PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:       

	BOARD DATE:            21 September 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000040287

	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	
	Mr. Joseph A. Adriance		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. JoAnn H. Langston		Chairperson	
	Mr. Curtis L. Greenway		Member	
	Mr. Eric N. Andersen		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The Board considered the following evidence:

	Exhibit A -  Application for correction of military 
                             records
	Exhibit B -  Military Personnel Records (including
	                  advisory opinion, if any)

FINDINGS:

1.  The applicant has exhausted or the Board has waived the requirement for exhaustion of all administrative remedies afforded by existing law or regulations.

2.  The applicant requests, in effect, that his records reflect his having been awarded the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (ROKPUC) and the Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM)

3.  The applicant’s military service record was not available for review by the Board.  However, the evidence or record does include a Department of Defense (DD) Form 214 (Report of Separation From the Armed Forces of the United States) which was issued to the applicant on the date he separated from this period of service.

4.  The DD Form 214 verifies that the applicant entered the Regular Army on 
27 April 1951 and served on active duty until being honorably separated on 
11 March 1954.  It also documents that the applicant had completed 1 year, 
11 months, and 22 days of foreign service.  Block 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) verifies that during his service the applicant earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal/with 5 Bronze Service Stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  

5.  The DD Form 214 also confirms that the CIB awarded the applicant was authorized in paragraph 10 of Special Order Number 30, dated 22 February 1952, which serves to verify that the applicant was serving in Korea on that date. 

6.  The available evidence also includes medical documents that confirm the applicant was serving in Korea on the dates they were prepared.  While they do not provide the actual inclusive dates of his overseas tour, they do confirm that he had been medically treated in Korea as early as June 1952 and more specifically that he was assigned to the 55th Military Police (MP) Company when he was medically treated in the April-May 1953 timeframe.  

7.  The applicant also provided a copy of a letter, dated 3 June 1954, addressed to him from the Headquarters of the 55th MP Company, APO 304.  This letter informed the applicant that the unit had been awarded the ROKPUC for the period 1 August 1952 to 30 September 1953 via General Order (GO) Number (#) 23, issued by Department of the Army (DA) on  30 March 1954.  

8.  DA Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during World War II and the Korean War.  The numerical listing contained in this publication shows that soldiers who were assigned to the 55th MP Company, the applicant’s unit, earned the ROKPUC if they were serving in the unit between 
1 August 1952 and 30 September 1953, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) if they were in the unit between 11 October 1952 and 15 May 1954.  These awards were codified in DA GO #s 23-54 and 56-54 respectively. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy, criteria, and administrative instructions concerning individual military awards.  Chapter 4 prescribes the policy for award of the AGCM. Paragraph 4-4, gives the specific criteria for approval of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is the immediate commander’s decision to award the AGCM based on his personal knowledge of the individual and on the individual’s official records.  It further states that the lack of official disqualifying comment by previous commanders allows that period of service to qualify for use in awarding the AGCM.

10.  Paragraph 4-5 of the regulation defines periods of service which qualify for award of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that each 3 year period of continuous enlisted active Federal military service served after 27 August 
1940 as a qualifying period for award of the AGCM.  The available evidence contains no indication that the applicant had committed any infractions that would have disqualified him from receiving the AGCM or that he was ever disqualified for the award by any of his immediate commanders.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The DD Form 214 on file verifies that the applicant completed a total 3 years, 
7 months, and 11 days of honorable active military service.  This satisfies the qualifying period of service criteria for the award of the AGCM.  Therefore, the Board finds that the applicant should have been awarded the AGCM upon his separation from active duty on 11 March 1954 and that it would appropriate to correct this error at this time.  

2.  Further, although it appears the awards were authorized subsequent to the applicant’s separation from active duty, it is clear that the applicant’s unit in Korea earned both the ROKPUC and the MUC for inclusive periods that included the time the applicant was assigned, as verified in DA PAM 672-1 and authorized in DA GO #s 23-54 and 56-54 respectively.  Therefore, the Board determined it would be appropriate to add these awards to the applicant’s record at this time. 

3.  In view of the foregoing, the applicant’s records should be corrected as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that the individual concerned earned the AGCM for the period 
27 April 1951 to 11 March 1954; and that he earned the ROKPUC and MUC for his service with the 55th MP Company in Korea.

BOARD VOTE:  

__ena___  __jhl ____  ___clg __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		____JoAnn Langston______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000040287	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2000/09/21	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1954/03/11	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-365	
DISCHARGE REASON	Overseas Returnee	
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.