PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:  

	BOARD DATE:           15 February 2001
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000045950

	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. William Blakely		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Fred N. Eichorn		Chairperson	
	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Member	
	Mr. Melvin H. Meyer		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 he be awarded the Purple Heart (PH) and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that he should be awarded the PH and CIB for his tour of duty in Vietnam.  He states that he was wounded by shrapnel and received medical treatment for his wounds in March 1969.  In support of his application he submits two DD Forms 214 (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer Or Discharge).

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 27 July 1967.  He was discharged on 8 April 1968 and immediately reenlisted on 9 April 1968.  His military occupational specialty (MOS) was 05B40 (Radio Operator).  His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device.  He served in Vietnam as a radio operator with A Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry from 29 May 1968 to 25 May 1969.  He was honorably released from active duty 8 April 1971 in the rank of sergeant.

5.  Item 24 (Decorations) of the applicant’s DD Form 214 does not show the PH or the CIB.

6.  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.

7.  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 CIB was awarded only to enlisted individuals who held and served in MOS 11B, 11C, 11F, 11G, or 11H.

8.  US Army Regulation Vietnam (USARV) 672-1, in effect at the time, provided that a radio telephone operator whose primary duty is to accompany infantry or infantry type units on tactical operations was authorized the CIB. 

9.  Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 672-3, establishes the eligibility of individual members for campaign participation credit, assault landing credit, and unit citation badges awarded during the Vietnam Conflict, the Grenada Operation, and the period of service subsequent to the Vietnam Conflict up to the present.  A Company 4th Battalion 503rd Infantry was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation Badge and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  There is no evidence of record that shows the applicant was awarded or recommended for the award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant did not provide substantiating evidence that he was wounded as a result of hostile action, that his wounds required medical treatment by a medical officer, and that the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.  Therefore, he is not entitled to award of the PH.

3.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant served as a radio operator in an infantry unit involved in combat operation while serving in Vietnam.  Therefore, he is entitled to award of the CIB and correction of his records to show award of the CIB.

4.  Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 672-3 shows the applicant’s unit was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation Badge and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class.  The applicant is entitle to correction of his records to show these awards.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case, particularly the DD Form 214 of the individual concerned, be corrected by showing that he was awarded the CIB, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honor Medal, First Class.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__FNE__  __MKP__  __MHM__  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		   __Fred N. Eichorn___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000045950	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010215	
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.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.