PROCEEDINGS

	IN THE CASE OF:        

	BOARD DATE:            21 August 2003
	DOCKET NUMBER:   AR2003088017

	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. Luis Almodova		Analyst	

The following members, a quorum, were present:

	Mr. John N. Sloan		Chairperson	
	Mr. Roger W. Able		Member	
	Ms. Regan K. Smith		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, in effect, that he be awarded the Purple Heart.

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his request for award of the Purple Heart is based on the traumatic amputation of his ring finger on his right hand while he was in combat in Vietnam on 6 March 1967.  He states that he currently receives 10% disability for the loss of the first joint of his right ring finger, which was incurred during combat, while loading 155-millimeter (mm) howitzer rounds onto a vehicle.  The driver mistakenly stepped on the gas of the vehicle.  Because of the position of the vehicle, parked on an incline, he had to rest his hand on the rail of the vehicle for his balance.  When the driver stepped on the gas, the artillery rounds on top of the rounds on the bed or floor of the vehicle rolled to the back of the vehicle amputating the first joint of his finger.  This occurred about three or four in the morning while they were under constant attack and the enemy was driving the infantry back to their position.  The artillery rounds they had to get were dropped alongside the hill down from where the 155-mm howitzers were located.  The rounds were caged in pallets (wooden).  Loading the rounds onto a vehicle was one of the fastest ways to get the rounds up to the howitzers to fire on the enemy and keep from being overrun.  In his request, the applicant also requests that the National Defense Service Medal, which already appears on his DD Form 214, be sent to him.

4.  Counsel for the applicant echoes the applicant's request and in addition asks that the Vietnam Service Medal also be awarded and added to the applicant's DD Form 214.

5.  To support his claim, the applicant submitted a copy of his DD Form 214, Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge; a copy of a Standard Form (SF) 509, Doctor's Progress Notes; a SF 519A, Radiographic Report; and a form, whose number and title are not readily discernable, which replaced DD Form 1481-8, patient disposition following treatment.

6.  The applicant’s military records show that he enlisted in the Army on 
24 January 1966.  He received his basic combat and his advanced individual training at Fort Hood, Texas.  Upon completion of all required military training, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13D, Field Artillery Rocket Crewman.

7.  The applicant arrived in Vietnam on 19 January 1967, and was assigned to Service Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery (155 Howitzer Towed) (Provisional).  He remained with that unit until he completed his overseas tour on 17 January 1968.

8.  The applicant was honorably released from active duty on 23 January 1969, with a reconstructed DA Form 20, at the expiration of his term of service.  The DD Form 214 that he was provided shows that he was released in the rank and pay grade of Specialist Four, E-4, with 3 years service for pay purposes, with no lost time at separation.

9.  While in the Republic of Vietnam, the applicant participated in the following two campaigns:  the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase II, which extended from 1 July 1966 through 31 May 1967 and the Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III, which extended from 1 June 1967 through 29 January 1968.

10.  The applicant's name does not appear on the Vietnam Casualty List.

11.  Item 40 (Wounds), of the applicant's DA Form 20 (Enlisted Qualification Record), is blank.  There is no entry in Item 41 (Awards and Decorations), of the DA Form 20, showing award of the Purple Heart or the Vietnam Service Medal.  There are no orders in the applicant's military personnel records awarding him the Purple Heart. 

12.  The SF 509 provided by the applicant shows that he was admitted to the 67th Evacuation Hospital on 6 March 1967 for treatment of a traumatic amputation of the 4th finger of the right hand and was released back to duty on 5 April 1967.

13.  The form, whose number and title are not readily discernable, which replaced DD Form 1481-8, prepared on the applicant's release from hospitalization, shows the same information, and in addition, includes the following details:  "Approx 0930 hours, 6 March 1967, EM [enlisted man] was hauling an artillery round up a hill when it slid and hit his hand, LZ [landing zone] Santan, RVN [Republic of Vietnam]."

14.  On 19 August 1987, the applicant submitted a SF 180 (Request Pertaining to Military Records) asking that he be awarded the Purple Heart and that it be sent to him.  On 8 January 1988, this request was replied to.  In the reply, he was informed that, "Accidental injuries received in a combat zone are not considered as 'wounds received in action.'  Therefore, there is no authority whereby you may be awarded the Purple Heart."

15.  Block 24 (Decorations, Medals, Badges, Commendations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons Awarded or Authorized) of the applicant's DD Form 214, shows that he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.  The Purple Heart and the Vietnam Service Medal are not shown on this document.

16.  The applicant was awarded the First Class Gunner (now known as the Sharpshooter) Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rocket Launcher Bar in Paragraph 13, Special Orders 278, and the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar in Paragraph 23, Special Orders 284, both orders published by Headquarters, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Carson, Colorado, dated 4 and 10 October 1968, respectively.  These badges are not shown on the applicant's DD Form 214.

17.  Army Regulation (AR) 600-8-22 sets forth Department of the Army criteria, policy and instructions concerning individual military awards, the Good Conduct Medal, service medals and service ribbons, combat and special skill badges and tabs, unit decorations, and trophies and similar devices awarded in recognition of accomplishments.

18.  The above regulation 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:  (a) the wound was the result of hostile action; (b) the wound required medical treatment; and (c) the medical treatment was made a matter of official record.

19.  This same regulation provides, in pertinent part, for award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.  The Government of Vietnam awarded this medal to all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for qualifying service in Vietnam during the period 1 March 1961 through 28 March 1973.  Qualifying service included assignment in Vietnam for 6 months or more and contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam and Armed Forces.

20.  The regulation also authorizes award of a bronze service star, based on qualifying service, for each campaign listed in its Appendix B and states that authorized bronze service stars will be worn on the appropriate service medal, in this case, the Vietnam Service Medal.

21.  AR 600-8-22 also provides for award of the Vietnam Service Medal.  This medal is awarded to all members of the Armed Forces of the United States for qualifying service in Vietnam after 3 July 1965 through 28 March 1973.  Qualifying service included attachment to or assignment for one or more days with an organization participating in or directly supporting military operations.

22.  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 the unit the applicant served with, Service Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery (155 Howitzer Towed) (Provisional), was 

awarded the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation for the period from 1 August 1965 through 16 April 1971 by Department of the Army General Orders Number 54, dated 1974. The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show this unit award as an authorized award.

23.  AR 670-1, in effect at the time, governed the requirements for the Overseas Service Bar.  In pertinent part, it provided that a bar is authorized for wear for each period of active Federal service as a member of the U.S. Army outside of the continental limits of the United States.  One overseas service bar is authorized for each six-month period served in the Republic of Vietnam.  To calculate the entitlement, both the month of arrival and month of departure are counted as a whole month no matter the number of days in that month that were spent in the hostile fire zone. 

CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The available evidence and the applicant's statement shows that the cause of the traumatic amputation of part of his right ring finger was accidental and was not a result of a wound sustained in action against a hostile force while in the Republic of Vietnam, as the applicant contends.

2.  The accident which resulted in the loss of a part of the applicant's finger took place during daylight hours and not at three or four o'clock in the morning as the applicant states.

3.  There is no indication that the accident was caused by the accidental surge of a vehicle caused when the driver of the vehicle accidentally stepped on the gas causing the artillery shells to roll.  The form (with unknown number and title), submitted by the applicant, clearly indicates that he was hauling an artillery round up a hill when it slid and hit his hand.  Therefore, based on the available evidence, he is not eligible for award of the Purple Heart.

4.  The applicant served in the Republic of Vietnam from 19 January 1967 until 17 January 1968 and participated in two campaigns.  He is therefore eligible for award of the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars affixed to it and to have these awards shown on his DD Form 214.

5.  For the above service in Vietnam, the applicant is also entitled to award of the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal and two overseas service bars.  These awards are not shown on his DD Form 214 and it would be appropriate to add them to this document at this time.

6.  The applicant was awarded the Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar and the Sharpshooter (formerly known as the 1st Class Gunner) Qualification Badge with Rocket Launcher Bar.  These badges are not shown on the applicant's DD Form 214.  It would be appropriate to add these to his DD Form 214 at this time.

7.  The applicant served with Service Battery, 2nd Battalion, 17th Artillery (155 Howitzer Towed) (Provisional), during the period it was cited for award of the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation.  The applicant's DD Form 214 does not show this unit award as an authorized award.  It would be appropriate to add this unit award to his DD Form 214 at this time.

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

RECOMMENDATION:

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

a.  awarding the applicant the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm; and 2 Overseas Service Bars and adding these awards to his DD Form 214; and

b.  adding the already awarded Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rocket Launcher Bar to his DD Form 214.

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

BOARD VOTE:  

___js____  ___rwa__  __rks ___  GRANT AS STATED IN RECOMMENDATION

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

		_____John N. Slone_______
		        CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

CASE ID	AR2003088017	
SUFFIX		
RECON		
DATE BOARDED	2003/08/21	
TYPE OF DISCHARGE		
DATE OF DISCHARGE		
DISCHARGE AUTHORITY		
DISCHARGE REASON		
BOARD DECISION	PARTIAL GRANT	
REVIEW AUTHORITY		
ISSUES         1.  46	107.0000	
2.  61	107.0015	
3.		
4.		
5.		
6.