PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:                22 October 1998
	DOCKET NUMBER:       AC98-06882

	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. Beverly A. Young		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. June Hajjar		Chairperson	
	Mr. Fred K. McCoy		Member	
	Ms. Shirley L. Powell		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 correction of his records to show award of the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Air Medal.

3.  The applicant submitted two DD Forms 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) in which he states that he is entitled to the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Purple Heart.  He states that he participated in over 50 air assaults between 23 December 1966 and 30 July 1967 and that he was a team leader on the M-60 machinegun.  He also fought throughout the Bong Son area and his unit was in actual ground combat with enemy.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted on 3 June 1966 and completed training as an infantryman in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B20 (Rifleman).  He served in Vietnam from 14 December 1966 to 2 August 1968 and was separated on 24 September 1971.

5.  The applicant has two DD Forms 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge/Report of Separation from Active Duty).  These discharge documents do not show the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, or the Air Medal as authorized awards.  The Board notes that the applicant was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation which is not shown on his DD Form 214
.

6.  There is no indication in the applicant’s personnel records that he was awarded the Purple Heart.  There is also no indication in his personnel or medical records that he was wounded or treated for wounds due to hostile action.

7.  The applicant’s personnel records show he held an infantry military occupational specialty (MOS) and served in an infantry unit in combat in Vietnam.

8.  The applicant submitted a citation for award of the Air Medal for meritorious service in support of combat ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam during the period December 1966 to August 1967.

9.  The applicant was awarded the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation by Department of the Army General Order Number 8, dated 1974. 

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained as a 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, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

11.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to infantry officers and to enlisted and warrant officer persons who have an infantry MOS.  They must have served in active ground combat while assigned or attached to an infantry unit of brigade, regimental or smaller size.  The Awards Branch of the Total Army Personnel Command has advised, in similar cases, that during the Vietnam era the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

12.  U.S Army Vietnam (USARV) Regulation 672-1 (Decorations and Awards) provided, in pertinent part, guidelines for award of the Air Medal.  It established that passenger personnel who did not participate in an air assault were not eligible for the award based upon sustained operations.  It defined terms and provided guidelines for the award based upon the number and types of missions or hours.  Twenty five Category I missions (air assault and equally dangerous missions) was the standard established for which sustained operations were deemed worthy of recognition by an award of the Air Medal.  However, the regulation was clear that these guidelines were considered only a departure point.  Nothing created an entitlement to the award.  There was no provision for making the award simply because an aircraft was struck by enemy fire.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence available to the Board which shows that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart or was wounded or treated for wounds due to hostile action.  Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

2.  Evidence of record shows the applicant served in an infantry MOS in an infantry unit in combat in Vietnam; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

3.  The applicant was awarded the Air Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation; therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show these awards.

4.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, it would be appropriate to correct the applicant’s records, but only as recommended below.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing the individual concerned was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Air Medal, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation.

2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__JH____  __FKM__  __SLP__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		______________________
		        CHAIRPERSON