PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           3 April 2001                 
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2001052060

	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. E. Schnupp		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Walter T. Morrison		Chairperson	
	Mr. John T. Meixell		Member	
	Mr. Thomas F. Baxter		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 the Purple Heart be added to his DD Form 214, Report of Transfer or Discharge.  He also requests that he be issued the Good Conduct Medal (GCM) and the Marksman and Expert Badges with Rifle Bars.

3.  The applicant states that he believes that the foregoing awards and decorations are owed to him as a result of his honorable service and disability discharge.  In support of his request, he submits a copy of a Purple Heart Certificate showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart on 26 April 1970.  He also contends that he never received the GCM and the Marksman and Expert Badges with Rifle Bars.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted on 1 October 1968, was trained as a field artillery crewman and served in Vietnam from 17 March 1970 to 4 June 1970.  He was permanently retired with a disability discharge on 1 October 1972.

5.  Awards reflected on his DD Form 214 include the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars, the GCM, the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Device (1960), the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, the Sharpshooter Badge with Hand Grenade Bar, the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar and the Expert Badge with Rifle Bar.  The Purple Heart is not shown as an authorized award.

6.  DA Form 1577, Authorization for Issuance of Awards, dated 27 December 1991, shows that the applicant was issued all of the above mentioned awards, to include the GCM and the Expert and Marksman Badges with Rifle Bars.

7.  On 4 June 1970 the applicant was examined in preparation for a Physical Evaluation Board.  The examination noted that on 23 April 1970 he sustained a fragmentation wound through the right posterolateral chest with laceration of the axillary artery and contusion of the brachial plexus resulting in complete paralysis of the right arm, incurred as a result of hostile action in Vietnam.  He was placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List and upon reexamination was permanently retired with a 90% disability rating.

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 by a medical officer, and the medical treatment must have been made a matter of official record.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant’s wounds and subsequent treatment are well documented in his military personnel file and though there is no evidence showing that he was awarded the Purple Heart, he is certainly entitled to it based on the available medical evidence.

2.  Although DA Form 1577 indicates that all of the awards that were authorized at the time were issued to him on 27 December 1991, including the GCM and the Expert and Marksman Badges with Rifle Bars, he contends, however, that he did not receive these three decorations.  Nonetheless, the Board will extend the benefit of the doubt to the applicant and recommend that the GCM and the Expert and Marksman Badges with Rifle Bars be reissued to him.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

That all of the Department of the Army records related to this case be corrected by:

	a.  showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in action in Vietnam on 23 April 1970; and

	b.  issuing him the Purple Heart Medal, the GCM, the Expert Badge with Rifle Bar and the Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar.

BOARD VOTE:  

____wtm   ____jtm _  ___tfb __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Walter T. Morrison___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2001052060	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20010403	
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.