PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        .

	BOARD DATE:             24 June 2003                  
	DOCKET NUMBER:    AR2003087518

	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. Margaret K. Patterson 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ronald E. Blakely		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones, II 		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 he be issued a correction to his 
18 November 1953 separation document (DD Form 214).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that the spelling of the location of his selective service board be corrected in Item 14 (Selective Service Local Board).  He also asks the following awards be added to Item 27 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized):  Valor (“V”) Device to the listed Bronze Star Medal (BSM); Army Good Conduct Medal (AGCM); Korean War Service Medal (KWSM); Combat Medical Badge (CMB); Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation (ROKPUC); and Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC).  Further, he requests that Item 28 (Most Significant Duty Assignment) be amended to read Medical Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, that Item 30 (Service Schools) be amended to read “Medical (fec) Japan vice the current entry Med (fec), and finally that Item 43 (Name and Address of Last Civilian Employer) be changed to read Lud Everson vice Landing Everson as is currently listed.  

4.  The applicant’s military records were 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 in that fire.  However, there are sufficient documents remaining in a reconstructed record for the Board to conduct a fair and impartial review of this case.  

5.  The separation document (DD Form 214) issued to the applicant upon his separation in 1953 shows that he entered active duty 27 November 1951, and that he continuously served on active duty until being honorably separated on 
18 November 1953.  It also shows that he completed 1 year, 11 months, and 
22 days of active military service.  Item 11 (Place of Birth) contains the entry Menomonie, Wisconsin.  Item 26 (Foreign Service) shows that he served overseas for 10 months and 9 days.  

6.  Item 27 of the applicant’s 1953 DD Form 214 lists the following awards:  National Defense Service Medal; United Nations Service Medal; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart; Korean Service Meal with 2 bronze service stars; and Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).  The available documents on file contain no derogatory information that would have disqualified the applicant from receiving the AGCM, and there is no indication that he was ever disqualified from receiving the award by any of the active duty unit commanders for which he served.  

7.  Special Orders Number 128, paragraph 4, dated 18 May 1953, issued by Headquarters, 15th Infantry Regiment, Korea, awarded the applicant the Combat Medical Badge (CMB) for satisfactory service in ground combat against the enemy in Korea on or about 4 March 1953.  

8.  General Orders Number 247, dated 11 July 1953, issued by Headquarters, 
3rd Infantry Division, awarded the applicant the BSM with “V” Device for heroic achievement in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States on the night of 10 June and early morning hours of 11 June 1953, while assigned to Medical Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. 

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) prescribes Army policy and criteria concerning individual military awards.  Chapter 4 prescribes the policy for award of the AGCM.  It states, in pertinent part, that it is authorized for each 
3 years of qualifying honorable service completed on or after 27 August 1940; however, for the first award, a period of more than 1 year is authorized if it is awarded at the termination of a period of Federal service.  While there is no automatic entitlement to the AGCM, disqualification must be justified.  

10.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1 (Unit Campaign Participation Credit Register-World War II/Korea) establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during the Korean Conflict.  It confirms that during his tenure of assignment with his unit (Medical Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division), it earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation during World War II, and the ROKPUC.  

11.  As a matter of information, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, the Government of the Republic of Korea issued the Korean War Service Medal 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.  On 20 August 1999, the Department of Defense approved acceptance and wear of this foreign service award to eligible US veterans of the Korean War, or their surviving next of kin.  The medal is provided at no cost to veterans.  The Department of Defense assigned responsibility to the Department of the 
Air Force for distribution of the Korean War Service Medal to eligible veterans or their surviving next of kin.  

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence confirms that the applicant was awarded the CMB in Special Orders Number 120, dated 18 May 1953.  It also verifies that he earned the “V” Device with the BSM he was awarded in General Orders Number 247 on 11 July 1953.  Further, the evidence verifies that based on his unit service in Korea, the applicant is also entitled to the MUC and the ROKPUC.  Thus, the Board concludes it would be appropriate to add these awards to his record.  

2.  Lacking any derogatory information on file that would have disqualified him from receiving the AGCM, or of a specific disqualification from any of his active duty unit commanders, the Board concludes that the applicant is entitled to the first award of the AGCM for his qualifying period of honorable active duty service from 27 November 1951 through 18 November 1953.  

3.  The Board notes the applicant’s request that administrative corrections be made to Items 14, 28, 30, and 43 of his 1953 DD Form 214.  In the opinion of 
the Board, these corrections are supported by the evidence.  As a result, the Board concludes that the “Monomonie” entry in Item 14 (Selective Service Local Board) should be corrected to read “Menomonie”; the “Med Co 15th Inf” entry in Item 28 should be corrected to read “Medical Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division”; Japan should be added after the “Med (fec)” entry contained in Item 30; and the portion of the entry in Item 43 (Name and Address of Last Civilian Employer) that reads “Lending” should be corrected to read “Lud.” 

4.  The applicant is advised that to apply for the Korean War Service Medal, he should submit a copy of his DD Form 214 to the Awards and Decorations Section, Headquarters, Air Force Personnel Center, 550 C Street West, Suite 12, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas 78150-4714.  A sample request form is provided.  Once the Korean War Service Medal has been authorized by the Department of the Air Force, the applicant may apply to this Board to add this foreign award to his DD Form 214.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

a.  awarding the individual concerned the first award of the Army Good Conduct Medal for honorable period of qualifying service from 27 November 1951 through 18 November 1953; 

b.  showing that he was awarded the “V” Device with his Bronze Star Medal, and the Combat Medical Badge during his combat service in Korea; and 

c.  by showing that based on unit service in Korea, he is entitled to the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

2.  By amending the following items of the 18 November 1953 DD Form 214 of the individual concerned as follows:  

a.  Item 14 (Selective Service Local Board), as reads “Monomonie”, change to “Menomonie”; 

b.  Item 28 (Most Significant Unit of Assignment) as reads “Med Co 
15th Inf”, change to “Medical Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division”; and 

c.  Item 30 (Service Schools) as reads “Med (fec)”, change to “Med (fec) Japan”; and Item 43 as reads “Lending”, change to “Lud.”

3.  Finally by issuing the individual concerned a corrected separation document that incorporates the changes contained in the preceding paragraphs.  

BOARD VOTE:  

__MKP__  __REB__  __FCJ__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Margaret K. Patterson
		  CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003087518	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/06/DD	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	1953/11/18	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 615-363	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  1021	100.0000	
2.  46	107.0000	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.