PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           8 August 2002                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002068432

	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. Walter Avery, Jr.		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond J. Wagner		Chairperson	
	Mr. Lester Echols		Member	
	Ms. Margaret V. Thompson		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 correction of his DD Form 214, (Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge), to show that he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

3.  The applicant states that his DD Form 214 does not show that he was awarded the Purple Heart or the CIB.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he was inducted into the Army on 16 May 1966 and was trained as an 11B, infantryman.  He served in Vietnam for the period 28 October 1966 through 28 October 1967, while assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.  He was separated honorably on 13 June 1971, in the grade of sergeant.

5.  The DD Form 214, signed by the applicant, reflects that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Expert Badge with rifle bar.  Neither the Purple Heart nor the CIB are listed as authorized awards.

6.  There are no orders in the applicant’s service personnel records, which show that he was awarded the Purple Heart or the CIB.  His DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does reflect in item 40 (Wounds) the entry "Frags L. Leg" dated 13 November 1966.  (The Board interprets the entry as fragmentation wounds to the Left Leg).  The applicant’s name is listed on the Vietnam Casualty Roster as having been wounded in action.

7.  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.

8.  The same regulation provides that the CIB is awarded to infantry officers and enlisted personnel 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 US 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.

9.  The same regulation provides for award of the Bronze Service Star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in Appendix B of this regulation and states that authorized Bronze Service Stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal.  In the applicant’s case, he is entitled to credit for the Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase II and Phase III Campaigns.

10.  The same regulation provides that based on Department of the Army General Orders Number 8, dated 19 March 1974, all units assigned to Vietnam between 8 February 1962 and 28 March 1973, were awarded the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

11.  Army Regulation 600-200, Enlisted Personnel Management System, the regulation then in effect, provides that item 40 (Wounds) of the Enlisted Qualification Record, will contain a brief description of wounds or injuries requiring medical treatment, received through hostile or enemy action, including those requiring hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The evidence of record shows that the applicant is entitled to the Purple Heart by virtue of the wounds he suffered in Vietnam on 13 November 1966, as authenticated by his DA Form 20 and his listing on the Vietnam Casualty Roster. He is therefore entitled to have the award shown on his DD Form 214.

2.  The record further shows that the applicant served in an infantry MOS and he engaged in active ground combat while assigned to an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size; therefore, he is entitled to have the CIB reflected on his 
DD Form 214.

3.  Based on Department of the Army General Order Number 8, he is also entitled to award of the RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and in recognition of the two campaigns in which he participated during his Vietnam service, he is entitled to 2 bronze service stars on his Vietnam Service Medal.

4.  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 received in Vietnam on 13 November 1966; and

b.  showing he was awarded the CIB, 2 bronze service stars to his Vietnam Service Medal, and the RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:  

____mvt_  ____le___  ____rjw_  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		__________Raymond J. Wagner_____
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002068432	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	YYYYMMDD	
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.