PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:      

	BOARD DATE:           14 January 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2002073799

	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:

	Ms. Margaret K. Patterson		Chairperson	
	Ms. Jennifer L. Prater		Member	
	Ms. Mae M. Bullock		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 12 December 1967 and was trained in military occupational specialty (MOS) 11B, infantryman.  He served in Vietnam, as an infantryman, from 28 July 1968 through 19 May 1969.  In Vietnam, he was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division.  He was separated honorably from active duty on 3 October 1969, in the grade of specialist.  He completed a total of 1 year, 9 months and 22 days of creditable active service and had no lost time.

5.  The DD Form 214, signed by the applicant, reflects that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.  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 CIB or the Purple Heart.  However, his DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) Item 38 (Record of Assignments) reflects that  while in Vietnam he was assigned as a light weapons infantryman in an infantry company.  Item 40 (Wounds) contains an entry that indicates he suffered a laceration to the right leg on 25 April 1969.

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 wear 3 Bronze Service Stars on his Vietnam Service Medal for credit for the Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase V & VI and Tet 69 Counteroffensive Campaigns.

10.  The same regulation provides, in pertinent part, that the Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to soldiers who distinguish themselves from among their fellow soldiers by their exemplary conduct, efficiency and fidelity throughout a specified period of continuous enlisted active Federal military service: for first award only, upon termination of service on or after 27 June 1950 of less than 3 years but more than 1 year.

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.

12.  Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-3 (Unit Citation and Campaign Participation Credit Register) lists the unit awards received by units serving in Vietnam.  This document shows that at the time of the applicant’s assignment to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry the unit was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period 1 October 1966 through 28 July 1969 per Department of the Army General Order 3, 1970.

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 25 April 1969, as authenticated by his DA Form 20.  He is therefore entitled to have the award shown on his DD Form 214.

2.  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.  The record further shows that the applicant is entitled to the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation and 3 Bronze Service Stars to be worn on his Vietnam Service Medal.

4.  Lastly, the applicant’s service was meritorious, as evidenced by his promotion to pay grade E-4 and honorable discharge.  Likewise, the record is devoid of any evidence of disciplinary action taken against him.  As such, it would appear that the absence of the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period of his service from 12 December 1967 through 3 October 1969 was in error and he is entitled to its award and to a correction of his records to show this award.

5.  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 25 April 1969; and

b.  showing he was awarded the CIB, 3 Bronze Service Stars to his Vietnam Service Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal for the period 12 December 1967 through 3 October 1969 and the RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.

BOARD VOTE:  

___mmb_  ____jlp__  ____mkp_  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_________Margaret K. Patterson___
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2002073799	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030114	
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.