PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            9 December 1998  
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AC98-11884

	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.	Loren G. Harrell		Director	
	Ms.	Deyon D. Battle		Analyst	

	The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms.	June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr.	Fred N. Eichorn		Member	
	Mr.	Thomas B. Redfern, III		Member	

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

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	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 that his Report of Transfer or Discharge (DD Form 214) be corrected to show the awards of the Bronze Star Medal (BSM) w/”V” Device and the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he is currently in possession of both of the awards, however, they have been omitted from his DD Form 214 and he would like to have them both included.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted in the Army on 14 June 1965 and he successfully completed his training as a medical specialist. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, 1 Overseas Bar and the Marksman Badge (Rifle M-14).

5.  A review of the record reveals that on 23 September 1967, the applicant was awarded the BSM w/”V” Device for heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam.  However, the award was erroneously omitted from his DD Form 214.  

6.  A review of the record further reveals that on 12 March 1967, he was wounded in his left rib cage after he crawled toward an enemy bunker while under hostile fire in order to render aid to a wounded man.  The wound was determined to have been caused by mortar fragments.  On 16 March 1967, he sought medical attention and he was treated by a physician for his wound.  However, the record is void of any evidence showing that he was awarded the PH.

7.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the primary requirement for award of a decoration is that a formal recommendation be prepared and introduced into official military channels within 2 years of the act, achievement, or service to be recognized.  The sole exception to the 2-year time limit occurs when there is conclusive evidence that a formal recommendation was submitted but was lost, or through inadvertence was never acted on by proper authority.

8.  That regulation also provides that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a direct 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was awarded the BSM w/V Device on 23 September 1967 and the information was erroneously omitted from his DD Form 214.

2.  Although the record is void of any order awarding him the PH, the record clearly shows his entitlement to the award.  Inasmuch as he has indicated that he received the award, it must be presumed that the failure to annotate the award of the PH on his DD 214 was the result of administrative oversight on the part of the Department.

3.  Therefore, since the applicant has established his entitlement to those awards, it would be in the interest of justice to correct his records at this time. 

4.  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 amending the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned to show that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal w/”V” Device and the Purple Heart.

BOARD VOTE:  

__jh_____  ___fe___  ___tbr___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON