PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           10 May 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000039910

	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. Robert J. McGowan		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson 		Chairperson	
	Mr. George D. Paxson		Member	
	Mr. Thomas B. Redfern III		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 reconsideration of his previous, partially approved application by correcting his records to show that he is entitled to wear two Valorous Unit Awards, a Purple Heart (PH), a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), and a seventh bronze service star on his Vietnam Service Medal.  He also insists that he was an E-4 in Vietnam in April 1968.

3.  The applicant states that he served as an infantryman in combat.  He contends that he was wounded when a vehicle in which he was a passenger hit a land mine.  He provides a portion of a Vietnam era casualty report (Hinge Report) for another passenger who was killed and a copy of a document from an internet database of Vietnam casualties.  He states that he was an E-4 in Vietnam in April 1968 and provides a copy of a unit Morning Report for 1 April 1968 which accesses him as an E-4.  He also states that on 20 and 21 June 1969, when he was allegedly accused of disobeying an order, he was being seen at the battalion aid station for sore feet.  He provides copies of his medical records for the period, as well as a copy of his separation physical examination dated 31 October 1969.

4.  The applicant’s case was originally reviewed on 28 October 1999 at which time, he was granted partial relief.  His military records indicate that he was inducted into the Army of the United States on 25 May 1967 and was separated with a general discharge on 13 December 1969.  While assigned to Vietnam, his unit received two awards of the Valorous Unit Award.  He was also in Vietnam during the Winter-Spring 1970 Campaign which occurred between 1 November 1969 and 30 April 1970.

5.  The applicant’s contention that he is entitled to the CIB is not supported by his service record.  Although his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was changed from that of MOS 64A10, Light Vehicle Driver, to MOS 11B10, Light Weapons Infantryman, on 19 May 1968, the record reflects that he continued to serve as a driver and was involved in a traffic accident on 24 May 1968.  As a result of that accident, the applicant contends that he underwent a lengthy convalescence until 2 October 1968.  On 11 October 1968, he was reassigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  Based on the date of his MOS reclassification, the date of his vehicle accident, and his lengthy convalescence, it is unlikely that he ever performed duties or saw combat as an infantryman.

6.  The incident for which the applicant contends that he is entitled to the PH is reflected as a vehicle accident in which the driver of a 2 ½ ton truck lost control of the vehicle and overturned.  A passenger was killed when he received massive head injuries.  The applicant provided a portion of an electronic message – a Hinge Report - from US Army Vietnam to Headquarters, Department of the Army. This report was rendered on all soldiers who died after reaching a medical facility and does not necessarily relate to combat or non-combat casualties.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant was in Vietnam during a portion of the period of the Winter-Spring 1970 Campaign and is entitled to a seventh bronze service star on his Vietnam Service Medal.

2.  The applicant was a member of a unit at the time that the unit was awarded two Valorous Unit Awards.  Although he may only wear one award, he is entitled to an Oak Leaf Cluster for that award.

3.  The applicant has not shown that he is entitled to the award of the CIB or the PH.

4.  Although the applicant has shown that he was an E-4 in Vietnam on 1 April 1968, that fact has no bearing on his rank at the time of his separation.  His record clearly reflects that he was a disciplinary problem and, although not in the record, it is very possible that he was demoted sometime between 1 April 1968 and his reenlistment on 26 February 1969.  There are orders in his records which promote him to E-4 on 25 February 1969.  In any event, the fact that he was an E-4 on 1 April 1968 does not require any correction to his official records.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by issuing a DD Form 215 to the individual concerned showing that he was awarded the Valorous Unit Award with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Vietnam Service Medal with seven bronze service stars.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

_mkp___  __gdp___  __tbr____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_Margaret K. Patterson
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000039910	
SUFFIX		
RECON	19991028	
DATE BOARDED	20000510	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT PLUS	
REVIEW AUTHORITY	DASA	
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.	107.0033	
3.	107.0073	
4.	107.0111	
5.	131.0000	
6.