PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:           

	BOARD DATE:                8 March 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:        AR2000035612

	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.  

	Ms. Joyce A. Wright		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Elzey J. Arledge, Jr.		Member	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz, Jr.		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, correction of his DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) with a separation date of 11 September 1968 to show that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that he has not received any documentation awarding him the Purple Heart for wounds that he received and was treated for in 1968.  He also states that he was verbally informed by his commanding officer that the award was being processed at base camp Cu Chi, Vietnam.

4.  The applicant’s military records show he entered active duty on 7 January 1966 as a light weapons infantryman.  He continued to serve until he was honorably discharged on 2 November 1966 in order to accept a commission as an officer in the US Army Reserve.  He was appointed as a Reserve commissioned officer in the rank of second lieutenant as a member of the Infantry Branch on 3 November 1966.  He served in Vietnam from 7 October 1967 to 30 August 1968 and continued to serve until he was released from active duty on 11 September 1968.

5.  The applicant’s DD Form 214 with a separation date of 11 September 1968 does not show the Bronze Star Medal or the Air Medal as authorized awards.

6.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division General Orders Number 6613, dated 24 September 1968, awarded the applicant the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam for the period December 1967 to September 1968.

7.  Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division General Orders Number 6342, dated 11 September 1968, awarded the applicant the Air Medal for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight in the Republic of Vietnam from 
3 January 1968 to 3 June 1968.

8.  There is no entry for award of the Purple Heart recorded in item 21 (Awards and Decorations) on the applicant’s DA Form 66 (Officer Qualification Record).

9.  There is no record that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.  There also is no indication that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.

10.  The applicant’s records contain a copy of Headquarters, United States Army Infantry Center General Orders Number 130, dated 8 November 1967, which show that he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service from 18 November 1966 to 6 September 1967.

11.  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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.  Therefore, he is entitled to correction of his records to show these awards.

2.  There is no evidence of record available to the Board, and the applicant has provided no evidence, which shows he was injured or wounded due to hostile action during his service in Vietnam.  Therefore, he is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

3.  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 in item 24 (Decorations and Awards) of his DD Form 214 
with a separation date of 11 September 1968 that the individual concerned was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

RVO____  EJA_____  EWL____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

  Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.
		CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR1999028233	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20000308	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	HD	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19811031	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  61		
2.  63		
3.  60		
4.  66		
5.		
6.