PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:     

	BOARD DATE:           04 SEPTEMBER 2003                   
	DOCKET NUMBER:  AR2003087312

	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. Kenneth H. Aucock		Analyst	

  The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.		Chairperson	
	Ms. Barbara J. Ellis		Member	
	Mr. Frank C. Jones II		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 award of the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states that he was injured by mortar fire while on guard duty.

4.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Army Reserve for six years on 10 January 1966.  He completed his training at Fort Lewis, Washington, and in December 1967 was released from active duty and returned to his Reserve unit in Emporia, Kansas.

5.  In May 1968 he was ordered to active duty with his unit, the 1011th Supply and Service Company, and was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he qualified as an expert with the rifle.  In September 1968 he was assigned with his unit to Vietnam.  He was promoted to pay grade E-4 in December 1968.  He completed his tour in Vietnam and returned to the United States at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he was released from active duty on 18 August 1969.  He participated in four campaigns during his tour in Vietnam, and the 1011th was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm for its actions while the applicant was assigned to that unit.   His DD Form 214 (Report of Transfer) shows that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.  It does not show award of the Purple Heart.

6.  The applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record) does not show award of the Purple Heart, nor is there any entry to indicate that he was wounded in action.

7.  The applicant submits copies of two statements, each dated 5 December 2002, from individuals who stated that they were with the applicant on               20 October 1968 in Bear Cat, Vietnam, when he was wounded in action while on guard duty.  He submits an 11 June 2001 radiology consultation, which indicates that there was nothing wrong with his right ankle.  He submits a copy of a typed document, origin unknown, which lists his illnesses, injuries, family history, etc., and which indicates that he was hospitalized in Vietnam in October 1968 because of a leg injury from shrapnel, and which shows that he underwent surgery in October and November 1968 because of a leg injury.  

8.  The applicant submits a medical document, dated 11 June 2001 showing that he was seen because of persistent right ankle and mid foot pain.  That document indicated that the applicant had a history of shrapnel underneath his right leg in the distant past.  It also showed that he had a scar on the lateral lower right leg from his previous injury, and that he lost the usual support of his arch, possibly due to muscular and biomechanical forces resulting from the shrapnel injury to his leg. 

9.  The Vietnam Casualty Roster maintained by this agency does not list the applicant as being wounded in action.  The historical files of the 1011th Supply and Service Company were reviewed at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.  That review did not indicated that the applicant was awarded the Purple Heart.

10.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 provides 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.

11.  The Army 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Notwithstanding the documents that the applicant submits with his request, there is no medical evidence to show that he was treated for a wound that he received in Vietnam.  The statements and medical documents that he does submit are dated over 30 years subsequent to this tour of duty and Vietnam and are insufficient to substantiate that he was wounded as a result of hostile action.  There is insufficient evidence to grant the applicant's request for award of the Purple Heart.

2.  The applicant served his country faithfully and honorably.  He is entitled to award of the Army Good Conduct Medal.

3.  The applicant is entitled to award of the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar.

4.  The applicant participated in four campaigns during his tour in Vietnam.  He is entitled to award of the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars (one for each campaign).  He is also entitled to award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm. 

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 be corrected by showing that the individual concerned was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with rifle bar, the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm. 
 
2.  That so much of the application as is in excess of the foregoing be denied.

BOARD VOTE:  

__RVO__  __BJE  __  __FCJ __  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		Raymond V. O'Connor, Jr.
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003087312	
SUFFIX		
RECON	YYYYMMDD	
DATE BOARDED	20030904	
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.