PROCEEDINGS

           IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           2 August 2001                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2000047530

	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.	W. W. Osborn, Jr.		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present

	Mr.	Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Ms.	Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr.	John P. Infante		Member	

	The applicant and counsel if any, did not appear before the Board.

	The applicant requests correction of military records as stated in the application to the Board and as restated herein.

	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, in effect, requests reconsideration of his earlier request for award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he sustained fragment wounds to the back, head and both hands.  He believes the award processing was not completed because he left Vietnam early due to emergency leave.  Following emergency leave he did not have enough time left to either return to Vietnam or to be reassigned, so he was discharged.  He submits four affidavits from comrades-in-arms and a current medical report showing that he still has a retained fragment in each hand.

4.  The four statements appear to have been prepared separately by the affiants. All attest to essentially the same basic information, that the applicant sustained fragment wounds during a mortar attack and that he was treated but not hospitalized.

5.  Incorporated herein by reference as if wholly set forth is the Memorandum of Consideration (MOC) of the Board’s 11 April 1984 review of the applicant’s case (AC83-00664)  

6.  The applicant served in Vietnam as an infantryman from 21 June 1968 to 
27 March 1969 with D Company, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. He was separated after 1 year 7 months and 16 days of active duty service and transferred to the Army Reserve as a sergeant (E-5).  He had been assigned exclusively excellent conduct and efficiency marks.

7.  A chronological listing of the medical units maintaining the applicant’s medical record (DA Form 2658) shows that the 2/27th Infantry, Battalion Aid Station held his medical record on 18 October 1968.  The only other available medical record from his Vietnam tour is an 18 December 1968 laboratory test report.  Neither the medical history that the applicant furnished for his 31 March 1969 separation medical examination nor physician’s report of that examination makes any reference to his having been wounded in action.   

8.  Block 40 (Wounds) of the applicant’s DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record is blank.  

9.  In July 1972 the applicant requested copies of his medical records so that he could be awarded the Purple Heart.  He related that, on 22 December 1968, he had sustained fragment wounds to the head, back and both hands.  He stated that he had been treated at the battalion aid station and believed that the award processing had not been completed because he left Vietnam early on emergency leave.

10.  The MOC reflecting the Board’s original decision on the case noted that there were no available medical records to show that the applicant had sustained a combat wound.  The accompanying advisory opinion from the Awards Branch noted that, in the absence of medical records or eyewitness statements, the applicant was not entitled to the Purple Heart.  

11.  The applicant’s name does not appear on the Vietnam casualty roster.  

12.  Searches of unit records fail to substantiate the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart.

13. Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides, in pertinent part, that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound sustained while in action against an enemy or 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.

14.  General Orders dated 7 February 1967 and February 1968, respectively, awarded the applicant the Marksman Qualification with Machine Gun Bar and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar 

15.  Department of the Army General Orders 8 of 1974 awarded the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation to Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam and subordinate units for the period 20 July 1965 to 28 March 1973.

16.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides that the Good Conduct Medal is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by their conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a qualifying period of active duty enlisted service.  This period is 3 years except in those cases when the period for the first award ends with the termination of a period of Federal military service.  A record of punishment is not automatically disqualifying.  However, at that time, a single efficiency rating of less than excellent was disqualifying.

17. Army Regulation 600-8-22 also provides that the Vietnam Service Medal is authorized for all members of the armed forces who served in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspace during the period 3 July 1965 through 28 March 1973.  Service on temporary duty must have been for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days.  The regulation also lists the designated campaign periods for which a bronze service star is authorized for wear on the Vietnam Service Medal.  These include Counteroffensive IV, ending on 30 June 1968; Counteroffensive V, ending on 1 November 1968; Counteroffensive Phase VI, ending on 22 February 1969; and Tet 69 ending, on 8 June 1969.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  This Board notes the witness statements, the 1983 observation by the Awards Branch concerning eyewitness statements, the fact that the applicant has related essentially the same facts since 1974 and the presence of retained fragments.  However, this situation does not meet the regulatory requirement that the Purple Heart is awarded for a wound for which there is a record of treatment.  Such statements are normally accepted as substantiation of the combat or enemy origin of a wound for which there is a record of treatment.

2.  Furthermore, the Board specifically notes that the Battalion Aid Station clearly had custody of the applicant’s medical records within a week of the reported incident.  The absence of the applicant’s name on the Vietnam casualty roster, the absence of any notation of a wound on the applicant’s DA Form 20 and the fact that he did not report it on the medical history he provided for his separation medical examination are also noted.

3.  Additionally, the unit records available at the National Archives do not substantiate the applicant’s request for award of the Purple Heart.  The Board concludes that award of the Purple Heart is not warranted.

4.  The applicant distinguished himself by his “Excellent” conduct and efficiency ratings, his promotion to Sergeant (E-5), his combat service and his offense free behavior.  He earned the Good Conduct Medal.

5.  He served in Vietnam during four designated campaign periods and is entitled to wear four bronze service stars on the Vietnam Service Medal.

6.  He is authorized the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation with Palm.

7.  He has been awarded the Marksman Qualification Badge with Machine Gun Bar and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar and is entitled to have those awards displayed on his DD 214 (report of Separation.

8.  In view of the foregoing findings and conclusions, amending the applicant’s records as recommended below would correct errors.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.  That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by showing that, in addition to the awards currently listed on his DD Form 214, the individual concerned is authorized the Good Conduct Medal, four 

bronze service stars on the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, the Marksman Qualification Badge with the Machine Gun Bar and the Sharpshooter Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

__RJW__  ___BJE_  __JPI ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		  _Raymond J. Wagner_
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2000047530	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	20010802	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	 GRANT PART	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.		
2.		
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.