PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF: 

	BOARD DATE:           21 December 2000
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000044484

	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. Michael L. Engle		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Ms. Karol A. Kennedy 		Chairperson	
	Mr. Ernest W. Lutz		Member	
	Ms. Gail J. Wire		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 that his military records be corrected to show two awards of the Purple Heart (PH).

3.  The applicant states that he was wounded in March and again in June of 1969. 

4.  The applicant's military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 30 July 1968.  He completed his initial training and was assigned for duty as an infantryman (11B).  He attained the rank of specialist four and was honorably separated on 3 March 1970 with 1 year, 7 months and 4 days of creditable active service.

5.  His separation document (DD Form 214) shows he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and 4 oak leaf clusters, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

6.  The applicant was assigned to Company D, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam from January to June 1969.  On 20 March 1969 he received wounds as a result of hostile action.  General Orders Number 66, Headquarters, 24th Evacuation Hospital, dated        20 March 1969 awarded him the PH.  

7.  The applicant’s Enlisted Qualification Record (DA Form 20) indicates in item 40 (Wounds) that he received a gunshot wound to the chest on 15 June 1969.  Also in his records are hospital message orders showing that the applicant was evacuated for medical treatment on or about 22 June 1969.

8.  The Battle Casualty Roster maintained at the Total Army Personnel Command, lists the applicant as having received a battle injury on 15 June 1969, coded as “Not Serious-Hospital”.

9.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the PH 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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.  Additional awards of the PH are denoted by oak leaf clusters.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s records clearly show that he was awarded a PH for wounds received in action against an armed enemy on 20 March 1969.

2.  The applicant’s contention that he was wounded in action on 15 June 1969 is 
supported by the entry on his DA Form 20 showing he received a gunshot to the chest on that day.  Hospital orders that medically evacuated him from RVN, and the Battle Casualty Roster give credibility to the applicant’s contention.  Therefore, the Board is convinced that he was again wounded in action and entitled to a second award of the PH. 

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case, particularly the DD Form 214, dated 3 March 1970, be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was wounded as a result of hostile action on 20 March 1969 and again on 15 June 1969 and was awarded a Purple Heart with 1 oak leaf cluster.

BOARD VOTE:  

__KAK__  ___EWL_  __GJW__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		___Karol A. Kennedy        
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000044484	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20001221	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE	(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)	
DATE OF DISCHARGE	YYYYMMDD	
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY	AR . . . . .  	
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	GRANT 	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.	107.00	
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.