attached in the Republic of Korea during 1955/1956.  The fact that he provides a Thanksgiving menu from Korea, an article that stated the 7th Infantry Division remained in Korea until 1971, and a certificate indicating he was on a Navy ship and initiated into the "Mystic Order of the Golden Dragon" are not sufficient evidence that verifies he served in Korea and the period of his service.  No morning reports are available to show he was assigned in Korea.  In the absence of evidence to support his claim, the presumption of regularity must be applied.  Therefore, his DD Form 214 appears to be correct as constituted.

2.  Although the applicant provides a photograph which he maintains shows him at the NCO Academy, there is no available completion certificate and he did not provide sufficient evidence which shows he successfully completed the NCO Academy.  In the absence of such evidence, there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for adding this school course to his DD Form 214.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

__X____  ____X____  ___X_____  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

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 to amend the decision of the ABCMR set forth in Docket Number AR20120019131, dated 16 May 2013.



      _______ _ X _______   ___
               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)                                         AR20130015594





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20130015594



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