PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           28 September 2000                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000042850

	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	
	Ms. Wanda L. Waller		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O’Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest M. Willcher		Member	
	Mr. Donald P. Hupman, 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, two awards of the Purple Heart (correctly known as the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster)).

3.  The applicant states that he was slightly wounded on 18 December 1965 in Vietnam when his weapon was shot out of his hands.  He also contends that he sustained shrapnel wounds during the summer of 1969 in Vietnam.  In support of his application, he submits an eyewitness statement from a fellow soldier who attests that the applicant was wounded in his left leg as a result of hostile enemy action (booby trap) between July and August 1969 in Vietnam.  

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted on 1 June 1961, served as a basic field artillery crewman in Germany and was honorably discharged on 18 May 1964.  He reenlisted on 16 December 1964.  The applicant served as a light weapons infantryman in Vietnam from 6 June 1965 through 5 June 1966, served in Germany from 30 July 1966 through 26 July 1968 and served in Vietnam again from 8 August 1968 through 5 August 1969.  He was honorably discharged on 12 February 1974.  

5.  The applicant’s DD Forms 214 (Report of Transfer or Discharge) with effective dates of 15 December 1967 and 12 February 1974, which were authenticated in his own hand, do not show any award of the Purple Heart as an authorized award. 

6.  There is no evidence in the applicant’s personnel records which shows that he was wounded or treated for wounds as a result of hostile action on 15 December 1965 in Vietnam.

7.  There are no orders for award of the Purple Heart in the applicant’s personnel records.  However, item 40 (Wounds) on his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) shows the entry “FRAG [fragment] WOUNDS BOTH LEGS 24May69”.  The Vietnam Casualty Roster shows the applicant is listed as a combat casualty on 24 May 1969.

8.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 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.  The bronze oak leaf cluster is awarded to denote the second and succeeding awards of certain decorations, among which is the Purple Heart.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The Board noted the applicant’s contention that he was wounded on two separate occasions in Vietnam as a result of hostile action.  However, evidence of record shows the applicant was wounded only once as a result of hostile action, on 24 May 1969.  Therefore, the applicant is entitled to correction of his DD Form 214 with an effective date of 12 February 1974 to show one award of the Purple Heart.

2.  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 on the DD Form 214 with an effective date of 12 February 1974 of the individual concerned that he was awarded the Purple Heart. 

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

BOARD VOTE:  

RVO___  EMW____  DPH____  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O’Connor__
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000042850	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20000928	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	19740212	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR 635-200  	
DISCHARGE REASON	Expiration term of service	
BOARD DECISION	(GRANT)	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.0015	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.